Mendelssohn Scottish & Beethoven Eight

Midsummer Dreams

directed by Rachael Beesley

MENDELSSOHN Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op.61 (1826)

BEETHOVEN Symphony No.8 in F major, Op.93 (1812)

MENDELSSOHN ‘Scottish’ Symphony No.3 in A minor, Op.56 (1829-42)

Mendelssohn was a brilliant young man who wore his musical influences on his sleeve: a trip to Scotland inspired his Third Symphony, which brilliantly evokes the dramatic landscapes and bloody history of that country. He was also inspired by Shakespeare, and you can hear the pitter-patter of fairy feet in his Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Beethoven was a more complex character, and his Eighth Symphony is a case in point. Light and bouncy on the surface, structurally it defies every convention of the symphony, presents you with surprises at every turn and confounds expectations.