The Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra will play Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides Overture,” “Symphony No. 3” and Schumann’s “Cello Concerto in A Minor” at the Shenzhen Concert Hall on Friday.

    “Hebrides Overture,” also known as “Fingal’s Cave,” was inspired by Mendelssohn’s visit to Fingal’s Cave on the island of Staffa, located in the Hebrides archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. As was common in the Romantic era, this is not an overture in the sense that it precedes a play or opera; it is a concert overture, a stand-alone musical selection, and has now become part of standard orchestral repertoire.

    The overture consists of two primary themes. The opening notes of the overture state the theme Mendelssohn wrote while visiting the cave and is played initially by the violas, cellos, and bassoons. This lyrical theme, suggestive of the power and stunning beauty of the cave, is intended to develop feelings of loneliness and solitude. The second theme, meanwhile, depicts movement at sea and “rolling waves.”

    Schumann’s “Cello Concerto in A Minor” utilizes both fully realized and fragmentary thematic material introduced in the first movement, material that is then quoted and developed throughout. Together with the concerto’s relatively short, linked movements, the concerto is extremely unified both in material and character, although the work’s emotional scope is very wide.

    Time: 8 p.m., Nov. 13

    Tickets: 50-280 yuan

    Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, intersection of Hongli Road and Yitian Road, Futian District (福田区红荔路和益田路交汇处深圳音乐厅)

    Metro: Longhua or Longgang Line, Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit D(SD News)