b'the most avid movie buffs. Luckily the material from the concerto has been given renewed life beyond the mostly forgotten films it originally appeared in.Instrumentationtwo flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, one trombone, timpani, glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, cymbals, tubular bells, gong, bass drum, harp, celesta, strings, and solo violinDuration24 minutesFelix Mendelssohn(1809-1847) Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56 ScottishComposed between 1829 and 1842Mendelssohn was an avid lover of the British Isles. He was inspired to write two of his most important works, the Hebrides Overture (Fingals Cave) and Symphony No. 3, during a trip to Scotland in 1829. He wrote about his impressions of that trip: This evening in the deep twilight, we went to the palace where Queen Mary lived and loved; there is a small room with a winding staircase leading up to it.The adjacent chapel has lost its roof; grass and ivy grow thickly within; and on the broken altar Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland. Everything there is in ruins and ramshackle, open to the blue sky. I think I have today found the opening of my Scottish Symphony. The listener can certainly sense through the dark setting of the music this description of Holyrood Castle in the opening measures of the symphony. Mendelssohn did not fully complete the work until 1842. He attempted to work on it during a trip to Italy in 1830, but was constantly distracted by the Mediterranean climate. To that effect, he wrote home:The loveliest time of the year in Italy is the period from April 15 to May 15. Who then can blame me for not being able to return to princetonsymphony.org/ 15/ princetonfestival.org'