Andris Poga et Paul Lewis

“(K)ein Sommernachtstraum”, said Alfred Schnittke : “(Not) A Midsummer Night’s Dream…” The result of a commission from the Salzburg Festival where it was to feature alongside various Shakespearean scores, in the end this work took a different direction, steeped in the memory of Mozart and Schubert. Hence its title. But Shakespeare is very present in this programme, thanks to Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet. Many composers have seized this now legendary, mythical tale and this Overture-Fantasy is at the top of the list. Love and hate clash in a magnificent orchestral and emotional moment.

The discreet Paul Lewis prefers in-depth, substantive work to media compliments. The talent of this student of Alfred Brendel suffices for him to win a collection of awards and invitations from major concert venues, notably he was the first pianist to perform during a single season of the BBC Proms (2010) the complete cycle of Beethoven’s concertos. His Schumann concerto is eagerly awaited.

Andris Poga, a conductor who was raved over in November 2014 in a programme of Shostakovitch/Wagner was immediately re-invited. He will complete the evening with a delightful promenade through the orchestra imagined by Britten for “young persons” on a theme of Henry Purcell.