Day 34: Beethoven overtures (Fidelio and Leonore 2)

Day 34: Beethoven overtures (Fidelio and Leonore 2)

This is music from my childhood! As well as going to the NewTheatre in Cardiff to see D’Oyly Carte, we were also regulars at the WNO seasons, and I distinctly remember seeing Fidelio. This led me to investigate Beethoven’s other overtures, only to discover that he wrote 3 overtures for his opera Fidelio, each called Leonore (numbers 1, 2 and 3) (after the character in the opera called Leonore, who disguises herself as Fidelio), before settling on the Fidelio Overture.

The overture, Fidelio, is a fairly light work which introduces the opera, but seems not to contain any thematic relationship to the plot. Leonora 2, however, follows the course of the plot with the trumpet signalling the announcement of the sudden change towards a happy ending.

The Fidelio Overture was performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tamas Pal, while Leonore 2 was performed by the Dresden Phil, conducted by Herbert Kegel.

   

Day 33: Strauss, Waltzes and Polkas

Day 33: Strauss, Waltzes and Polkas

I remember as a small child watching a programme all about the Strauss family, and this selection of waltzes and polkas reminded me so much, that I had to go and look up the programme. It was apparently aired in 1972, and its cast included Jane Seymour and Tony Anholt!

Anyway, back to the music! My CD consisted of music by Johann Strauss Senior, the father of two of the other composers on the disc, Johann Strauss Junior, and Joseph Strauss. For me, renditions of music like the Blue Danube Waltz, the Radetzky March and Sport Polka, just bring to mind pictures of Viennese ballrooms, with ladies and gents all dolled up and looking elegant, dancing wildly to this fantastic music.

This was a New Year’s Day Concert from 1990, recorded live with Zubin Mehta conducting the Vienna Philharmonic.