In the last decade of the nineteenth century, musical Romanticism was breathing its last, reaching heights of passion that would deliver some of the most moving music in history. Written two years apart, both Arnold Schoenberg and Oskar Fried’s responses to a well-known poem on love’s power to transform and transcend share a lusciousness and warmth that could only have come from 1890s Vienna. That was the time and place where Schoenberg met his hero, Johannes Brahms and soon decided to rework a Brahms quartet known for its spontaneity, ardour, ebullience and good fun.
Tenor Stuart Skelton makes a welcome return to the Â鶹Éç SO to perform Lehár’s Tone Poem for Tenor & Orchestra with Edward Gardner conducting the Orchestra for his high-cholesterol, heart-rending delve into Romanticism’s last stand.
