The Gift of Music
A sparkling programme including music from the Mendelssohn/Hensel siblings
“Violinist Fenella Humphreys responds to its elegiac reflection and technical display at top-flight level, offering emotional depth and weight of tone” Five Stars and Orchestral Choice – BBC Music Magazine
Felix Mendelssohn wrote Märchen von der schönen Melusine as a birthday gift to his sister, Fanny Hensel. Felix was the more well-known of the siblings during their lifetime, partly due to him discouraging Fanny from publishing her music, but now both are rightly remembered for their influence on 19th century Romantic music.
Hensel, who tragically died of a stroke at just 42, only completed one pure orchestral work, her catalogue instead consisting of predominantly piano and vocal pieces. Her 'Overture in C' sparkles and fizzes, leaving us wishing she’d written more for orchestral forces!
Fenella Humphreys, one of the UK’s most established and versatile violinists as a chamber musician, solo performer and recording artist, joins us for Beethoven’s celebrated Violin Concerto - marking the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
Pre-concert talk with Musicologist and award-winning classical music blogger Alex Burns starts at 7pm.
Performers
Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra, George Morton (conductor) and Fenella Humprheys (violin)
Programme
- Mendelssohn: Märchen von der schönen Melusine, Op.32
- Hensel: Overture in C major
- Mahler: Blumine
- Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op.61
