Part of the BBC Proms. Bicentenary composer Felix Mendelssohn was only 16 when he wrote his masterly Octet: sprinkled with the same fairy dust as his music for A Midsummer's Night Dream (Prom 72), the airy, scampering Scherzo is said to have been inspired by lines from Goethe, the great German poet whom he had met in Weimar at the age of 12 and whose Persian-inspired collection, West–Eastern Divan, gave tonight's orchestra its name. The 2009 recipient of the Moses Mendelssohn Medal - named after the composer's philosopher grandfather and awarded to campaigners for peace and tolerance - Daniel Barenboim conducts Berg's musical monument to friendship with an ensemble including his violinist son Michael and his pianist protégé Karim Said (a relative of the orchestra's co-founder, the late Edward Said). Approx finish time: 23:30. Live on BBC Radio 3.| 21 Aug 09 | Royal Albert Hall Inner London, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive |
