Mainz ⋅ After more than three years, the master concerts are returning to the Rheingoldhalle in Mainz.

"Very British" is the title of the festive opening concert on March 13th: it also pays a little respect to the chief conductor of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Francis.

Because the Briton, who has been responsible for the music since 2019, will be leading a concert in the Rheingoldhalle himself for the first time.

And he chose "one of the best symphonies of the 20th century" for it, even if William Walton's first symphony, which premiered in London in 1935, is little known in Germany.

Francis, who was born in 1976 and before his career as a conductor was a double bass player in the London Symphony Orchestra, has already conducted a number of concerts in the Electoral Palace in Mainz, the alternative venue for the master concerts during the renovation of the Rheingoldhalle, provided the pandemic situation permitted.

With Walton's classic four-movement symphony, he is now conducting a work that, in his opinion, is excellently suited to exploring the acoustic possibilities of the hall - with its instrumental richness of color, with its musical contrasting effects.

The symphony is based on a kind of inner program;

the first three sentences are characterized by melancholy, also by depression: "Walton has experienced the worst that can happen to you in a love relationship,

Opulent music

Francis can only speculate as to why British music from the first half of the 20th century, which is rich in great works, is relatively little known in Germany.

Perhaps it is the "different way of approaching music": "If you had asked a German orchestra a century ago about the most important living composer, the name Richard Strauss would have been mentioned most frequently, whereas in England the name Jean Sibelius would have been mentioned", whose music still widespread in the UK today.

"But when I conduct British music here, the audience in Germany is also really enthusiastic," says Francis.

And at least Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, which is also on the programme, has now achieved a certain popularity.

If the restrictions caused by the pandemic are hopefully a thing of the past in the coming season, Francis understandably wants to perform opulently scored music with the Staatsphilharmonie.

The performance of the orchestra did not decrease during the pandemic, on the contrary: "We always rehearsed and I was really able to work very closely with the musicians." The pandemic began when Francis had only been employed as chief conductor in Ludwigshafen for five months.

As a rule, however, one musical work was rehearsed every week, often in smaller, more concentrated ensembles.

This intensive form of musical work is now paying off immediately.

Nevertheless, he has great respect for the restraint that Germany exercised during the pandemic.

The Florida Orchestra

whose music director he has also been for seven years, was at times the orchestra with the most performances in front of an audience.

Now he hopes that the German audience will also be able to flock, "because lately I've clearly felt the audience's hunger for great music".

State Philharmonic Orchestra of Rhineland-Palatinate in the Rheingoldhalle Mainz on March 13th from 7.30 p.m.