Tempeste e ardenti nostalgie – Storm and Longing | Sol Gabetta I

Johannes Brahms was a great admirer of Franz Schubert’s music; he collected manuscripts by the Austrian composer and raved: “Just look at this Schubert! This is a guy who’s got what it takes to make your head spin.” Schubert’s overture to *The Magic Harp*, a “magical play in three acts,” paints a fairy-tale world in rich orchestral colors. Like a leitmotif—quite typical of Schubert—the theme of wandering and searching runs through this overture, characterized by an “eternal pulsation” and march-like rhythms. Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor found its way into concert halls around the world thanks to the unforgettable Jacqueline du Pré. Sol Gabetta, Artist in Residence at classicAscona 2026 and hailed as “fairy-like and so mysterious” (Die Welt), will explore new paths in her interpretation of Elgar’s Cello Concerto. When Elgar composed this work, World War I was in full swing—an event that found its way into the Cello Concerto in the form of deeply poignant melancholy. After more than 14 years of intensive engagement with his first symphonic work, Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 is regarded as a musical breakthrough—Brahms was finally able to free himself from the pressure of Beethoven’s “legacy.” The result is a stirring struggle from darkness into light.