Swan Lake

Ferdinand Hiller (1811-1885)
Overture to "Ein Traum in der Christnacht"

Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
"Swan Lake" Ballet Suite op. 20a

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
"Fantasia of Christmas Carols"

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
"Vom Himmel hoch" Cantata MWV A 10

MDR Radio Choir
MDR Symphony Orchestra
Kyrian Friedenberg - conductor

This evening sets the mood for the Christmas season, bringing together beloved melodies from Tchaikovsky's famous Swan Lake ballet with Mendelssohn's cantata Vom Himmel hoch. Ferdinand Hiller's wonderful overture to his opera Ein Traum in der Christnacht opens a festive soundscape enriched by popular Russian and German Christmas songs. These in turn lead naturally into Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carols - a masterpiece for the Christmas season that is rarely heard in this part of the world.