Leader, J. Mouland Begbie
Conductor, Guy Warrack
Overture :
Coriolan Beethoven 's ' Coriolan ' is based not on Shakespeare's play, but on an entirely different play by a German contemporary dramatist named Heinrich Collin. From every point of view it is one of Beethoven's greatest orchestral works, particularly in its compact construction and beauty of orchestral colouring.
The music, however, has no definite programme, but Sir Donald Tovey points out, ' Wagner was right in describing Beethoven's overture as a musical counterpart to the turning-point in Shakespeare's Coriolanus, the scene in the Volscian camp before the gates of Rome '.
Haydn's La Chasse'
Many of Haydn's symphonies have descriptive titles but very few of these were given by the composer himself. The Symphony No. 73 in D is one of the exceptions and takes its name from the last movement, ' La Chasse'.
This finale was originally the prelude to the last act of an opera La Fedelta premiata which Haydn composed for the re-opening of Prince Esterhazy's private theatre, which had been destroyed by fire. In the opera Diana, Goddess of the Chase, brings about a happy ending to the various intrigues, and this inspired Haydn to bring in a hunting theme.
A year later Haydn composed the other movements of the symphony and performed the complete work before the Prince.