The Student and the Teacher
Beethoven was 21 years old when he went to Vienna to study with Haydn, then considered the greatest living composer. Haydn recognised the young musician’s talent and agreed to teach him composition and counterpoint. The training lasted about two years and was marked by influences, mutual respect and tensions. The teacher was enjoying great international success at the time, which greatly limited his availability. The student, for his part, was impatient and sought rapid progress. He is said to have remarked somewhat irreverently: ‘I had lessons with Haydn, but I never learned anything from him.’ Underlying this is the process of transition from classical formalism to heroic romanticism. The two works in this programme illustrate this well. On the one hand, the structural sobriety of the London Symphony. On the other, the psychological drama and tragic conflict of the Coriolan Overture.
War and Freedom
War and freedom are seemingly opposite concepts. But it is curious that they always go hand in hand. How many wars are declared with the aim of conquering, defending or imposing freedom? How often does freedom boast of coming from the struggle against oppression? In this programme, the wind instruments of the Escola Profissional da Metropolitana venture on a virtuous journey. They begin with the vigorous Command March, written during the Second World War when Samuel Barber was serving in the US Army. In between, they evoke the expectant vigil in a threatening situation in Robert W. Rumbelow’s Night. They end with a triumphant fanfare, Gerald Oswald’s inspiring hymn of hope, Call of Freedom.
O Aluno e o Professor / A Guerra e a Liberdade
Orquestra Clássica Metropolitana
The Student and the Teacher
L. v. Beethoven Coriolan Overture
J. Haydn Symphony No. 104, London
Orquestra de Sopros da Metropolitana
War and Freedom
S. Barber Command March
R. W. Rumbelow
Gerald Oswald Call to Freedom
João Malha conductor
