THE CITY of BIRMINGHAM POLICE BAND, conducted by RICHARD WASSELL
WAGNER'S March (originally written for the Orchestra) was a tribute to King Ludwig of Bavaria, who was enthusiastic about the Composer's music, and helped him, in several very practical ways. to get his works on the stage. In 1864, the King and Wagner lived for a time together by Lake Starnberg , and Wagner's gratitude took this form.
THE Drama Egmont, to which Beethoven wrote music, is a treatment by Goethe of the story of the sixteenth-century struggle between the Netherlands and their Spanish oppressors. A statue of Count Egmont, hero of the Netherlands, who was beheaded by the Spaniards in the Grand Place of Brussels, now stands in the capital. Beethoven's music, particularly the Overture, .is full of intense heroic feeling.