In May 1747, whilst visiting his son at the court of King Frederick the Great of Prussia, Bach was presented with a rather unusual musical challenge… to compose a fugue based on a line of music written by the King. The result… The Musical Offering, featuring the Ricercare a 3, a 3 part fugue on the King’s theme, which we hear arranged for orchestra by Igor Markevitch. Written almost 250 years later, Liebermann’s incandescent Flute Concerto is witty, playful and sensationally colourful. Commissioned and dedicated to one of the most famous flute players in history, Sir James Galway, our Principal Flute Matthew Featherstone puts his virtuosity on display to showcase this masterpiece.
Rhythmic subtlety and harmonic complexity embody much of Schmidt’s music, and his radiant second symphony, a work he personally championed, is a bold showcase of these characteristics. With Brucknerian grandiose, and a style reminiscent of Strauss, it features a huge orchestra, an ingenious set of variations and sumptuous slow sections. To conduct, is none other than Jonathan Berman, with whom the Orchestra are recording all of Schmidt’s Symphonies for future CD release.