Die große Reihe – Staunen

Symphony concert of the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra in the Liederhalle

HAYDN | Introduction to the oratorio "The Creation"
HAYDN | Cello Concerto in C major
HOLST | The Planets

Maria Zaitseva, violoncello
Ladies of the figure humaine chamber choir
Directed by Denis Rouger
Stuttgart Philharmonic
Conductor: Michał Nesterowicz

THE WORLD DREAM

In June 1792, Joseph Haydn visited the observatory of Caroline and Wilhelm Herschel (the discoverer of the planet Uranus) in Slough, England, with the largest telescopes in the world at the time. Haydn's "Vorstellung des Chaos" (the introduction to the oratorio "Die Schöpfung", completed six years later) was not inspired by contemporary astronomy, however, but by the first words of the Bible. A contemporary wrote about it: "Almost all practicable instruments are gathered together here as substance and materials, out of which an immense, almost immeasurable fabric of glories of art has been composed and arranged."

Because this astonishing piece ends with C minor chords, Haydn's virtuoso Cello Concerto in C major, which he composed around 30 years earlier, follows on perfectly. The monumental orchestral suite "The Planets" (1916) by the British composer Gustav Holst is not about astronomy either. Holst was guided by astrology, which ascribes certain character traits to the planets, following the example of antiquity, which identified them with gods. Holst's music, which was very modern for its time, rich in sounds, original meters and harmonies, is still enthusiastically received today, and not only by concert audiences: parts of the "Planets" suite have been used as film music in several science fiction films. Hollywood composers such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer and others have been inspired by it to the point of quoting it, many rock music formations have arranged "The Planets" and several computer games have been set to Holst's music for the planet Mars in particular.