Special Concert

Andrea Marcon · BRSO hip

“Historically informed performance” can sound unwieldy. This is why there is a catchier colloquial abbreviation: “HIP,” which denotes something that is “modern,” or even “trendy.” According to BRSO Chief Conductor Sir Simon Rattle, his beloved baroque music, played on period instruments, is “trending” (another colloquial verb), and he wants to add it to the orchestra’s repertory and profile. Andrea Marcon, at the invitation of Sir Simon, will conduct this season’s second HIP matinee. As a deliberate contrast to the first matinee that featured Bach cantatas, the second matinee will focus primarily on the Italian Baroque, including Vivaldi’s well-known Four Seasons. Francesco Maria Veracini’s compositions are likely to be new to some listeners – and perhaps they will even be HIP by the end of the concert.

SCHALLBRÜCKEN – with starry sky projection

Konzert für Alle #8

Concert tickets for the “Concerts for All” in 2025 are available in the webshop* or from the visitor service.The following ticket prices apply: €12 per person / reduced price for children and severely disabled persons €6. Reduced tickets are only valid in conjunction with appropriate proof.*) Disabled persons who are entitled to an accompanying person can submit their ticket request to the visitor service upon presentation of their disabled pass.The number of wheelchair spaces is limited. If you or a companion use a wheelchair or require assistance in any other way, please let us know in advance. Please contact hutzler@rsb-online.de or tickets@rsb-online.de.

Tango Fenesta

Themes of farewell, grief, and despair run through this semi-staged concert, leading to a transformation of hope and happiness. The Gürzenich Orchestra ensemble combines string quartet sounds with accordionist Marko Kassl, immersing mezzo-soprano Ursula Hesse von den Steinen's voice in new colors. The program spans a musical cosmos, from Renaissance music to avant-garde Salvatore Sciarrino, baroque opera arias, Billie Eilish, and Astor Piazolla's tango.

Duo Jazzical Class

It begins with the baroque Jean-Philippe Rameau and is far from over with George Gershwin's furious »I got rhythm«. »Jazzical Class« is Peter Fleckenstein, principal timpanist in the Gürzenich Orchestra, and clarinettist Žilvinas Brazauskas. As a duo, they have been cultivating the joyful clash of the most diverse genres since 2013. Connected by an entertaining moderation, their programme moves from classical music to tango to jazz, from »Little Green Cactus« to original compositions such as »Wartesaal« and back again with sophisticated arrangements and breakneck improvisations. The joy of playing and the humour with which they use their instruments is unmistakable: in addition to Bb clarinet, bass clarinet, vibraphone, xylophone, djembe and snare drum, they also use piano, voices and bodies. The audience can look forward to a rousing mix of classical, jazz and world music!

Moderated rehearsal with Ruth Reinhardt

In our moderated rehearsals, visitors get to know the most important genres of classical music: Symphony, solo concerto, symphonic poem. In conversation with the conductor, orchestra musician or soloist, you will learn exciting facts about the works and gain an in-depth insight into the orchestra’s rehearsal work. This is an offer for school classes from intermediate level and adults. Duration: approx. 90 minutes. Participation free of charge. The moderation will be in German.

Micro concert #11 at Humboldt Forum Berlin

Behind the partially reconstructed façade of the Berlin Palace, the Humboldt Forum opens up with collections from many cultures around the world. The musicians return to the historic location where the RSB has performed several times in the Palace of the Republic in the past. Inspired by the collections and exhibitions, they will play micro-concerts on the six museum Sundays from November 2024 to April 2025, each at 14:00. Entry is free. The programmes of the concerts will be announced on the websites of the RSB and the Humboldt Forum before the respective dates.

