November 28th – 29th | Wolfram Christ conducting Strauss Metamorphosen at Teatro Filarmonico in Verona
The Autumn Symphony Series by Fondazione Arena di Verona opens with a concert dedicated to the expressive richness of string writing, under the direction of Wolfram Christ.
The program, performed by the Orchestra of the Fondazione Arena di Verona, explores three distinct 20th-century perspectives. At its heart lies Richard Strauss’s monumental Metamorphosen, the composer’s final masterpiece — an elegy for 23 solo strings written in the aftermath of World War II. Conceived as a meditation on destruction and renewal, the work subtly transforms until, in its closing moments, the theme from Beethoven’s Eroica funeral march emerges as a lament for a lost world.
Equally rare and captivating, Leoš Janáček’s Suite for Strings opens the concert. This youthful work, brimming with originality and emotional depth, foreshadows the composer’s later innovations that would come to define modern Czech music.
Completing the program is Aleksandr Glazunov’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Strings, a lyrical and virtuosic gem from 1934, performed by saxophonist Gaetano Di Bacco.
Program: - L. Janáček, Suite for Strings - R. Strauss, Metamorphosen
