Musikkollegium Freiburg - Saint-Saëns Danse macabre, Boieldieu Harp Concerto, Dvorák Symphony No. 8

Spring Concerts of the Musikkollegium Freiburg

- Camille Saint-Saëns: Danse macabre, op. 40

- François-Adrien Boieldieu: Concerto for Harp and Orchestra in C major, op. 82

- Antonín Dvorák: Symphony no. 8 in G major, op. 88

Known and unknown evergreens
The solo violin in the orchestral version of Danse macabre, op. 40 by Camille Saint-Saëns is sometimes accentuatedly dissonant, sometimes melancholically dance-like. The work, in which the solo violin embodies death, was originally written as a song with piano accompaniment and is the setting of the poem Egalité, Fraternité by Henri Cazalis. The composer expresses the words of the poem very precisely using musical means.
Adrian-François Boieldieu is far less well-known than Saint-Saëns these days, although his Concerto for Harp and Orchestra in C major, op. 82 is frequently performed. Inspired by the instrument maker Sébastien Érard, who later invented the harp with double pedal mechanism, the concerto is considered the pinnacle of classical harp concertos, whereby. Boieldieu abandoned classical formal conventions and wrote the last movement in C minor instead of C major, for example.
In his Symphony No. 8 in G major, op. 88, Antonín Dvorák also broke new ground away from the conventions of the time, which earned him criticism from Brahms and others. He partially breaks away from the sonata form and loosely combines melodies. The work has a cheerful character and describes, among other things, idyllic scenes of nature, for example with characteristic bird song motifs. It is one of Dvorák's most frequently performed symphonies and one of his most important symphonic creations.

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