Recital

Bennewitz Quartet / Veronika Hagen

They have only just celebrated their 25th anniversary – and are still going, stronger than ever. The Bennewitz Quartet, made up of four gentlemen from the Czech Republic, has established a superb reputation in the quarter of a century it has been performing. Its members are regarded as the cultural ambassadors of their homeland, revered for their warm, homogeneous sound. Now they have invited Veronika Hagen, violist in the legendary Hagen Quartet, to expand their line-up into a quintet. Their concert promises a programme full of contrasts, fluctuating between idylls of nature, the innate lifeforce, and moments of farewell. Antonín Dvořák spent his first summer in the USA not amid the hustle and bustle of New York City, where he ran the conservatory, but surrounded by the tranquillity of Iowa. A Czech community had formed in the small town of Spitville and they invited the composer to stay with them. He must have heard not only the sounds of the »New World«, but also plenty of familiar Bohemian music. At its premiere the following winter, his quintet even transported New Yorkers to this rural summer idyll, and proved an instant success. »Our will for culture was just as great as our will to exist!« wrote the Polish-Austrian composer Viktor Ullmann, recounting his time in the Theresienstadt ghetto. His third string quartet was composed there: gripping music full of a desire to survive. Johannes Brahms, by contrast, wrote his string quintet as a farewell to composing and perhaps even to life itself. Though he would go on to compose other works, his quintet is full of gentle melancholy, a look back over Brahms’ legacy.

Amsterdam Sinfonietta

Led by Candida Thompson, Amsterdam Sinfonietta brings together 23 gifted chamber musicians, embodying ensemble-playing at the highest level. Nostalgia for Italy runs through this evening: „The sun shines in all its splendour… at last, I feel a magical change within me,“ Tchaikovsky wrote while visiting the Italian city of Florence. „Souvenir de Florence“ is a tribute to the city he adored, music brimming over with love and joy. The young pianist Bruce Liu, who won first prize at the Chopin Competition in 2021, makes his debut with Amsterdam Sinfonietta, performing works by Chopin – his second piano concerto and the virtuosic Polonaise brillante – both in versions for piano and string orchestra.

Alexander Yakovlev / Klavierabend

Alexander Yakovlev is a graduate of the Rostov State Conservatory, where he also completed postgraduate studies with Sergei Osipenko and studied composition with Leonid Klinichev. He then studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum with Alexei Lyubimov and in Berlin at the University of the Arts with Pascal Devoyon. The pianist’s international career grew rapidly after he won the 2006 Chopin Competition in Rome, where he was presented with a grand piano as well as the Grand Prix.

Burak Çebi / Klavierabend

Frédéric Chopin’s brilliant music has always captivated audiences and at the same time reveals his favourite instrument: the piano. Today, the great piano composer is a benchmark for every pianist and one of the most famous and successful personalities in music history. The young pianist Burak Çebi plays a diverse Chopin repertoire that includes his waltzes, nocturnes and mazurkas.

Grigory Sokolov / Piano Recital

»If there are any living piano gods at all, this man is definitely one of them.« Anyone who has ever heard a piano recital by Grigory Sokolov can only agree with RONDO magazine. Without show and glamour, solely through the power of his art, the exceptional pianist succeeds in turning each of his concerts into an extraordinary experience. You want to be there when he casts his spell with a precise touch, pointed rhythm and absolutely convincing interpretation. As a person, Sokolov is completely at the service of the composition. When he plays, everything suddenly becomes clear: this is how it has to sound. This is music in its purest form!

Janine Jansen / Denis Kozhukhin

The duo formed by Janine Jansen and Denis Kozhukhin in a programme juxtaposing Brahms—a composer particularly close to their hearts—with a selection of 20th-century French chamber music.

Łucja Madziar & Thomas Hoppe

Łucja Madziar, first concertmaster of the ORF Symphony Orchestra, and her piano partner Thomas Hoppe have formed a musical duo since 2022. The multi-award-winning violinist is a regular guest at music festivals (Beethovenfest Bonn, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Paderewski-Festival) and can look back on solo appearances, e.g. in the Grand Hall of the Vienna Konzerthaus. As a soloist, she has performed several times with the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lower Saxony State Orchestra Hanover, the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, the Neubrandenburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen. Thomas Hoppe is regarded as an outstanding piano partner and has performed as such with artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Antje Weithaas, Vilde Frang and Tabea Zimmermann. The Berlin pianist completed his training at the Juilliard School in New York City. As a member of the ATOS Trio, he performs worldwide and has won many prizes and awards.

Amaryllis Quartett / Sebastian Manz

The sounds of nature and the voices of birds have inspired many composers. The musical journey of this concert ranges from classical to impressionistic and romantic sounds. In the clarinet quintet, the Amaryllis Quartet and the solo clarinettist of the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Sebastian Manz, embark together on the already transcendent sounds of Brahms’ late work.

