Concert Overture "Faust"

Wagner's only bright but rarely performed symphonic work today, written not for the theatre but for the concert hall, is the Faust Overture, which originated in Paris in 1839. Initially, he had the idea of writing a programme symphony based on Wolfgang von Goethe's immortal creation, which had fascinated him in his youth (at the age of 16 he read Faust avidly, hiding the book under his schoolbooks). The composer wrote the first movement, sketched the second, but never finished the symphony. He transforms the musical material into a concert overture. Dissatisfied with the construction of the form, between 1843-44 he substantially revised it. The premiere took place on July 22^nd, 1844 in Dresden under his baton. Fifteen years later he edited the score again, now with the experience of the mature orchestral master, and this final final version was performed in Zurich on January 23^rd, 1855, again under his baton. The overture is an expressive tone painting of the restless Faust soul, eager to learn the secrets of the universe, to discover the meaning of life. After a slow introduction, two contrasting themes (presumably related to the images of Faust and Gretchen) develop in free sonata form and the work ends in an enlightening coda.