Fairy-tale like

What could be a better reading for the Christmas season than a thick fairy tale book, perfect for settling into an armchair and enjoying the holidays in comfort? That is exactly the kind of fairy tale book we would like to open together with you. We begin on the Rhine with a fairy tale figure that has captivated many poets and writers; even the young Max Bruch, who came across the book, devoured it "like a wild animal its prey" and immediately set to work on composing an opera about "Loreley." The remarkably melodious overture was so appealing to Gustav Mahler that he included it in his repertoire, and we too will be enchanted by the seductive Loreley. Now we dare to take a look across the Rhine and open the French fairy tale book "Ma Mère l’Oye" ("Mother Goose"), which Maurice Ravel brought to the concert stage with his extraordinary sense of sound. Here we encounter familiar figures from Germany, such as Sleeping Beauty or the wandering Thumbelina, but we also hear the story of Beauty and the Beast – all enchanted by Ravel's fairy-tale instrumentation. One movement even takes us into the exotic miniature garden of the Chinese princess Laideronnette, where tiny fantasy creatures play music on walnut shells. Nuts are also a theme in the most popular Christmas film of all time, which for many fairy tale lovers is as essential to the holiday as the Christmas tree and the scent of candles; therefore, Karel Svoboda's immortal music for the Czech film classic "Three Nuts for Cinderella" must not be missing from our Christmas concert. After the intermission, we will then venture into the fairy tale forest with Hansel and Gretel – more precisely, into Engelbert Humperdinck's magnificent opera, where the sibling pair goes through difficult times. Fortunately, they have fourteen angels by their side, who bless them for the evening.