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In the summer of 1826 Felix Mendelssohn stumbled upon a German translation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream made by August Wilhelm Schlegel. Spellbound, the 17-year-old composer wrote an orchestral overture for the play and, another 17 years later, augmented it with yet more scene-setting music – the most enchanting and characterful he would write. Gemma New joins the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scottish Symphony Orchestra for Mendelssohn’s musical retelling of Shakespeare’s story (see also Proms 24 & 68) – performed with readings from the play for dramatic context – after equally colourful musical storytelling from forgotten French late-Romantic composer Mel Bonis and the heavenly sounds of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

Broadcast live on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3

Broadcast on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Four and ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ iPlayer this season

Image: Gemma New © Roy Cox