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Prom 36: Gemma New conducts Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Live at the 91Èȱ¬ Proms: 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Gemma New with clarinettist Anthony McGill in music by Mozart, Mel Bonis and Felix Mendelssohn.

Live at the 91Èȱ¬ Proms: 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Gemma New with clarinettist Anthony McGill in music by Mozart, Mel Bonis and Felix Mendelssohn.

Presented by Kate Molleson, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Mel Bonis: Salomé
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Concerto

c.8.05
INTERVAL: British pianist and composer David Owen Norris joins Kate Molleson to discuss Mendelssohn’s early encounter with Shakespeare’s prose and the ensuing creative journey which resulted in his incidental music to one of the bard’s best-known stories.

c.8.25
Felix Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream - incidental music

Anthony McGill (clarinet)
Moyo Akandé (actor)
Ewan Black (actor)
NYCOS Chamber Choir
91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Gemma New (conductor)

In the summer of 1826 Felix Mendelssohn stumbled upon a German translation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream made by August Wilhelm Schlegel. Spellbound, the 17-year-old composer wrote an orchestral overture for the play and, another 17 years later, augmented it with yet more scene-setting music – the most enchanting and characterful he would write. Gemma New joins the 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra for Mendelssohn’s musical retelling of Shakespeare’s story performed with extracts from the play for dramatic context – after equally colourful musical storytelling from forgotten French late-Romantic composer Mel Bonis and the heavenly sounds of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

2 hours, 29 minutes

Music Played

  • Mel Bonis

    Salome Op.100

    Orchestra: 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Gemma New.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Concerto In A Major K.622

    Performer: Anthony McGill. Orchestra: 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Gemma New.
  • Trad.

    Amazing Grace

    Performer: Anthony McGill. Music Arranger: Jasmine Barnes. Conductor: Gemma New.
  • Madeleine Dring

    Take, O Take Those Lips Away

    Music Arranger: Roderick Williams. Performer: Roderick Williams. Performer: Hallé. Conductor: Mark Elder.
  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Antigone, Op. 55 - No. 1, Strahl des Helios, schonstes Licht

    Performer: René Pape. Performer: Berlin Radio Choir. Conductor: Stefan Soltész.
  • Benjamin Britten

    A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 64, Act 2: Introduction

    Performer: City of London Sinfonia. Conductor: Richard Hickox.
  • John Dankworth

    Dunsinane Blues (After Macbeth)

    Lyricist: William Shakespeare. Performer: Cleo Laine.
  • Felix Mendelssohn

    A Midsummer Night's Dream - Incidental Music Op.61

    Performer: Moyo Akande. Performer: Ewan Black. Orchestra: 91Èȱ¬ Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Gemma New. Conductor: Victoria Newlyn. Choir: National Youth Choir of Scotland.
  • Fanny Mendelssohn

    String Quartet in E flat major

    Ensemble: Nash Ensemble.
    • Hyperion.
  • Michael Haydn

    Horn Concerto No. 2 in D Major, MH 53: I. Allegro moderato

    Performer: Přemysl Vojta. Conductor: Martin Petrák. Orchestra: Haydn Ensemble Prague.
    • Michael & Joseph Haydn: Horn Concertos.
    • Cavi-Music.
    • 1.
  • Michael Haydn

    Horn Concerto No. 2 in D Major, MH 53: III. Allegro vivace

    Performer: Přemysl Vojta. Conductor: Martin Petrák. Orchestra: Haydn Ensemble Prague.
    • Michael & Joseph Haydn: Horn Concertos.
    • Cavi-Music.
    • 3.

Broadcast

  • Fri 16 Aug 2024 19:30

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