Program:
Richard Strauss: Songs for Voice and Orchestra
"Dedication" Op. 10/1, "Lullaby" Op. 41/1, "To My Child" Op. 37/3, "Tomorrow!" Op. 27/4
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D major “Titan”
Hamburg State Youth Orchestra
Johannes Witt, conductor
Ann-Beth Solvang, mezzo-soprano
The Hamburg State Youth Orchestra, as the select orchestra of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, has been an integral part of the young musicians' scene for over 55 years. Around 90 musicians aged 14-25 dedicate their spring concerts, conducted by Johannes Witt, to the great composers of the late Romantic period.
Richard Strauss's songs "Zueignung" (Dedication), "Wiegenlied" (Lullaby), "Meinem Kinde" (To My Child), and "Morgen!" (Tomorrow!) impressively demonstrate the diversity of his early and middle-period song output. They originate from four different song cycles, but all the works share an intimacy and emotionality expressed in lyrical phrases and passionate urgency. Strauss wrote several songs specifically for his wife, the singer Pauline Strauss-de Ahna—he gave her the song collection including "Morgen!" as a wedding gift. The composer recalled that his wife performed this particular song "with an expression and poetry such as I have never heard since." "Meinem Kinde," on the other hand, was composed after the birth of Strauss's only son. Originally written for voice and piano, all the songs were later richly orchestrated by Strauss.
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in D major, often called "Titan," marks his impressive entry into the symphonic genre. Composed between 1884 and 1888, this large-scale work combines late-Romantic expressiveness with—for Mahler's time—innovative sonic ideas. The composer unfolds a vast musical landscape: from the mysteriously ethereal opening, through folk-like motifs, to dramatic outbursts. The third movement is particularly characteristic, surprising the listener with a darkly distorted version of "Frère Jacques." In the final movement, the symphony culminates in a festive apotheosis. With this work, Mahler laid the foundation for his lifelong endeavor to shape the symphony as a vision of the world.
The patron of the Hamburg State Youth Orchestra (LJO Hamburg) is the First Mayor, Dr. Peter Tschentscher. The ensemble is supported by the State Music Council of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and funded by the Ministry of Culture and Media.
