An invitation to dance comes from Carl Maria von Weber, whose piece with the same title and the first-ever concert waltz in history, opens this program in an orchestration by Hector Berlioz.

The rarest of all occurrences in classical music — the anti-virtuosic Concerto — was composed by Robert Schumann for cello in 1850. Since Schumann despised applause during performances, the piece was written in one continuous movement. This enigmatic work, his only concerto for the instrument, will be performed by cellist Alban Gerhardt.

The second part of the concert is reserved for Strauss’s symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra. Sascha Goetzel will conduct this monumental composition with our orchestra for the first time.