Daniel Hope

The end of the 19th century saw the emergence in Europe of a cultural movement that existed until the outbreak of the First World War and was dominated by a widespread apocalyptic mood. Many people felt it in their bones that the end of an entire era was nigh: in their minds, they were still living in the old pre-industrial times, while in reality the cities were growing and growing, and living conditions were changing radically. Intellectuals and artists wanted to shake off the shackles of the bourgeois lifestyle and try out new ways of life. And this was a time of upheaval in music, too. Composers like Edward Elgar, Jules Massenet and Ernest Chausson wrote expansive and melancholy pieces that didn’t follow any rules whatsoever, while in his »Suite in the Old Style« Christian Sinding longed to return to the past. Daniel Hope, who is musical director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, is joined by the orchestra to devote this evening’s concert to the music of the »fin de siècle«.