MENDELSSOHN’S SCOTTISH SYMPHONY

May 10 & 12, 2024

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Overview

Conductor Gemma New leads the San Francisco Symphony in Felix Mendelssohn's evocative travelogue, inspired by a visit to the ruins of Holyrood Chapel in Edinburgh. Grażyna Bacewicz wrote her Overture in 1943, during the German occupation of her native Poland. The premiere was delayed until her homeland was liberated from the Nazis two years later. Written in the aftermath of World War I, Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto is an urgent elegy, a late-life affirmation of Englishness.

These concerts are supported in part by the Barbara Brookins Young Artist Fund.

At A Glance

One of the leading lights of 20th-century Polish music, Grażyna Bacewicz composed her Overture during the dark days of World War II. She composed through it all, turning out some of her most important works, including this vigorously optimistic Overture, which stands in defiance to its time.
 
Edward Elgar composed his Cello Concerto late in his career, in a stern yet lyrical style that was new to his music. The 1919 premiere was under-rehearsed, and the piece only rose to the top of the cello repertoire in the 1960s when it was championed by Jacqueline du Pré. Unusual for a concerto, it is set in four movements, rather than three, though the only real pause lies between the second and third.
 
During a three-week trip to Scotland in 1829, Felix Mendelssohn visited the Palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh and was moved to record this observation: “In the evening twilight we went today to the palace where Queen Mary lived and loved. . . . The chapel close to it is now roofless, grass and ivy grow there, and at that broken altar Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland. Everything round is broken and moldering and the bright sky shines in. I believe I have found today in that old chapel the beginning of my Scottish Symphony.” It was 1841 before he returned to it, not employing folk melodies from Scotland, but yet conjuring up a folk-like spirit, saturated in a passion that stirs Romantic souls.

Artists

Gemma New

Conductor

San Francisco Symphony

Program

Grażyna Bacewicz
Overture
Edward Elgar

Cello Concerto

Felix Mendelssohn

Symphony No. 3, Scottish

MENDELSSOHN’S SCOTTISH SYMPHONY

Enrich Your Experience

May 10: Join us in the Ovation Lounge in the Wattis Room for an exclusive and intimate experience before the concert and during intermission. Enjoy complimentary sparkling wine, a private full bar, elevated exclusive bites for purchase, luxurious seating, and a private bathroom for just $25.

OVATION LOUNGE


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