The Mahler Players are delighted to return to the concert platform for our first performances since 2019, and the first orchestral concerts in the Highlands since before the pandemic.
Matthew King Richard Wagner in Venice: A Symphony (World Premiere)
Wagner Siegfried Idyll
Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor K.550
Strathpeffer Pavilion
Saturday 25th September 8pm
Sunday 26th September 3pm
The concert on 25th September was reviewed by Mary-Ann Connolly in the Edinburgh Music Review and Margaret Chrystall for What’s On North.
These performances present Wagner not as the famous composer of operas but as a radical composer of symphonies, both real and imaginary. The Mahler Players present the world premiere of Richard Wagner in Venice: A Symphony, by Matthew King. Composed in 2021, this Symphony brings to life for the first time many of Wagner’s late sketches, left unfinished at the time of his death in 1883, and until now largely unknown and unheard outside specialist circles. Matthew King describes it as “a piece that plays with history, and tries to imagine something that never happened, drawing connections between tiny scraps of music which would otherwise remain forever separate and fragmentary”. Also in the concert is Wagner’s beautiful masterpiece for chamber orchestra, originally titled “Symphony” and written for his wife’s birthday on Christmas Day 1870, Siegfried Idyll. Completing this trilogy of symphonic works spanning over 230 years, is Mozart’s dramatic and powerful Symphony No. 40.
We will be honoured to be in the presence of the composer, Matthew King, who will give the audience an introduction to his symphony, including the playing of some of the original sketches as Wagner left them.
The concerts, on the 25th and 26th September, will both be in the magnificent surroundings of Strathpeffer Pavilion. The Mahler Players’ debut recording, featuring Richard Wagner in Venice: A Symphony and Siegfried Idyll, will be exclusively available for audiences at these concerts, ahead of its wider release on 22nd October 2021.
“…a moving 21st-century adventure into the late 19th century by Matthew King that raises intriguing questions about the nature of authenticity and the as ifs of music history.”
John Deathridge, Emeritus King Edward Professor of Music at King’s College London and author of Wagner Beyond Good and Evil
“I must have seen a complete Ring Cycle at least five times in my life and can honestly say that I have never been as excited by a performance as I was by yours last night.”
Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith, audience member
“Outstanding…Scotland’s best-kept musical secret” Michael Tumelty in the Herald Scotland
The Mahler Players will be operating with a reduced audience capacity for this performance to help you feel more comfortable.
In the event of cancellation of this concert, a refund will be offered.
These concerts are supported by the Hope Scott Trust and HRI-Munro Architecture. With thanks to Tony Shoults, The National Lottery Through Creative Scotland, The Hugh Fraser Foundation, The Wagner Society of Scotland, The Wagner Society and High Life Highland for their support towards the commission and recording.