Sean Shibe, guitar

There is nothing boring about Sean Shibe. The Scottish guitarist had demonstrated early on in his career that he not only has extremely agile fingers, but also a keen sense of programme combinations. He makes old and brand-new music, electronic and acoustic, loud and soft come together. The supposed showpieces on the classical guitar are of little interest to him; he prefers searching for particular, even unknown pieces, makes his own arrangements or commissions new works. As a result, he had already attracted attention as a »Rising Star« at the Elbphilharmonie in January 2024 – he now returns with a new genre-busting programme. Centuries old, Scottish lute pieces encounter Spanish and Latin American guitar music of the 20th century here: while Alberto Ginastera only wrote the one, but all the more splendid, guitar sonata, Heitor Villa-Lobos played guitar himself and as a result dedicated several pieces to the instrument, which now rank among the favourites of many guitarists. After the interval, Sean Shibe switches to electric guitar and turns up his volume control slightly further again: besides music by the medieval composer Hildegard von Bingen, you can hear »Lad« by Julia Wolfe. Originally composed for entirely new (!) bagpipes, Sean Shibe has already created his own version for his album »softLOUD«, which brings early Scottish lute music full circle.

30 Jahre Belcea Quartet

The fantastic Belcea Quartet celebrates its 30th anniversary with a three-day stop in Hamburg during their world tour. Known for passion, precision, expressiveness, and emotionality, they promise three world-class concerts featuring diverse music, including Schönberg's First String Quartet and Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14. A 15% discount is offered for tickets to all three concerts.

30 Jahre Belcea Quartet

The internationally acclaimed Belcea Quartet celebrates its 30th anniversary with a trilogy of concerts featuring outstanding quartets. The second concert, "Belcea-Identity/History – 30th anniversary," includes Mozart's "Hoffmeister" String Quartet, Beethoven's Third "Rasumovsky" String Quartet, and Britten's Third String Quartet. A 15% discount is offered for tickets to all three concerts.

Philharmonic Chamber Music Recital

This chamber music concert demonstrates how often music finds words for the inexpressible: Hugo Wolf composed his »Italian Serenade« for strings as an homage to the light-heartedness of his youth. If the tone in this work is cheerful, his songs reveal a different facet of the composer. In them, he attempted to unmask the masking of people, full of impressive authenticity and deep emotion. A composer’s life that wavered repeatedly between heaven and the abyss.

Klavierabend mit Nikolai Medvedev

30 Jahre Belcea Quartet

The internationally acclaimed Belcea Quartet celebrates its 30th anniversary with a trilogy of concerts in Hamburg. For the third evening, they join forces with violist Tabea Zimmermann, expanding the quartet to a quintet. They will perform two quintets by Mozart in C minor and C major. A 15% discount is available when purchasing tickets for all three concerts.

Andrey Denisenko / Piano Recital

In this piano recital, pianist Andrey Denisenko explores the profound musical connections between three masters of classical music. Beethoven’s work not only had a formative influence on music history as a whole, but also inspired Franz Schubert and Franz Liszt in many different ways. Franz Schubert deeply admired Ludwig van Beethoven and endeavoured to get to know him personally throughout his life. Despite their geographical proximity – both lived in Vienna – they never met. Nevertheless, Beethoven’s music remained one of the most important sources of inspiration for Schubert’s own work. Franz Liszt, in turn, was one of the first pianists to present Beethoven’s piano sonatas in public concerts. With his pioneering interpretations, he made a significant contribution to the dissemination of Beethoven’s work and made it accessible to a wider audience. Liszt’s deep admiration for Beethoven also characterised his own compositional work and underlines the artistic connections between the two geniuses. Andrey Denisenko was a scholarship holder of the Flügel-Fundus Foundation for three years. This is his final concert.

Lang Lang

One of the most influential pianists of the 21st century plays music by Fauré, Schumann and Chopin.

Kateryna Titova / Klavierabend

»She is a revolutionary: technically brilliant, brushed against the grain; not a punk of classical music, but not quite a fine lady either. An artist who tells stories with her hands,« wrote MDR on the occasion of the release of Kateryna Titova’s debut CD with works by Rachmaninov. The young pianist, who comes from the Ukraine, has been awarded first or second prize at twenty international piano competitions.

Schumann Quartett / Anna Lucia Richter

Anna Lucia Richter mezzo-soprano

Lucienne Renaudin Vary & Tim Allhoff

Lucienne Renaudin Vary and Tim Allhoff are siblings in spirit, as they move between genres. »Jazz meets classical music« is not just a label for them, but a living reality. The French trumpeter enjoyed a classical education at the renowned Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, but improvising in a jazz quartet or at home with her two younger brothers has always played an equally important role. Pianist and composer Tim Allhoff studied jazz piano in Munich and regularly immerses himself in classical soundscapes as an arranger for renowned musicians from the classical music scene. In the ProArteX series, both give free rein to their joy of playing and experimenting. In addition to Bach and Françaix, the programme includes songs by Gershwin, Nat »King« Cole and the Beatles.

