‘I may not be a first-rate composer,’ quipped Richard Strauss, ‘but I am a first-class second-rate composer.’ No one could accuse Strauss of modesty and in this expansive love-letter to, well, himself, he uses huge orchestral forces and a dash of humour to catalogue his ‘heroic’ struggle. Sir Mark Elder (and leader Laura Samuel) will bring out all the swagger and glory of this magnificent music as well as its tenderness and grace. Strauss’s great idol was Mozart so it’s only right that Sophie Bevan joins us for one of his most dramatic concert arias and, to prove that heroes come in all forms, we open with the mysterious Prelude and radiant Good Friday music from Wagner’s tale of a ‘holy fool’ made wise through compassion.
