Bennett: Overtures & Symphony in G Minor

Featuring

Nicholas Braithwaite
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Philharmonia Orchestra
William Sterndale Bennett

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Composition History

The Symphony in G minor was inspired by the Rhine river, which suggested a theme Bennett described as "the waves of life."

Composer Biography

William Sterndale Bennett, the composer, was orphaned at age three and raised by his paternal grandparents in Cambridge.

Composition History

The finale of Bennett's Symphony in G minor was composed in a train on his return journey from Cambridge to London, just a week before its premiere.

Composer Biography

Bennett was invited to become conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus concerts in 1853, a prestigious position he had to decline due to commitments at home.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Composer Robert Schumann noted a "remarkable family resemblance" between Bennett's music and Mendelssohn's, praising its beauty of form, poetic depth, and ideal purity.

Composer Biography

Bennett was invited to Germany by Mendelssohn, a renowned composer, as a friend rather than a pupil after Mendelssohn heard him play his First Piano Concerto.