Markus Stenz conducts 4th Symphony Concert in Hannover

Gustav Mahler called Anton Brucker venerately “half God, half fool”: Anton Bruckner, one of the most inventive symphonic composers of the late 19th century, was at once a strange backwoodsman, whose infantile Catholicism stood in odd contrast to his eruptive monumental music.

Among all the symphonies by Bruckner, the fourth is the most popular one, probably due to its strong nature-like sound. Indeed, this work differs from its forerunner in the mood, which is dominated by horn sounds and bears resemblance to the sound world of Weber.

The short orchestral work “La selva incantata” by Hans Werner Henze, which will be the opening work, is also nature-like. This work, which was composed for the re-opening of the opera house in Frankfurt in 1991, brings music from Henzes early opera “König Hirsch” (King Deer) on the podium of the concert halls. His “Aria and Rondo for Orchestra” tells the childhood memories of the eponymous hero who grew up among forest animals, and shows his longing for going back into wilderness.

On the conductor’s rostrum will be Markus Stenz who has given many world and national premières, including Hans Werner Henze's “The Ocean Betrayed” (“Das Verratene Meer”) in Berlin, “Venus and Adonis” at the Bayerische Staatsoper and “L'Upupa and the Triumph of Filial Love” (“L’ Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe”) at the 2003 Salzburg Festival. He was also the musical director of Henze’s festival “Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte” in Montepulciano from 1989 – 1995.

Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester Hannover
Markus Stenz conductor

Hans Werner Henze: „La selva incantata“
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major „Romantic“

> more information about the concerts (in German)

Sabine KnodtJanuary 8, 2018