Concert Romantismes - Orchestre Pasdeloup

Cast Orchestre Pasdeloup Sora Elisabeth Lee, conducting Szymon Nehring, piano Programme Ambroise Thomas, Overture to Mignon Johannes Brahms, Piano Concerto No.

2 Richard Wagner, Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Camille Saint-Saëns, Danse bacchanale The nineteenth century in all its richness: the impressive Brahms Piano Concerto No.

2 under the fingers of the young Polish pianist Szymon Nehring, Wagner's imposing overture and two gems of the French repertoire. Brahms began work on his Piano Concerto No. 2 in May 1878 and completed the score in June 1881, during a summer stay near Vienna.

Shortly afterwards, he told his friend Emma Engelmann that he had “written a beautiful and grand piano concerto” which, “in its abundance”, also contains a scherzo.

Indeed, the work has four movements, an unusual feature for a concerto at the time but entirely legitimate for a work taking the form of “a grand symphony with obbligato piano”.

The majesty of Wagner's Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and two orchestral excerpts from the most famous operas of Thomas and Saint-Saëns offer a welcome counterpoint to this epic work.