Heroes and Heroines

 

Mozart                           Don Giovanni Overture

Chabrier                        Habanera

Mendelssohn                 Hebrides Overture

Clara Schumann            Piano Concerto

Beethoven                     Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”

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Mozart’s overture to Don Giovanni portrays the dastardly womaniser who finally gets his just deserts at the hands of the devil.  Chabrier’s Habanera reflects wonderfully his fascinating love affair with Spain and Spanish folklore whilst Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture was inspired by his visit to Fingal’s Cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa in the Inner Hebrides.

 

Clara Schumann (nee Wieck) – is a true heroine of 19th Century German romanticism. She began writing her brilliant Piano Concerto at the age of 14, completing it some 3 years later, when she was being courted by Robert Schumann, who she later went on to marry.

 

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’ was originally inspired by and composed for Napoleon, depicting his revolutionary campaigns across Europe but he scratched it out in disgust when Napoleon declared himself emperor.  The music, though, is full of adventure and derring-do and was definitely composed with heroism in mind.