Our 51^st season opens with two audience favorites, the Variations on a Theme by Haydn by Johannes Brahms and the Sixth Symphony of Antonin Dvorak. Both are examples of the finest orchestral writing of the late 19^th century, helping assure both composers of their place in history. The Variations are not, as advertised, on a theme by Haydn, yet Brahms and his publisher probably knew this. As the theme was believed by the public to be by the venerated composer, the name stuck (and likely helped sell the piece to audiences!). Dvorak’s Symphony no. 6 is an example of a composer at the top of his creative game, blending Czech folk elements with traditional symphonic writing to produce a wholly unique sound. Orchestras and audiences love both works, but they will also be enchanted by our opening piece, an overture to a little-known opera by Dame Ethel Smyth, an English composer not well known in America. Smyth was a fascinating woman, the first female composer to receive a damehood (the equivalent of a male being knighted). She also worked for the suffrage movement, even spending time in prison for her activities. Her Overture to the Wreckers is a wonderful example of late Victorian-era music, with hints of Edward Elgar, Arthur Sullivan and others, woven into a wholly original composition. 

Program:

• Ethyl Smyth: Overture to The Wreckers
• Johannes Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn
• Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D Major, op. 60