Shortly after a tour of England, Felix Mendelssohn visited the Fingal's Cave in 1829 and was inspired by the echoes that were produced by it. With that inspiration, a famous piece was born that was named after the cave, Hebrides Overture (aka, Fingal's Cave). The opening phrase was first jotted down on a postcard and sent to his family along with a note to his sister, Fanny that said, "In order to make you understand how extraordinarily The Hebrides affected me, I send you the following, which came into my head there."
Hebrides Overture was completed December 16, 1830 and was originally entitled Die einsame Insel( The Lonely Island). Later, Mendelssohn revised the work and it was completed by 20 June 1832 with a new name, Die Hebriden, or The Hebrides. Fingal's Cave was another title that was also used. The piece premiered on May 14, 1832 in London and it was dedicated to the Crown Prince of Prussia, King Frederick William IV. William IV invited Mendelssohn to England shortly after the composer's twentieth birthday in 1829, thus helping with the conception of the work.
Even though it is labled an overture, Hebrides Overture was intended as a complete work itself. The work also accompanies the Sibelius composition program as a demo piece, used in a scene in the cartoon "Race For Your Life Charlie Brown" and the 'chase music' in the radio serial "Challenge of the Yukon".
Come and listen to the Coeur d'Alene Symphony Orchestra as they play this famous piece at their new venue, The Kroc Center in beautiful Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on October 12th at 7:30 pm and again on October 13th at 2:00 pm in a concert called Scotland Forever! They will also be performing Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 (the Scottish Symphony) and the Scottish Fantasy by Bruch (Featuring concertmaster Phillip Baldwin on violin).
Tickets are $20.00 for adults, $15.00 for seniors and $8.00 for students with ID.
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