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Love and Loss

10 December, 2020

Explore two sides of the same coin with works by Wagner and Richard Strauss, conducted by Simone Young.

Series: Digital Concerts
Premieres: 10 December 2020, 7:30pm AEDT
On Demand from: 10 December 2020

Originally intended just for his wife and children, Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll is a generous and joyful piece – a private celebration of all the good things in his life.

Composed in the final weeks of WWII, after Germany had been all-but defeated, Richard Strauss’ heart piercing Metamorphosen instead looks to what his homeland had lost. Just a few days after finishing the piece, Strauss wrote in his diary: "The most terrible period of human history is at an end, the twelve-year reign of bestiality, ignorance and anti-culture under the greatest criminals, during which Germany's 2,000 years of cultural evolution met its doom."

The music alternates between sections in the major key, indicating optimism and hope, with passages in a minor key that are tinged with sadness. The work stands as powerful proof that music – and life – will always find a way through the most adverse times.

Simone Young is a celebrated interpreter of Wagner & Strauss and brings her unique insight to these powerful and intimate pieces.

Program

WAGNER Siegfried Idyll
R. STRAUSS Metamorphosen

Artists

SIMONE YOUNG conductor