WSS Spring Season 2023 – Concert 2 by Beethoven, Schumann, Od (2023/2023), Dirigent Irene Delgado-Jiménez, Playhouse Opera Theatre, Pretoria, South Africa

We look forward to welcoming you to our WSS Spring Season 2023 which runs every Thursday from 19 October to 9 November. Concerts take place in the Playhouse Opera Theatre at 7pm. Spanish conductor Irene Delgado-Jiménez – a protegee of Marin Alsop – makes her debut appearance on the KZN Philharmonic’s podium at our second Spring Season concert. In curating her programme, she has aptly chosen Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 also known as ‘The Spring’, as her opening item. It was the first completed symphonic work he composed. Although he had made some symphonic attempts in the autumn of 1840 soon after he married Clara Wieck, he did not compose his first symphony until early 1841. Until then, Schumann was largely known for his works for the piano and for voice. Clara encouraged him to write symphonic music, noting in her diary, ‘it would be best if he composed for orchestra; his imagination cannot find sufficient scope on the piano… His compositions are all orchestral in feeling… My highest wish is that he should compose for orchestra—that is his field! May I succeed in bringing him to it!’ How right she was. Schumann sketched the symphony in four days from 23 to 26 January and completed the orchestration by 20 February. The premiere took place under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn on 31 March 1841 in Leipzig, where the symphony was warmly received. Its popularity has stood the test of time, as you’ll surely know. It’s always great to meet up with an old friend again, so sit back and enjoy its Springtime fragrance. After intermission, we welcome the return of Nikita Boriso-Glebsky, who takes centre stage in a performance of what it is perhaps the work that lies at the heart of all violin literature, Beethoven’s one and only Violin Concerto. A work whose infinite subtleties defy all but the greatest of musicians; Boriso-Glebsky’s rich tonal palette and interpretive acumen give him a head start, as you’re sure to hear. Please note that this performance may be filmed. By entering the event, you are entering an area where photography, audio and video recording may occur.