On February 3rd, the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra will perform for the first time under the baton of Alfred Eschwé. In the program, the Maestro has selected three emblematic works created in Vienna - the Overture to Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro", Symphony No 3 by Beethoven, and Symphony No. 8 by Franz Schubert. It is well known that Mozart's opera was not received well at its premiere in 1786, and then, a few months later, in Prague it achieved a tremendous success. Beethoven's third symphony, known as Eroica, was created in 1803 and was initially dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte. A year later, when Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor, Beethoven furiously tore the first page of the score and wrote "Eroica". An interesting fact in the biographies of Beethoven and Schubert is that the last representative of the Vienna Classical School was a true idol for the young Franz, who remained in history as the first Viennese romantic composer. Beethoven died in 1827, and Schubert, just 31-years-old, passed awaythe next year. His two-part Symphony No. 8 is considered the first romantic symphony. It is not known whether it was created in the form that reached us or the composer wrote other parts lost by a friend to whom Schubert entrusted the score. The work sounds complete and is one of the most popular works for a symphony orchestra.

The choice of these works is certainly not accidental. A longtime conductor of Volksoper Wien and a permanent guest conductor of the Hamburg Opera, Maestro Eschwéhas worked with the greatest opera theaters and artists of our time. The recording of Donzetti’s L'elisir d'amore with the participation of Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón, as well as his participation in Count of Luxembourg by Lehár at Theater an der Wien. He conducted the Vienna Opera Ball in 2009 and 2010 and has conducted the Vienna Balls in Moscow since 2003.

English: Alexander Markov