wounds

Two great Passion settings by Johann Sebastian Bach, the St. Matthew Passion and the St. John Passion, are considered to be among the cornerstones of western music. Another, following the Gospel of Mark, has remained lost to the day. How might it have sounded? Over the past decades, many experts have attempted to reconstruct the St. Mark Passion. While this initially may seem like the search for sunken Atlantis, the philosopher’s stone, or the Holy Grail, from the perspective of musical practice it is actually not so different from what Bach himself did on a regular basis: creative secondary use. Many of his chorales or arias can be spotted more than once in his catalogue of works – usually with a different text and sometimes in an entirely different context. This baroque practice is known as musical parody, and it works both ways: Ton Koopman, one of the world’s foremost Bach performers, decided to start over: In tireless research, he examined works by the great master, trying to find out whether they might serve as musical setting for the words of Mark’s Gospel. Johann Sebastian Bach’s Passions lead us to the core of Christian faith, and to the bleak abysses of all earthly life: desperation, betrayal, cruelty and the fear of death. And yet, underneath everything lies an unwavering trust in God. Ton Koopman’s reconstruction of the St. Mark Passion believably retraces the sufferings of Jesus, from the opening chorus »Geh, Jesu, geh zu deiner Pein« (Go, Jesus, go to Your suffering) all the way to the final chorale in which mourning and pain seem to have been overcome. Now, sung by renowned soloists and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir, the »rebuilt« St. Mark Passion is coming to Cologne, directed by its musical rebuilder, Ton Koopman.

Stabat Mater

Antonín Dvořák's Stabat Mater is a product of personal tragedies: the death of his two-day-old daughter Josefa in 1875, followed by two more children in 1877. Dvořák, a devout man, found solace in composing this piece. Despite his publisher's doubts about its appeal outside Catholic countries, the Stabat Mater, frequently conducted by Dvořák himself, achieved international success.

Chamber concert: Between East and West

Dear to the heart

Supporting the »wir helfen« (we help) campaign by the newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger is more than just a tradition upheld by the Gürzenich Orchestra – it is of heartfelt importance. This season, contributing to the initiative for underprivileged children and adolescents in the region, the orchestra will play a passionate concert full of deep emotions. Before giving birth to his second concerto for piano and orchestra, with its endless melodies and sweeping, intense drama, Sergei Rachmaninoff had to fight his way through a deep valley of depression and self-doubt. In the end, hypno-therapy is what helped the Russian composer dissolve his writer’s block. Against all expectations, the concerto was a great success: It offers everything ranging from chamber musical intimacy to symphonic opulence, and demands everything from the soloist, emotionally and technically. No problem for the 24-year-old Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev, a sensational shooting star who has won countless prizes and travels the world. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky described his last symphony, the »Pathétique,« as his best work, as being dear to his heart. He claimed to have put »all his soul« into it. The fact that he died just a few days after the premiere amplifies the impression of someone who condenses all facets of his artistic identity and symphonic oeuvre, and puts them to paper. Yet the musical approach he chooses is absolutely surprising. One would think he might bring his last symphony to a rejoicing and triumphant end, an emphatic summary of his own highly successful career. Instead, Tchaikovsky chooses a melancholy, introspective ending – not so much a real finale as a touching farewell with many open questions, a musical »good bye« which, still today, goes straight to the heart.

Im Klang: Pelleas and Melisande

Beisl Concerts

Großer Ozean der Musik

A wandel concert exploring the Pacific and bordering countries opens the Oceania exhibit at the Bremen Overseas Museum. Bremen Philharmonic chamber ensembles perform at stations throughout the exhibit, accompanied by scientists from the Alfred-Wegener-Institute who discuss interdisciplinary and intercultural projects. The concert benefits the Orchester des Wandels e.V.

“105 Friends” – Chamber concert

Fünf Freunde [Five Friends] is the title of the exhibition (which runs until August 17) dedicated to the works and artistic circle of Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Merce Cunningham, and John Cage. Examining cultural politics during the Cold War as well as the issue of what it meant to be a homosexual during this time opens up new perspectives on the historiography of post-war Modernism. As part of this collaboration, the musicians of the BRSO will be joined by more than 100 friends and will focus on the composer John Cage through chamber music concerts and panel discussions as well as “BRSO und du” programmes at Museum Brandhorst.

