Royal Scottish National Orchestra

The concert starts in Austria, with Mozart at his finest in the overture to his 1786 opera The Marriage of Figaro.

We then skip across the border to Germany over 100 years later, with virtuoso horn player Felix Klieser, who was born without arms and plays the instrument with his toes, taking the spotlight in Richard Strauss's First Horn Concerto. Written when Strauss was just 18 years old, it is one of the most demanding solo works for the horn.

Then principal conductor Thomas Søndergård and the RSNO embark on one of the greatest adventures in 19th-century music: Bruckner’s colossal Eighth Symphony. It’s been compared to a cathedral in sound and a mighty mountain range. It takes you to the very darkest and very lightest of places, and was the last symphony he completed.

Recorded at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 21st February 2026

Presented by Ian Skelly

Mozart - Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Richard Strauss - Horn Concerto No1
Interval
Bruckner - Symphony No 8

Thomas Søndergård - conductor
Felix Klieser - horn
Royal Scottish National Orchestra