Opera Tickets Italy

Among the most sought-after British conductors of his generation, Alexander Soddy takes to the podium of Venice's Teatro Malibran for a concert featuring two of the undisputed greats of 19th and 20th-century music, Ludwig van Beethoven and Dmitri Shostakovich. Soddy, who is a regular guest conductor at orchestral venues and opera houses worldwide, leads the highly regarded, Venice-based La Fenice Orchestra in a programme consisting of two symphonic works, Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, followed by Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6 in B minor.

Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, as his sixth such orchestral work is often called, is one of the composer's best-loved and, for some, the very pinnacle of his career. It was first performed on 22 December 1808 at the Theater an der Wien, in Vienna, Austria, during a concert that also included the premiere of the composer's Fifth Symphony. Both works demonstrated exceptional skills, not only reflecting the classical traditions from which they were drawn but also hinting at something new, the nascent Romanticism that, at that time, Beethoven was developing. What marked the Sixth Symphony out from many of its predecessors was that the composer chose to arrange it in five movements, not the usual four. This innovation is somewhat tempered, however, since Beethoven declared that the final three movements should be played together without a pause. Each movement depicts a scene from rural life with a finale that has an unmistakably thankful tone and an optimistic air.

A rousing rendition of Shostakovich's three-movement Sixth Symphony follows. The great Russian composer said that he wanted to write a symphony that would, “express sentiments of springtime, joy and youth.” Consequently, it is the perfect fit for a concert programme that also includes Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. However, the uplifting tone of Shostakovich's work was not considered to be entirely appropriate in 1939 as war spread in Europe. The work received its premiere on 5 November 1939 in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) after World War II had broken out but before the Soviet Union, Shostakovich's homeland, was invaded. Beyond its historical context, the symphony is noteworthy for its opening movement, considerably longer than the other two, which opens with a long melody played in unison, generating a dark and sad, yet noble and sincere, feeling that eventually gives way to a memorable trumpet solo.

With such an acclaimed conductor who, for several years, served as the General Music Director at the Nationaltheater Mannheim, taking to the stage of the wonderful Teatro Malibran to conduct two such great symphonies, all music fans are set to be treated to some outstanding orchestral music in one of Venice's most atmospheric venues.