Chamber concert: Classic Vienna

Eugène Ysaÿe

Bamberger Symphoniker in Munich

After the BRSO was invited to perform in Bamberg last October, the Bamberg Symphony has now accepted our invitation to perform a concert. Chief Conductor Jakub Hrůša, a highly popular and regular guest conductor with the BRSO, will lead the Bamberg Symphony in an unusual program, about which he remarks: “I love surprises and breaking with conventions, as long as they are done in a subtle way.” The program includes Shostakovich’s rarely performed Eleventh Symphony that serves as a cautionary and thought-provoking response to the “eternal question of existence” already posed in Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question. In addition, the exceptional Korean violinist Bomsori Kim, winner of the 2013 ARD Music Competition, will appear for the first time in a BRSO concert series and perform Korngold’s Violin Concerto.

Cinema:Sound - James Newton Howard in Concert

Konzert für Alle #9

Saisonpräsentation

The Bremen Philharmonic's 201st concert season is here! The season presentation offers a preview of the 25/26 season's highlights with the full orchestra, led by General Music Director Marko Letonja. Enjoy entertaining moderation and a surprise guest. Ticket sales open the same day.

Jubilee concert 100 years Rundfunkchor Berlin

JAZZIK #3

“105 Friends” – Chamber concert

Fünf Freunde [Five Friends] is the title of the exhibition (which runs until August 17) dedicated to the works and artistic circle of Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Merce Cunningham, and John Cage. Examining cultural politics during the Cold War as well as the issue of what it meant to be a homosexual during this time opens up new perspectives on the historiography of post-war Modernism. As part of this collaboration, the musicians of the BRSO will be joined by more than 100 friends and will focus on the composer John Cage through chamber music concerts and panel discussions as well as “BRSO und du” programs at Museum Brandhorst.

Preview Prater Picnic

Prater Picnic of the Wiener Symphoniker

Plácido Domingo und die Bremer Philharmoniker – My Life for Music

World-renowned Spanish tenor and baritone Plácido Domingo will perform a special gala concert, "My Life for Music," on June 28, 2025, at the Seebühne Bremen. The concert celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Bremer Philharmoniker and will feature a retrospective of Domingo's career, accompanied by a soprano and the Bremer Philharmoniker. Domingo's career began in the 1960s, and he has performed in major opera houses worldwide, receiving numerous awards. He has also conducted at major opera houses and served as director of the Washington National Opera and Los Angeles Opera.

Bock auf Klassik?!

Heavenwards

Admission is free (without access card). Towards the end of his life, Giuseppe Verdi, likely the most significant Italian opera specialist, returns to his artistic roots: church music. His four sacred pieces (Quattro pezzi sacri) seem to be striving towards heaven like pillars in a Gothic cathedral. The Ave Maria, sung a cappella, the stirring and painful Stabat Mater, and last but not least, the Te Deum, a hymn of praise in a voluminous, ceremonious setting for double chorus, solo soprano and orchestra: All this is unmistakably Verdi, expert in theatrics and master of musical effects. 100 years before Verdi, another theatre magician turned the church into a big stage: Like many of his works, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Mass in C minor is luminous and magnificent, and at the same time enigmatic and deeply mysterious. To this day, it is not clear why Mozart set to work on this monumental profession of faith: Was he honouring the vow he had made when he married his beloved Constanze Weber in the same year he wrote the mass? Or was it simply the expression of his very own personal spirituality? And what’s more: Why did the composition remain unfinished, just like the Requiem nine years later? What makes the C minor Mass so touching to the day is the immediacy of the emotions and feelings that are conveyed. And when the soprano spins her seemingly endless melodies in the famous aria »Et incarnatus est«, it feels as though the music opens the gates to heaven. A classic Mozart moment.