Our 2025–2026 Season opens with three awe-inspiring Germanic masterpieces. Weber’s Der Freischütz, considered to be the first Romantic opera, opens the concert. Then, Paul Hindemith takes themes by Weber and transforms them into something bold and brilliant in his Symphonic Metamorphosis. The German symphony reaches its pinnacle in the hands of Johannes Brahms, who saw himself as Beethoven’s successor. This is a concert to delight music lovers of all kinds—and it certainly delights us!
Scott Speck, conductor
Saturday, October 11, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 2:30 pm
Saenger Theatre
This concert, including intermission, is approximately 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Please review the venue’s security policies including the use of clear bags/purses only by clicking here.
PROGRAM
Carl Maria von Weber: Overture to Der Freischütz
(1786-1826)
Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis Of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
(1895-1963)
INTERMISSION
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1, C minor, op. 86
(1873-1943)
Bring the kids for FREE on Sunday!
Through MSO’s Big Red Ticket program, sponsored by Alabama Power Foundation and the Figures Foundation, students in grades K-12 can attend any classical Sunday matinee FREE when accompanied by a paying adult. It’s a great cultural opportunity and an amazing concert experience! Seats are limited, so please purchase tickets by phone at (251)432-2010. Please no children under 5 and no babies in arms. Want to bring a student on a Saturday? Student tickets are just $10.
SPECK SPEAKS
Music Director Scott Speck discusses the concert
“When Paul Hindemith borrowed a few themes from Carl Maria von Weber for his Symphonic Metamorphosis, he didn’t just dress them up—he gave them a full personality transplant. What began as a proposal for a classically-inspired score turned into a Technicolor orchestral romp. The music was originally intended for a ballet, until choreographer Leonid Massine insisted on a strict adherence to Weber’s original. Hindemith, a man of many talents and exactly zero tolerance for nonsense, walked away and wrote the piece his own way.
The result is one of the most joyfully unbuttoned works of the 20th century. You can hear the bones of Weber’s music if you squint, but mostly it’s Hindemith cutting loose—transforming 19th-century dances into boisterous, rhythmically charged symphonic fireworks. It’s music with serious craft and zero self-seriousness, the sound of a composer letting the orchestra stretch its legs.
And for that reason, Symphonic Metamorphosis has always been a favorite of orchestra musicians everywhere. Year after year, this piece has risen to the top of the Mobile Symphony musicians’ wish list — requested literally dozens of times by our own players. This season, the wish comes true!”
– Scott Speck