Fidelio has survived in three versions, and the same thing applies to its overture. What we know as the Fidelio Overture today is the final version composed in 1814, which also enjoys great popularity as a stand-alone work in concert performances. Beethoven's work will be followed by a composition by Britain's Edward Elgar, the Cello Concerto in E minor. Composed in 1919, immediately after World War I, the work was the last major work to be written by the composer, who was devastated by the war and the loss of his wife. (Elgar abandoned composing for the last 15 years of his life.) The final work to be played at the concert, Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2, is the sort of work that has undergone numerous changes since its genesis: even though these days it is customary to also perform the four-movement piece in its full entirety, sometimes the “more compact” abridged version, which leaves out the repetitions in the first movement, is played instead.

Presented by: Pannon Philharmonic