Twilight

Strauss had not even graduated from secondary school when he composed the Serenade for Winds – the piece which paved his way into the great concert halls and, incidentally, laid the foundation for his relationship with Franz Wüllner, who would later become the Gürzenich’s kapellmeister. Strauss writes for wind instruments here with almost classical elegance, revealing his profound knowledge of Mozart’s serenades. The latter played virtuosically with contrasts in his last »Salzburg Symphony«, repeatedly shading the radiant pomp of C-major with streaks of twilight: pathos and parody are very close neighbours here. Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s most popular work forms a serious counterpoint between these carefree bookends. In the lyrical movements of his Concerto funebre, Renaud Capuçon will treat the listeners to the unique richness of his violin sound.