17th Closing Concert with the Festival Orchestra

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" in G major KV 252
Edward Elgar: Serenade for Strings in E minor op. 20
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Andante cantabile for Cello and Strings
Edvard Grieg: "From Holberg's Time" - Suite for String Orchestra op. 40

// Festival Orchestra of the Musikalischer Sommer
// Alexander Wollheim (cello)

At this festive closing concert, musicians brought together over decades of shared music-making form the Festival Orchestra - an ensemble that each year brings the East Frisian summer to a brilliant close with a varied and wide-ranging programme.

Elgar's Serenade for Strings in E minor wins over audiences with its lyrical warmth and intimate sound. Three short movements unfold a finely balanced mix of gentle melancholy and hopeful lightness. The heartfelt Larghetto is particularly moving, while the outer movements, with their elegant simplicity, create an almost chamber-music atmosphere.

Tchaikovsky's "Andante cantabile" follows as a highlight of romantic tenderness. The singing cello line, warm and broadly melodic, is carried with great sensitivity by the strings.

Greig's suite "From Holberg's Time" rounds off the evening - drawing on Baroque dance forms, it pairs stylish elegance with a Nordic freshness. The five movements are marked by clarity, rhythmic precision and lively expression, bringing the concert to a cheerful yet polished conclusion.