The Ravenna Festival’s preview
Wiener Philharmoniker
conductor Riccardo Muti
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt
(Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage) Op. 27
Robert Schumann
Symphony no. 4 in D minor Op. 120
Moderatamente lento. Vivace
Romanza: Moderatamente lento
Scherzo (Vivace). Trio
Lento. Vivace. Più presto
Riccardo Muti’s double bill marks a strong, age-old connection, a hand-in-glove relationship with the Wiener Philharmoniker. Subtle elective affinities bind the Italian conductor to the Austrian musicians: an agreement on style and intentions, a sharing of purposes, and a common background that go back fifty years. And then, there is a tradition that has seen the Wiener Philharmoniker as the most frequent foreign guest orchestra at the Ravenna Festival, featuring in its bill no less than ten times, including the unforgettable Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy at the Alighieri Theatre. Their eleventh return features a double bill with three precious milestones of XIX-century symphony: Mendelssohn’s Op. 27 inspired by Goethe’s diptych, Schumann’s Symphony no. 4 and Brahms’s Symphony no. 2.
