Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra

Soloists: Lucienne Renaudin Vary, trumpet and Mojca Bitenc Križaj, soprano
Narrator: Aleš Valič

Programme:
Felix Mendelssohn Bartoldy, Hebrides, Overture, Op. 26 
Joseph Haydn, Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major, Hob. VIIe/1
*
Ludwig van Beethoven, Incidental Music to Goethe's “Egmont”, Op. 84*

* An abridged version of the tragedy Egmont for oratorio performance by Tilmann Böttcher and Matthias Brandt, based on the original text by J. W. von Goethe

Blending tradition, intellectual acuity, and a contemporary artistic outlook, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra makes its Ljubljana debut. Founded in 1945, the orchestra boasts a distinguished recording legacy and an award-winning educational programme that sets high standards for future generations. Now embarking on its seventh season under the leadership of one of today’s most prominent musical personalities – conductor, violinist, and chamber musician Thomas Zehetmair – the ensemble continues to cultivate a distinctive artistic profile.

The programme presents two highlights. The first celebrates the nobility and refinement of Classicism through the artistry of Lucienne Renaudin Vary – recipient of the prestigious title “Opus Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year 2025” and a virtuoso of exceptional musicality. Marking the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death, the incidental music to Goethe’s Egmont will, according to our research, be performed in Slovenian for the first time in oratorio form. Original excerpts woven into the thoughtfully conceived dramaturgy allow audiences to follow the drama’s progression with clarity, while simultaneously creating a sensory connection between the work’s ten musical movements. The guest orchestra will be joined by two outstanding Slovenian artists – soprano Mojca Bitenc Križaj and actor Aleš Valič.

Goethe's and Beethoven's Egmont
In the mid-sixteenth century, the historical Lamoral, Count of Egmont was a general and one of the most influential statesmen in the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands. Though a loyal subject of Philip II of Spain and a devout Catholic who persecuted Protestant iconoclasts, he nevertheless opposed the introduction of the Inquisition and the persecution of Dutch Protestants. Seeking to make an example of him before his rebellious Dutch subjects, the king accused Egmont of high treason and, following a dubious trial led by his envoy, the Duke of Alba, had him sentenced to death by beheading. Egmont’s execution became one of the catalysts for the so-called Eighty Years' War, which ultimately led to Dutch independence from Spanish rule.

Some two hundred years later, the life story of Egmont inspired Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, by then already an established poet and playwright. Goethe was particularly struck by Egmont’s historically attested decision not to flee from the advancing army of the Duke of Alba despite the pleas and warnings of his friends, but instead to place unwavering faith in the king’s justice and advocate a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Though such a stance may appear politically naïve, Goethe – perhaps influenced by the emerging concept of the nation state – recognised in Egmont the heroism of a noble man willing to sacrifice himself for the freedom of his people.
Goethe also incorporated another dimension of freedom into the play: personal liberty that disregards social conventions and permits a romantic relationship between a nobleman and a commoner. The fictional character of Clärchen – Egmont’s great love – initially embodies this ideal of freedom. Yet in Egmont’s dream visions, as he confronts his imminent death in the final act, she comes to represent a universal symbol of liberty.

Goethe wrote his “tragedy in five acts” intermittently over a period of twelve years; it was published in 1788 and first staged the following year. He had already envisaged the musical accompaniment himself, as evidenced both by the stage directions in certain parts of the play and by the instructions contained in a letter to a composer friend, whom he had asked to write music for a production of Egmont. The music has not survived, nor is there any evidence that it was ever performed.

A good twenty years later, Ludwig van Beethoven received an invitation from the Burgtheater in Vienna to compose original music for a production of Goethe’s play. The composer gladly accepted the commission, as Goethe’s ideas aligned closely with his own political views, which had become more radical after 1804, when Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor of France, to the bitter disappointment of many – Beethoven among them – who had regarded him as the embodiment of democratic ideals.
The production, featuring a full symphony orchestra, received its premiere in June 1810.

In the Slovenian language, Egmont has received two major stagings, both at the Drama National Theatre in Ljubljana, in 1896 and 1950. The latter production, directed by Branko Gavella, incorporated live music performed by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Jakov Cipci. Gavella’s rendition was something of an exception, however, as the tendency among drama theatres to stage Goethe’s text in its entirety, accompanied by Beethoven’s music, was already in marked decline. Consequently, the music gradually took on a life of its own; in an effort to preserve its connection to Goethe’s play, a number of linking texts were created to bridge the individual movements and dramatic passages. Performances of Beethoven’s Egmont music in this form came to be described as “oratorio-style”.

The performance at Cankarjev dom uses a narrative text created in 2019 to mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth in 2020 for the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn by the orchestra’s dramaturg, Tilmann Böttcher, and the renowned actor Matthias Brandt, who also narrated the text. Unlike other versions, theirs consists exclusively of excerpts from Goethe’s play, abridged and dramaturgically adapted to engage even audiences not fully conversant with the details of Goethe’s story.

Mojca Kranjc