RO NOW: Bruch & Mendelssohn

RO NOW is here to brighten your weekend! Treat yourself to top musical pieces that will stimulate your ears, starting with a clarifying introduction by presentator Christiaan Kuyvenhoven which the orchestra illustrates with various examples to help you feel and experience the music more profoundly during the performance. The rough Scottish landscape left such an indelible impression on Bruch and Mendelssohn that they felt compelled to capture it in musical form. Can you hear how the clarinet and hobo imitate the bagpipes? 

Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy opens with a melancholy violin that makes you feel in your bones the homesick longing for open skies and wet grass. Violin virtuoso Paul Huang navigates the highlands with lush tones that grow increasingly lively and melodious. Huang is a close musical friend of the returning guest conductor, soon to be chief conductor, Jun Märkl. Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 is a similar ode to Scottish ardour: you can hear the clang of the warriors’ weapons and almost see the mud fly off the horses’ hooves. In places, folk melodies are recognisable, with playful rhythms and typical lyricism.