Doors open 13:00
Event start 14:00
Duration: about 1 hour
Seated
Chamber concert with the Oslo Philharmonics
Richard Strauss: Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings (1944–45)
Anton Webern: Langsamer satz (1905)
Richard Strauss (1864–1949) was a massive admirer of Edvard Munch. In 1917 he saw the painter’s work at first hand when he visited Kristiania to play two concerts at the University Aula. Terrible weather had put Strauss in a foul mood, but his spirits were lifted by Munch’s monumental paintings. When the concert was over he asked for all the lights to be switched on so that he could study them in detail. Next day Strauss met up with Munch and they were inseparable for the rest of his stay.
Strauss wrote Metamorphosen at the end of WWII. He never explained exactly what inspired the music, but it is often interpreted as a memorial to a German culture at the point of collapse. Tonight’s version for string septet was discovered in 1990 and arranged by Rudolf Leopold.
In spring 1905 the young Anton Webern (1883–1945) embarked on a four day hike in his Austrian homeland. In his diary he wrote: ‘Walking thus forever among flowers, with my love by my side, feeling totally at one with the universe… It was a wonderland!’ In June the same year he wrote Langsamer satz for string quartet, with this heavenly walk fresh in his memory.
Classic Sunday offers you an enchanting selection of classical music pieces from any and all historical periods, chosen and performed by musicians from the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
