Philharmonia: Santtu & Benjamin Grosvenor in a Strauss Extravaganza

2nd June
De Montfort Hall, Granville Road, Leicester, LE1 7RU

Santtu-Matias Rouvali conductor
Benjamin Grosvenor piano

STRAUSS Don Juan

STRAUSS Rondo Burleske 

STRAUSS Symphonia Domestica

STRAUSS Waltzes from Der Rosenkavalier (first sequence)

The Philharmonia’s 80th birthday celebrations reach their grand finale – a reconstruction of a 1947 concert conducted by Richard Strauss himself.

Strauss was 83, and the Philharmonia just two years old, when he conducted the orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in a concert of his own works. Santtu, an acclaimed interpreter of Strauss’s music, now steps into his formidable shoes to recreate that extraordinary occasion.

Don Juan gets the concert off to a swashbuckling start. A gorgeous oboe solo paints a sensuous love scene, before heroic horns herald the libertine’s final duel.

Next, top British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor brings his understated brilliance to Strauss’s Burleske. Strauss wrote this delightful work when he was just 21 – perhaps a sense of nostalgia led him to programme it again in his final concert.

The autobiographical Symphonia Domestica is a portrayal of Strauss’s home life with his wife and young child. It’s full of fun and affection (and the occasional squabble), but anything but domestic in scale, calling for an orchestra of around 100 players. Its New York premiere was such a triumph that an entire floor of a Manhattan department store was cleared for two more performances, to a 6000-strong audience.

Bringing the Philharmonia’s season to a graceful close, a set of waltzes from the opera Der Rosenkavalier is the delectable dessert of this 80th birthday feast.

You may also be interested in:
Philharmonia 2025/2026 Season [https://www.demontforthall.co.uk/philharmonia-25-26/]


Performances

19:00 - Tuesday 2nd June

  • Standard: £22.5
  • Concession: £11

View on map

Contact

De Montfort Hall
Granville Road
Leicester
LE1 7RU
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