Eva and Grubinger ­

Dubbed “a wizard of percussion” by a Viennese critic, Austrian virtuoso Martin Grubinger has been at the forefront of the profession for two decades. He appears regularly with leading orchestras worldwide, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic, and his recordings with Deutsche Grammophon have been best-sellers. Grubinger has commissioned numerous works from leading contemporary composers. On this programme he premieres Daníel Bjarnason's new Percussion Concerto.

In 1782, Mozart was asked to compose a work on the occasion of Sigmund Haffner's elevation to the nobility. He was already very busy conducting his opera The Abduction from the Seraglio, writing new music, and preparing to get married. But he accepted the request and wrote a six-movement serenade. Some time later, when he was conducting a performance of his own works, he needed a symphony to complete the programme. He decided to cut two movements from the Haffner Serenade and expand the orchestra, and his Symphony no. 35, known as the Haffner Symphony, was born. Although he was forced by circumstance to work extremely fast, his gifts did not fail him, and the work was a smash hit. The Austrian emperor was in the audience for the premiere, and his response was noticeably enthusiastic.

Ravel's ballet Daphnis and Chloe, premiered in 1912, was commissioned by the famous impresario Sergei Diaghilev of the Ballet Russe. The music, which Ravel referred to as a “choreographic symphony in three parts”, runs to about an hour in performance and is his longest work. Few composers have equalled Ravel in drawing out the vast array of colours from the symphony orchestra, and in the rich, refined tonal fabric of Daphnis and Chloe he gives life to lascivious nymphs and maniacal pirates alike. To facilitate performances, Ravel created two shorter orchestral suites that are played far more often in concert than the full ballet. This programme features the second suite.