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### Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben - Kensington Symphony Orchestra **Date:** Monday, 14 October 2024 **Time:** 7:30 PM **Venue:** St John’s Smith Square The Kensington Symphony Orchestra (KSO) is set to open its 2024/25 season with a captivating performance at St John’s Smith Square. Under the baton of conductor Russell Keable, the orchestra will present a rich and varied program featuring works by Richard Strauss, Samuel Barber, and Vítězslava Kaprálová. **Programme:** - **Barber:** Overture to The School for Scandal - **Kaprálová:** Suita Rustica - **Strauss:** Ein Heldenleben **Highlights:** - **Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben:** This tone poem, also known as "A Hero’s Life," was composed in 1898 and is designed to illustrate the ideal of great and manly heroism. The piece includes an effusive violin solo depicting Strauss's wife Pauline and features caricatures of his adversaries in the music press. The six-section work contains over 30 quotations from Strauss's earlier compositions, including "Also sprach Zarathustra," "Till Eulenspiegel," "Don Quixote," and "Death and Transfiguration." - **Samuel Barber’s Overture to The School for Scandal:** Composed in 1931, this was Barber’s first work for full orchestra. Written during a holiday in Italy, it reflects the spirit of Sheridan’s 18th-century comedy of manners with its energetic and fast-paced orchestral brilliance. - **Vítězslava Kaprálová’s Suita Rustica:** Written in 1938, this three-movement work is both lyrical and exuberant, bearing the influence of Stravinsky’s "Petrushka." Kaprálová, a student of Bohuslav Martinů, composed this piece two years before her untimely death at the age of 25. Join the Kensington Symphony Orchestra for an evening of exceptional music, showcasing the talents of one of the finest non-professional orchestras in the UK.

“Within Her Arms is music for my mother, with all my love”. Scored for 15 strings, Anna Clyne’s deeply felt meditation on loss opens the concert. BBC Young Musician String Final winner Jaren Ziegler performs Walton’s turbulent Viola Concerto. Premiered by Paul Hindemith alongside the composer himself, the Concerto was met with great enthusiasm which brought Walton to the forefront of British classical music. Following the interval, promising young conductor Stone Tung leads the Albion Orchestra through Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben. First performed in 1899, the work takes the listener through the journey of a hero’s life, who appears to be Strauss himself.

Revolutions aren’t always noisy – and as the world around them broke up in war and turmoil, Dora Pejačević and Karol Szymanowski let their imaginations soar, creating beauty that still thrills and ravishes today. The young Strauss pictures eternity, and Richard Wagner writes a wordless poem to the love of his life: music so intimate that it almost feels as if we shouldn’t be listening.

The high-flying American mezzo and British pianist borrow Mozart (or Sondheim’s) title for their programme of nocturnal music, including Jake Heggie’s 1998 cycle setting texts by the American Vachel Lindsay (1879-1952), whose verses were meant to be sung or chanted.

In the words of Salvatore Accardo, ‘Francesca is one of the most extraordinary talents I have encountered. She possesses a brilliant and infallible technique and a beautiful, warm and appealing tone. Her musicality is full of imagination and at the same time very faithful to the score’. The Italian-American violinist now enjoys a busy international career founded on – as a Gramophone critic once put it – ‘playing that combines tonal purity, verve, and an evident delight in the unexpected’.

