Radio 3 in Concert: Folklore, Fantasy and Forests

Jac van Steen conducts the Ulster Orchestra in the overture to Wagner's Tannhäuser, Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor and Dvo?ák's Symphony No 6 in D major. From the Ulster Hall in Belfast, the Ulster Orchestra are joined by their Principal Guest Conductor Jac van Steen in a programme linked together by love, fantasy and folklore, beginning with Wagner's Overture to Tannhäuser, the story of the German minstrel who is banished from the underground realm of Venus and forced to find redemption through love. The pianist Hannes Minnaar joins the orchestra in a performance of Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, originally based on a Phantasie the composer wrote for his then fiancé, Clara Wieck, he developed it into a symphonic concerto. The work is often seen as a reflection of the love story between the composer and Clara. To finish the programme, Dvo?ák's folk-inspired Symphony No 6 with it's Bohemian origins, dedicated to the Austrian-Hungarian conductor Hans Richter. The work has a pastoral feel to it but also incorporates a nationalistic Czech style- with the third movement employing a furiant, a popular dance. During the interval, presenter John Toal will be speaking with this evening's soloist, Hannes Minnaar. Wagner: Overture to Tannhäuser; Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor; Dvo?ák: Symphony No 6 in D Major. Jac van Steen (conductor), Hannes Minnaar (pianist), Ulster Orchestra