Pieces by Humperdinck, Wagner, Moussa and Schumann

Engelbert Humperdinck: Overture to the opera *Königskinder*
Richard Wagner: Suite from *Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg*
Samy Moussa: *Elysium* (2023)
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 97, ‘Rhenish’

The concert season gets off to a lively start with the overture to Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera ‘Königskinder’; a work which, even in its overture, proves that it is unjustly always mentioned only second to *Hansel and Gretel*, and which effortlessly bridges the musical gap to Richard Wagner. Wagner’s ‘Meistersinger’ Suite is a superb highlight of the programme, showcasing every facet of the great Wagner opera, from exuberance to solemnity. In his composition ‘Elysium’, which premiered in 2021 at the ‘Sagrada Familia’ in Barcelona, Samy Moussa gives the ancient concept of paradise an intense musical form. Robert Schumann’s hopeful Third Symphony, composed in 1850 whilst he was still forming his first impressions of his new post in Düsseldorf, rounds off the evening with romantic energy.