Elective Affinities
Wednesday
09.04.2025
19:30 — Victoria Hall, Geneva
Thursday
10.04.2025
20:15 — Théâtre de Beaulieu, Lausanne
Great Patron
Great Patron
Programme
Pablo Heras-Casadoconductor
Alexei Volodinpiano
Richard Wagner
Parsifal, Prelude
Franz Liszt
Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 1 in E Flat Major, S. 124
Richard Wagner
Parsifal, Good Friday Spell
Intermission
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 107, 'Reformation'
Approximately 1h45 including a 20-minute intermission
The music
Some programmes tell a story. This evening’s programme, though seemingly coincidental given its fundamental anti-Semitism, draws connections between Wagner and Mendelssohn. Both composers used the same seven mystical chords of the Dresden Amen, employed in religious services in Saxony by both Protestants and Catholics. Mendelssohn skillfully weaves them into his Symphony of the 'Reformation' composed for the 300th anniversary of the Augsbourg Confession, while Wagner adopts them as a leitmotif in Parsifal, his last opera, starting from the marvelous Prelude. Liszt, a close friend of both composers, delighted virtuosos with his Piano Concert No. 1 since its début in 1855. Its impactful martial theme instantly resonates in our ears, and the introduction of the triangle, a novelty in orchestras at that time, does not go unnoticed!
This concert is recorded and broadcast live on 09.04.25 as part of the Plein jeu programme, produced by Mitsou Carré.
Most of the concerts recorded by RTS Espace 2 are available on the Play RTS application: rts.ch/play or rts.ch/culture or osr.ch/live