‘Bozarsunday NOB’

On Sunday morning we are regaled with a selection from the string section of the National Orchestra for an exclusive Richard Strauss programme. The works of the German late romantic that are being interpreted today date from the final period of his life, when he had nothing more to prove as a composer. Capriccio is an adaptation of the opera of the same name, the last he was able to complete before his death in 1949. Metamorphosen, written during the sad dénouement of the Second World War, was originally intended for 23 stringed instruments. The sombre and subdued work is named after the structure with its melodic lines which fit together and develop organically. The excerpt from Beethoven’s Third Symphony, more specifically the funeral march, is striking.