Songs and Poets: Evening sentiment

Classical art songs and modern poetry – lieder recital meets poetry reading in this series of events organised jointly with the Haus für Poesie Berlin. Each of the four evening events held in the foyer of the Deutsche Oper Berlin will feature a poet reading original works whose themes complement the songs on the programme.

Cuarteto Casals / Ana Vidovic

With the Cuarteto Casals, one of the world’s best string quartets is coming to Hamburg. And with the excellent guitarist Ana Vidovic, there is not only a great musician to enjoy, but also the rather rare combination of string quartet and guitar. The corresponding music promises Spanish-Italian fireworks and plenty of special features.

Teatime Classics

The NOVO Quartet from Denmark currently commutes between Vienna and Copenhagen to get the final touch to its training in its studies with string quartet greats. The musicians have already scooped up many prizes. As the final concert of this season’s Teatime Classics, they combine a classic with a rare piece: one of the famous »Rasumovsky« quartets by Beethoven encounters a quartet by Grazyna Bacewicz, whose fascinating music borrows from Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Bartók – highly recommended listening! The NOVO Quartet, formed in Copenhagen in 2018, is one of the most promising young ensembles in Denmark. The quartet, which currently resides in Vienna and Copenhagen, consist of violinists Kaya Kato Møller and Nikolai Vasili Nedergaard, violist Daniel Sledzinski and cellist Signe Ebstrup Bitsch. The quartet was recently awarded the First Prize and four special prizes at the 77th Geneva International Music Competition, amongst others. The NOVO Quartet is currently studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna as part of the ECMAster programme under Professor Johannes Meissl. The quartet receives further musical inspirations from Hatto Beyerle (Alban Berg Quartett), Valentin Erben (Alban Berg Quartett), Heime Müller (Artemis Quartet), Asbjørn Nørgård (Danish String Quartet) and Fredrik Sjölin (Danish String Quartet). The NOVO Quartet gives concerts throughout Denmark and has also performed in countries such as China, the USA, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Greenland.

Leon Gurvitch: Bachomania

Classical music meets the art of improvisation: in his solo piano programme »Bachomania«, internationally acclaimed pianist and composer Leon Gurvitch brings the music of Johann Sebastian Bach to life in a completely new and exciting way. To mark the 340th anniversary of the great master’s birth, Gurvitch not only celebrates his timeless works, but also invites the audience to experience Bach through the lens of modern interpretation. With respect and imagination, he adapts compositions that were not originally intended for piano – including excerpts from the famous cello suites and chorales such as »Jesus bleibet meine Freude«. These works are revitalised by Gurvitch’s own handwriting and enhanced by spontaneous improvisations that make each concert unique.

Anna Vinnitskaya: A Piano Showcase

Pianist Anna Vinnitskaya owes her world career to her talent, skill, and love for music. Her teacher advised her to "play as you are." Now a professor, she happily shares her knowledge with the next generation. Vinnitskaya is offering her promising Hamburg piano students the opportunity to perform for the public in Essen.

Klavierabend

Geister Duo / Piano Recital

The turning point from the 19th to the 20th century is one of the most exciting moments in the history of music – especially in France, where late-Romantic offshoots combined with the new sounds of impressionism and expressionism into a scintillating mix. At the end of the »Pianomania« series, where in this season everything revolves around the theme of »Transcriptions«, Geister Duo, consisting of the two pianists David Salmon and Manuel Vieillard, takes us along on a journey into precisely this period and demonstrates that large orchestral works can also display their appeal on 176 keys. The two of them got to know each other while studying in Paris and have formed a steadfast duo ever since. In 2021, they scooped up big at the ARD International Music Competition and, besides winning First Prize, they also won five special prizes. Alongside Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, one of the most important protagonists in turn-of-the-century France was also the Russian Igor Stravinsky, whose ground-breaking ballet music – including the infamous scandalous ballet »The Rite of Spring« – premiered in Paris. Geister Duo now opens its concert in Hamburg with a four-handed version of Stravinsky’s ballet »Petrushka«, in which three puppets of a charlatan come alive at a fair in Saint Petersburg. It proceeds no less figuratively on two pianos after the interval – with Paul Dukas’ setting of Goethe’s »The Sorcerer’s Apprentice« to music. This primarily became world famous thanks to Walt Disney’s film »Fantasia« with Mickey Mouse as the clumsy sorcerer’s pupil. The programme is rounded off with a selection from Debussy’s atmospherically dense »Trois Nocturnes« and the orchestral hit »Boléro«, which Ravel arranged for two pianos.

Seong-Jin Cho: A Ravel-athon

A sold-out hall greeted Seong-Jin Cho’s Barbican debut in 2023. His much-anticipated return navigates a scintillating all-Ravel programme, saluting the composer in his 150th anniversary year.

Mahan Esfahani

Splicing classic Baroque works with a reminder that the harpsichord is no mere museum piece, Mahan Esfahani has opened up inspiring new territories.

Mahan Esfahani

Splicing classic Baroque works with a reminder that the harpsichord is no mere museum piece, Mahan Esfahani has opened up inspiring new territories.