Kenneth Grant, clarinet
Matthew McDonald, bassoon
Andreas Delfs, guest conductor
Kenneth Grant, clarinet The Robert J. Strasenburgh Chair
Matthew McDonald, bassoon The Ron and Donna Fielding Chair
WAGNER Sigfried Idyll
R. STRAUSS Duet-concertino for Bassoon and Clarinet
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op.55
Wagner’s most popular orchestral work, Siegfried Idyll, is also his most intimate piece. It is tranquil and introspective, a clear reflection of his life with wife, Cosima, and their son, Siegfried for whom the piece is named. RPO Principal Clarinet Kenneth Grant and Principal Bassoon Matthew McDonald join forces in Richard Strauss’s Duet-concertino. Inspired by a fairytale, the concertino was one of the composer’s final pieces. Closing the program is Beethoven’s powerful “Eroica” Symphony. The piece, which represents a turning point in musical history, springs to life from two brusque opening chords and has been described as “the greatest single step made by an individual in the history of the symphony”.