### Event Description: Strauss, Berg & Brahms - LPO **Event Title:** Strauss, Berg & Brahms - LPO **Date and Time:** Wednesday, 15 January 2025, 7:30 PM **Location:** Royal Festival Hall, London **Ticket Price:** £7 - £70 **Event Overview:** Join the London Philharmonic Orchestra for an evening of profound musical exploration as they present works by Richard Strauss, Alban Berg, and Johannes Brahms. Under the baton of Principal Conductor Edward Gardner, and featuring the exceptional violinist Isabelle Faust, this concert promises to be a deeply moving experience. **Programme:** - **Richard Strauss:** Metamorphosen (26 minutes) - **Alban Berg:** Violin Concerto (28 minutes) - **Johannes Brahms:** Symphony No. 2 (40 minutes) **Performers:** - **Edward Gardner:** Conductor - **Isabelle Faust:** Violin **Event Highlights:** - **Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen:** A poignant reflection on the devastation of wartime Germany, this piece is both a lament and a testament to resilience. - **Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto:** Dedicated to the memory of a young girl, this concerto transforms personal grief into a universal expression of beauty and sorrow. - **Brahms’s Symphony No. 2:** Composed in the serene Austrian Alps, this symphony radiates warmth and joy, yet carries an undercurrent of introspection. **Special Offers:** - **Multi-Buy Series Discounts:** Save up to 30% on full-price tickets at the Southbank Centre, London, by booking multiple concerts. - **Group Discounts:** Book 10 or more seats to access discounted tickets for Southbank Centre concerts. **Related Event:** - **LPO Showcase: Foyle Future Firsts and the Royal Academy of Music** - **Date and Time:** Wednesday, 15 January 2025, 6:00 PM - **Description:** Join the current cohort of Future Firsts, students from the Royal Academy of Music, and members of the LPO for a vibrant performance conducted by Edward Gardner. **Booking Information:** - **Book Now:** [Link to purchase tickets] **Additional Information:** - **Insight and Commitment:** Edward Gardner and Isabelle Faust are renowned for their deep musical insight and commitment, ensuring every note resonates with emotion, whether tragic, troubled, or joyful. **Quotes:** - "Isabelle Faust is a fearless leader in the realms of the violin." - Süddeutsche Zeitung **Watch More:** - **Brahms, Symphony No. 2 I. Allegro non troppo** - **Timpani Moments Brahms 2: I. Allegro Non Troppo** **On the LPO Label:** - **Recording:** Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 **Stay Updated:** - **Sign up to our mailing list:** [Link to sign up] Experience the transformative power of live music with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Book your tickets now for an unforgettable evening.

In two nocturnal, billowing portraits, Ravel imagines distant lands: a longing that conjures them before our very eyes. And in a suite drawn from the opera Der Rosenkavalier, Richard Strauss invites us to dance among the colour and movement of Vienna’s bygone golden age.

Experience the grandeur of classical music with the London Symphony Orchestra's enchanting evening featuring the works of Strauss and Ravel. This captivating concert, under the baton of the renowned Gustavo Dudamel and featuring the acclaimed soprano Marina Rebeka, promises an unforgettable journey through stories of faraway lands, opulence, and scandal. **Event Details:** - **Date and Time:** Wednesday, 14 May 2025, 7:00 PM - **Venue:** Barbican, London - **Duration:** Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, including a 20-minute interval **Programme Highlights:** - Richard Strauss' "Don Juan" (17 mins) - Maurice Ravel's "Shéhérazade" (17 mins) - Maurice Ravel's "Rapsodie espagnole" (17 mins) - Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier Suite" (21 mins) **Performers:** - **Conductor:** Gustavo Dudamel - **Soprano:** Marina Rebeka - **Orchestra:** London Symphony Orchestra **Ticket Prices:** £70, £55, £39, £26, £18 (plus a £4 booking fee per online/phone transaction) **Special Offers:** - Wildcards available at £12/£16 (booking fee as above), guaranteeing entry with seat allocation on the day. - Multibuy Discounts: Save up to 40% - Discounts available for 18s-and-under, 14-25s, and full-time students - Groups of 10 or more save at least 20% - Free companion tickets for Barbican Access Members **Booking Information:** - Online: lso.co.uk or barbican.org.uk - Phone: +44 20 7870 2500 (Monday to Friday, 12:00 PM - 5:30 PM) - In-person: Barbican Centre (no booking fee) **Additional Information:** - Refunds and exchanges available (conditions apply) - All discounts are subject to availability and may not be combined Prepare to be whisked away to a world where music paints vivid tales of love, adventure, and elegance. Secure your tickets now for an evening with the London Symphony Orchestra that promises to be both mesmerizing and memorable.

‘You could never accuse violinist Maxim Vengerov of playing it safe’ wrote one critic – going on to praise ‘the sense of meaning and purpose… and, above all, that effortless charisma’. But perhaps it’s easiest to come and hear for yourself, as Vengerov summons the fire and ice of Sibelius’ windswept Violin Concerto. It’s music from an era of new beginnings and strong emotions – whether the swashbuckling, sensuous thrills of Richard Strauss’ Don Juan or the ear-popping colours of Stravinsky’s fairytale ballet The Firebird. When The Firebird premiered in Paris, four years before World War I, it was as if Stravinsky had waved a magic wand across the orchestra, and the tale of the enchanted Firebird, the demon Kaschei and the courageous Prince Ivan is one that Vasily Petrenko never tires of retelling.

The story of Salome has fascinated artists, writer and painters for centuries. Richard Strauss’s version of this anti-heroine comes from a drama by Oscar Wilde. Both play and opera scandalised society, and even today the opera has a visceral power with its combination of lust, religion and disturbingly gory ‘love-song’, and its sensuous, shocking music.