Bregenz Festival – Symphony Orchestra Vorarlberg, Leo McFall

Leo McFall
Vorarlberg Symphony Orchestra
With works by both well-known and newly discoverable composers, Leo McFall, the British chief conductor of the Vorarlberg Symphony Orchestra, opens a window to the rich musical tradition of Great Britain from the late 19th to the 20th century. Ethel Smyth and Elizabeth Maconchy are two little-known Anglo-Saxon composers. While Smyth, who was also a women's rights activist, made her mark in the major music scene with her opera *The Wreckers* around 1900, Maconchy remained largely unnoticed. Her rarely performed *Nocturne* for orchestra is a dense, poetic sound study. On the other hand, Benjamin Britten is firmly anchored in the British music canon. His expressive vocal cycle *Les Illuminations*, based on texts by the symbolist Arthur Rimbaud, brings French linguistic artistry and British musical sensitivity into an impressive dialogue. The young soprano Emma Kajander lends her voice to this work, bringing its dazzling variety of colors to life. Edward Elgar's classic *Enigma Variations* is one of the most popular works in British orchestral literature and is a multifaceted self-portrait of Elgar, full of emotion, irony, and depth.
Program
Ethel Smyth
*The Wreckers* (Overture)
Benjamin Britten
*Les Illuminations*, op. 18
Elizabeth Maconchy
*Nocturne* for orchestra
Edward Elgar
*Enigma Variations*, op. 36
Conductor
Leo McFall
Date: August 23, 2026 – 11:00 AM
Great Hall