Gluck/ Mozart/ Mendelssohn

Gluck turned the operatic mores of his era on their head with “Orpheus and Eurydice” and his artistic ideal of a “noble simplicity” based on ancient Greek myths. In Gluck’s hands, Orpheus becomes a symbolic figure whose journey from the darkness of the Underworld into the light mirrors the spirit of the Enlightenment. “The Dance of the Blessed Spirits”—ethereal music featuring a prominent solo flute part which the composer added to the second, French, edition of the work in 1774—welcomes the hero to the Elysian Fields, where he spies his beloved Eurydice from afar. The segment has since been transcribed for various other instruments. Having influenced a number of hugely significant composers from Mozart to Wagner, “Orpheus” is considered a turning point in the history of opera.

Mozart finished writing the “Magic Flute” in the autumn of 1791, and the opera’s melodic inspiration carried over into the clarinet concerto which was destined to be the last work he completed before his death in December that same year. Commissioned by Anton Stadler, the work was written for the basset clarinet, an instrument whose additional bass notes expanded the expressive possibilities available to the composer. Indeed, Mozart treats its singular timbre like a human voice speaking in a personal, almost confessional, tone to create music of a translucent beauty.

Mendelssohn’s “Fourth Symphony” is the musical impression of the Italian journey the composer made in 1830 at the age of 21. The Mediterranean landscape and lively Italian music instilled in Mendelssohn the desire to write his “most joyous” work, as he wrote to his sister. The symphony’s classical structure, melodic inventiveness and easy flow have made it one of his most popular works.