RTWSO: MOZART, STRAUSS, MAHLER

The arresting and ominous opening chords of Mozart’s overture to his opera Don Giovanni set the scene for the sometimes dark and tragic, but also sometimes comedic, story that ensues. After the imposing start the music bustles along leaving the audience in a more joyful mood and full of expectation.

Rebecca Bottone once again joins the RTWSO, this time to perform The Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss.

Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 nicknamed ‘The Titan’ closes the RTWSO’S 2024/25 season. Lasting less than an hour, it is his optimistic take on Nature, much as Beethoven had realised in his Pastoral Symphony. Listen out for cuckoo calls, other bird song and peasants’ dances. Many of the symphony’s themes return in the last movement which ends in a typical Mahlerian blaze of glory.