Ainhoa Arteta & OCM

Repertoire

Performers

Programme notes

Between May and September of 1948, the great Richard Strauss composed a group of four songs now known by everybody as the Last Four Songs, that talk about the death and the assumption of destiny from a serene and rested point of view. Unfortunately Strauss was around to hear his interpretation of the premiere in life since it was not presented until May 1950, in London by the Norwegian soprano Kristen Flagstad. Listening to the compositions sung by Basque soprano Ainhoa Arteta, who has known and worked with them for more than a decade, they are so sublime that it is difficult to achieve perfection in them, and they are a gift to the senses. The songs are subtitled: Spring · September · At bedtime · At sunset.

This cycle of markedly intimate songs leads us to a well-contrasted second half, Symphony No. 2 in D major by Robert Schumann, which gives the trumpets and percussion a prominent role. Its premiere took place on the 5th November 1846 in Leipzig, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn, a tireless accomplice and promoter of Schumann’s music.