Südtirol Filarmonica: The power of friendship | South Tyrol — Bavaria

About the Event

Under the title “The Power of Friendship”, the Südtirol Filarmonica celebrates the artistic friendship between Ludwig Thuille (1861‐1907) from Bolzano and Richard Strauss (1864‐1949) from Munich. The two composers met in Innsbruck in 1877. A lively exchange of letters testifies to a healthy competitive spirit in composing and great esteem for each other. Richard Strauss dedicated one of his most famous works, the tone poem “Don Juan”, to his friend Ludwig and also performed his music as a conductor in the great concert halls of Europe. The “Romantic Overture” by Ludwig Thuille comes from his opera “Theuerdank”, which premiered in Munich in 1897. Strauss' “Don Juan” was his first great success and is based on Nikolaus Lenau's verse drama of the same name.

Inspired by his Basque ancestry, Maurice Ravel (1875‐1937) used typical folkloric melodies and rhythms in his “Rapsodie espagnole”. “La valse” is an homage to the Viennese waltz and was premiered in Paris in 1920.