Sunday March 9th 3pm
Program: MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave) Overture KROMMER Double Clarinet Concerto, op 35 BEETHOVEN Symphony no 7 Conductor: Sarah-Grace Williams Soloists: Andrew Doyle and Alisha Coward Marrickville Town HallAcknowledgment Of Country
The Metropolitan Orchestra acknowledges the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the land.
We acknowledge this is a country in which the members and elders of the local Aboriginal communities have been custodians for many centuries, and on which these people have performed age-old ceremonies.
The Metropolitan Orchestra acknowledges and pays our respects to the Gadigal and Wangal peoples of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of this land, and we pay our respects to all Elders both past and present.
This concert is proudly supported by the Inner West Council.
| Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847) | The Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave) |
In 1829, Mendelssohn undertook a walking tour of Scotland with his close friend Karl Klingemann to gain inspiration and further develop his musical ideas. This walking tour developed into a small skiff ride to the Hebrides Islands off the west coast of Scotland, during which Mendelssohn suffered from dreadful seasickness. Klingemann humorously wrote that Mendelssohn ‘got along better with the sea as an artist than as a human being with a stomach’. It was during this trip that he heard the opening bars of the overture in his mind, and excitedly sent a sketch of these bars back to his sister.
The 19th Century saw the emergence of the ‘concert overture’, an overture composed for the concert hall as a stand-alone work. The Hebrides Overture is full of evocative imagery of the drama and grandeur of the Scottish landscape, with semiquavers flowing throughout the work, ebbing and flowing like the sea.
The only interruption to the turbulence is a calm, peaceful second theme present by the clarinet, which leads directly into a coda, concluded by the clarinet hauntingly re-stating the opening theme, and a solo flute ascending into the distance above light, pizzicato strings.
| Krommer, Franz (1759-1831) | Concerto for 2 Clarinets in Eb Major, Op. 35 |
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Rondo
Click on Soloists names below for more information
TMO Principal Clarinet Andrew Doyle
TMO Associate Principal Clarinet Alisha Coward
Composed in the typical three movement classical concerto style of ‘fast / slow / fast’, Franz Krommer’s Concerto for 2 Clarinets in Eb Major, Op. 35 embodies everything that is vibrant and fun for wind instruments of the period. Krommer’s skill and knowledge of the clarinet is evident in this work, exploring the full range with runs and leaps across the instrument’s range. The engaging Allegro is reminiscent of Mozart opera, with both solo clarinets weaving in and out of the melodies, sharing the lines evenly with no voice more important than the other. The Adagio remains in the upper clarino register, enabling smooth, sweet lines between the soloists with the orchestra almost an accompanying afterthought.
The sprightly Rondo calls on all of the soloists’ skills, with virtuosic scales and arpeggios rapidly traversing the clarinet’s entire range while the other clarinettist plays joyous, lilting melodies that float on top of the orchestra. Again, the soloists take turns and it is often impossible to tell who is the swan above water and who frantically paddling along underneath. A brief orchestral moment sets up the final rush to the finish, with soloists in octaves reaching the clarinet’s extremities in a dramatic race that everybody wins.
| Beethoven, Ludwig Van (1770-1827) | Symphony No. 7 |
I. Poco sostenuto – Vivace
II. Allegretto
III. Presto – Assai meno presto (trio)
IV. Allegro con brio
In the bright key of A major, Beethoven’s 7th Symphony is joyful, energetic and celebratory. It is driven by dance rhythms, and Beethoven modestly believed that it was “one of the happiest products of my poor talents”. The 7th Symphony was very well received at its premiere performance at a fundraising concert for soldiers wounded in the Napoleonic wars. The celebratory mood of the music was perfectly matched to the joy and relief the news of Napoleon’s impending defeat had already brought to the audience, and the concert was so successful it had to be repeated.
The long, expanded, typically classical introduction is marked poco sostenuto that features long scales and depicts spacious landscapes. The Vivace becomes a joyful song and the transition between tempi uses many, many repeated E’s. The Allegretto is the most famous movement from this symphony and during its premiere performance, so well was it received that a complete repeat of the movement was demanded. Beethoven then moves from A minor to the relative major key (F major) in the Presto. He changes compositional tradition by repeating the Trio section instead of the usual single playing. The final movement Allegro con brio is relentlessly energetic. With its speed, syncopation and extreme dynamics it is truly spectacular, and is a joy to performers and listeners alike.
© Andrew Doyle 2025
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