The Romantic

Harmony Sinfonia presents a wonderful evening of music from three master composers.

Beethoven's Egmont Overture is passionate depiction of Goethe's drama (1787) which relates the fight of Count Egmont (1522-1568) against the despotic Duke of Albe. Egmont is a famous Flemish warrior, and the duc of Albe represents the Spanish invader. Though under threat of arrest, Egmont refuses to run away and give up his ideal of liberty. Imprisoned and abandoned because of the cowardliness of his people, despite the desperate efforts of his mistress Klärchen, he is sentenced to death.

Thus, faced with her failure and despair, Klärchen puts an end to her life. The play ends on the hero's last call to fight for independence. His death as a martyr appears as a victory against oppression.

Elgar's String Serenade was a present to his wife Alice on their third wedding anniversary - entirely appropriate within our romantic programme. It gives our wonderful string section a chance to demonstrate their chamber music expertise.

Bruckner's epic 4th symphony is one of his most popular works and was revised several times between 1874-1888. The symphony's nickname of Romantic was used by the composer himself, however it does not refer to the modern conception of romantic love but rather the medieval romance as depicted in the operas Lohengrin and Siegfried of Richard Wagner.