3rd Philharmonic Concert
Richard Wagner: »Tristan and Isolde« Prelude and Liebestod / Lili Boulanger: »Faust et Hélène« / Kurt Weill: Symphonie No. 2
Aula der Neuen Universität
With »Tristan and Isolde«, Richard Wagner set one of the most famous love stories to music, turning it into an opera. The prelude tells us about the emotional state of the tragic couple: Longing and heartache were set to music perfectly.
In 1913, Lili Boulanger becomes the first woman to win the renowned composition price »Grand prix de Rome«. The 19-year-old composer convinced the jury with her sophisticated cantata based on a profound text: Goethe’s »Faust« part two. The piece, comprising tunes inspired by Wagner’s »Tristan« and »Parsifal«, turned Boulanger into a celebrity overnight.
After his success with »The Threepenny Opera« and »Mahagonny«, Kurt Weill is asked to compose a symphony in 1933. He calls his work a »symphonic nocturne«: Melodic fragments reminiscent of Weill’s songspiele can be discerned in it. However, the underlying »entertaining« tone of his music is never unclouded. Weill completed his symphony in Paris after fleeing from Germany and leaving behind Lotte Lenya. It’s a work full of longing and inner tension.
Listen to an introduction by Stefan Klawitter here (in German).
