Baron Carpelan wrote to Sibelius in 1901 and said, "Mr. Sibelius, it is high time for you to travel. You will spend the late autumn and the winter in Italy… You remember what Italy meant for Tchaikovsky’s development and for Richard Strauss."
And indeed, Italy is where the first sketches of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 appear. Along with this delightful work, we will perform Tchaikovsky’s Cappriccio Italien, which the composer based on folk-tunes he heard wandering the streets of Rome.
And circling back to the other composer in the baron’s letter, we begin the program with Richard Strauss’ impishly playful Till Eulenspeigel’s Merry Pranks. It tells the puckish story of a medieval trickster and mischief-maker who gets his deserved comeuppance in the end.