Symphony Concert

Stravinsky Firebird

With a large orchestra, one can tell whole stories. And one of the greatest musical storytellers was undoubtedly Igor Stravinsky. The sounds and rhythms he conjured up caused scandals more than 100 years ago, but today they inspire us to create grand images like in the cinema. This is also the case with the tale of the "Firebird" with all its sophisticated colors and instruments: eerie and dark sounds for the immortal sorcerer Kastchei, bright colors for the Firebird, and folkloric music for the prince and princess. Unusual orchestral instruments like tambourine and xylophone are also included. JUN 7: Concert as part of the Dresden Music Festival Please note: There will only be a concert introduction on 07.06.

Sanderling and Hadelich

Benjamin Britten anticipated that the Second World War would break out soon. He couldn't stay in England and boarded a ship to Canada. One can hear in his music how unbearable this must have been for him as a committed pacifist. During the voyage, he composed his Violin Concerto in D minor, which will be performed by Augustin Hadelich in our concert. Dmitri Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony also reflects this war, although composed on the other side, in Stalin's Soviet Union. For Shostakovich, it was a balancing act: he didn't want to write optimistic music, but it couldn't be tragic either. The result is a work that mirrors these contradictions. Michael Sanderling is considered one of the leading Shostakovich experts among today's conductors. He experienced his father's close friendship with the composer as a child. <br><br>JUNE 13: Concert as part of the Dresden Music Festival.

Atelier en famille - Boléro - En rythme

Espresso-Konzert mit dem Konzerthausorchester Berlin

At our espresso concerts in the early afternoon, we serve two kinds of caffeine - in cups and, of course, musically: outstanding young musicians present surprise programs that really wake you up - in this case on the podium of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and as a violin soloist.

Boléro - En rythme

Everyone is invited to keep up the tempo with this concert that's as rich as it is unbridled! A joyful introduction to rhythm and movement thanks to musicians from the Orchestre de Paris, the Youth Choir and body percussion.

Fantastische Sinfonie

Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique" depicts a man's descent into madness due to unrequited love. The symphony features grotesque dreams, death knells, a guillotine, and a witches' sabbath. Berlioz called this masterpiece "Episode in the Life of an Artist," a truly bizarre trip with visions of waltzes, murder, execution, and ultimately, a wild, orgiastic climax. This dark, chilling Romantic symphony, full of extreme sound effects, truly deserves its name.

War and Peace

Vladimir Jurowski presents a programme of uncompromising emotional power.‘Peace Shall Defeat War’ wrote Boris Lyatoshynsky on the score of his Third Symphony, and the message of this great 20th-century Ukrainian composer has never felt more urgent or compelling. LPO Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski believes passionately that it needs to be heard, and you’ll be gripped by its epic sweep and uncompromising emotional power. Jurowski has paired it with music from Prokofiev’s operatic tale of Ukrainian struggle, and Mussorgsky’s pitch-black, darkly comic songs – perfect for a singer as dramatic, and as characterful, as the British bass Matthew Rose.

Jurowski conducts Lyatoshynsky

Vladimir Jurowski presents a programme of uncompromising emotional power.‘Peace Shall Defeat War’ wrote Boris Lyatoshynsky on the score of his Third Symphony, and the message of this great 20th-century Ukrainian composer has never felt more urgent or compelling. LPO Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski believes passionately that it needs to be heard, and you’ll be gripped by its epic sweep and uncompromising emotional power. Jurowski has paired it with music from Prokofiev’s operatic tale of Ukrainian struggle, and Mussorgsky’s pitch-black, darkly comic songs – perfect for a singer as dramatic, and as characterful, as the British bass Matthew Rose.

Emden

On tour with Petr Popelka

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Klaus Mäkelä

There are few orchestras that can boast as long a Mahler tradition as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Amsterdam. Even during Gustav Mahler’s lifetime, the orchestra regularly performed his symphonies and helped the composer achieve the fame he enjoys to this day. Klaus Mäkelä, who takes over as the orchestra’s chief conductor in 2027, continues this tradition with a performance of Mahler’s First Symphony. The composer wrote about his work: »It has become so overpowering – it flowed out of me like a mountain stream!« Also on the programme is Arnold Schönberg’s early work »Verklärte Nacht« for string orchestra, based on Richard Dehmel’s poem of the same name. Before Schönberg climbed to the top of the avant-garde and shocked the music world with his twelve-tone music, he wrote deeply Romantic pieces in his younger years, in which he endeavoured to unite the styles of Wagner and Brahms.

Jakub Hrůša, Konstantin Krimmel

»Mahler is a must!« That was absolutely clear to Jakub Hrůša when our journey together began in 2016 – as his late Romantic music is »genetically very close« to both him and ourselves. We have already performed five of his symphonies together in recent years. This programme includes the enchanting »Blumine« movement, which Mahler erased from his autobiographical first symphony and described himself as a »blissful infatuation«: he wrote it in 1884 as a young conductor when he had a crush on a soprano. However, his affection was not returned – and a year later, the »Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen« (»Songs of a Travelling Companion«) emerged from his emotional misery. Together with Konstantin Krimmel, we embark on the restless wanderings of the lovesick artist. After that we say: Not only Mahler is a must. For some time now, Jakub Hrůša has also been working more intensively on Bruckner, as he has recognised that only an orchestra that »really loves this music enough« will be able to make it work. He described the phase in which we immersed ourselves in the Symphony No. 4 in the 2018/2019 season as a »blissful experience with Bruckner« – and it was deepened even further: In the 2020 pandemic, we recorded our Chief Conductor’s personal take on all three versions of the work for a phenomenal and award-winning recording. In this programme, the »Romantic« is performed in the 1878/1880 version – first in Bamberg, as is traditional, of course. Then we will once again become »travelling companions« ourselves and present the works in two of the best halls in Europe: in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and (for the 10th time already!) in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie – where we have come to love and appreciate the inspiring acoustics.

Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen Normandie / Sora Elisabeth Lee

Three consummate performers deliver a programme of gems from the Romance-speaking world: a four hands piece by two Brazilian guitar icons and a work by Italian composer Castelnuovo-Tedesco, followed by the emblematic Concerto d’Aranjuez.

Shirley Brill. Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg. Mino Marani Appassionato

The 6th Philharmonic Concert of the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg featured Israeli clarinetist Shirley Brill and new General Music Director Mino Marani. The program included Brahms' clarinet sonatas, written shortly before his death, and orchestrated by Luciano Berio. Shostakovich's 10th Symphony, composed after Stalin's death, was also performed. Tickets are available via phone.

Kristiina Poska conducts Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

The Concertgebouw’s famous Main Hall is one of the best concert halls in the world, well-known for its exceptional acoustics and special atmosphere. In the Main Hall, you will feel history. Here, Gustav Mahler conducted his own compositions, as did Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky. Sergei Rachmaninoff played his own piano concertos in the Main Hall. This is also where musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, Vladimir Horowitz and Yehudi Menuhin gave legendary performances. Right up to now, the Main Hall offers a stage to the world’s best orchestras and musicians. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Main Hall for yourself!

Marie Jacquot Veronika Eberle Kristine Tjøgersen Sergei Prokofiev Camille Saint-Saëns

Between Trees was the international breakthrough for the composer Kristine Tjøgersen (b. 1982) from Oslo. The Norwegian Radio Orchestra premiered the orchestral piece and was selected as “most outstanding work” at the prestigious award ceremony International Rostrum of Composers. Among the trees in the forest, “it teems with roots connected in a network of fungal threads,” the composer says. “These threads connect trees and plants so that they can communicate - like the forest’s own internet.” The piece is rich in unusual instrument sounds and techniques. She continues: “Fungal threads grow in pulses, so there is a rhythmically pulsating life unfolding beneath our feet. The opening is therefore buoyant and airy, like communicating trees. We then move over the ground, and hear flapping wings and various birds.”When the Russian Revolution was a fact in 1917, Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) left the eye of the storm, Petrograd (today’s St. Petersburg), and traveled to the far east, with a steam boat on the rivers Volga and kama towards the Ural Mountains. In these calm surroundings, he wrote his most famous work. There is little in the Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major that bears witness to the troubled times - perhaps excluding the wild second movement. The first and third movement contains some of Prokofiev’s most dreamy, romantic music, and some of his most memorable melodies.“I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have accomplished here, I will never achieve again,” Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) said about his Symphony No. 3 in C minor, the “Organ Symphony”, which premiered in London in 1886. This would be his last symphony and one of his most famous pieces.After growing up as a child prodigy on the piano, Saint-Saëns got the most prestigious organist job in France, at the La Madeleine church in Paris. The composer Franz Liszt heard him play there and called him “the world’s best organist”. Symphony No. 3 culminates in a powerful ending with piano and organ.

Symphonie fantastique

Hector Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" takes the audience on a journey through an artist's life, experiencing a groundbreaking sound journey. The artist, infatuated with a woman, sees her at a ball, seeks peace in the countryside, and has opium-induced visions of his execution and a demonic burial. Béla Bartók's 2nd Violin Concerto also traverses diverse worlds, with Christian Tetzlaff as the soloist, experiencing a thrilling finale.

London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda

Shostakovich in both revolutionary and festive mood alongside a MacMillan Concerto, written for Nicola Benedetti.

Bartók Schumann

Gewandhausorchester, Herbert Blomstedt Dirigent

If the Gewandhaus Orchestra could only perform one work, it would be Bruckner's Seventh Symphony. This piece, premiered by the orchestra, is uniquely tied to its history and represents the deepest emotions. Conductor Herbert Blomstedt receives standing ovations upon entering the stage, and the hall's structural integrity is tested after every performance. The symphony's climax features a powerful cymbal crash in the Adagio, a controversial addition potentially attributed to the first conductor, Arthur Nikisch, and now accepted in the latest edition.

Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg

The Jewish spring festival of Passover is not only a religious festival, but above all a cultural event that celebrates renewal and freedom. In keeping with this, the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg (JCOHH) is opening its new concert series »BÜSCHEN MESCHUGGE« under the motto »Hope. Blossom. A new beginning.«

NOSPR Chamber Musicians / Hindemith / Britten / Music as light as a feather

Paul Hindemith is among the most underrated artists of the 20th century. Anyone who listens to his Kammermusik, op. 24 no. 1, a genuinely sparkling with ideas and light as a feather piece of music, will come to this conclusion. This architect of the cornerstone of historical performance and founding father of the famous Donaueschingen Contemporary Music Festival embodied the dominant ideals of the New Objectivity in German art of the 1920s, namely simplicity of means and communicativeness, in his Chamber Music series. It is a peculiar variety of neo-classicism, unjustly overshadowed by French or Russian music. The third movement in Kammermusik (op. 36 no. 3) is essentially a chamber cello concerto with explicit references to Baroque music. It is not without reason, after all, that this entire series has been compared to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. Surprisingly similar in its spirit tone, although referring to the classical form and not devoid of stronger emotional accents, is the Sinfonietta of the then-only 18-year-old Benjamin Britten, already heralding his extraordinary talent. Adam SuprynowiczConcert duration: approximately 70 minutes

On tour with Petr Popelka

Manfred Honeck & Paul Lewis

Paul Lewis and the BRSO had actually planned to make up for Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in these concerts, which was canceled due to the pandemic. Due to a vertebral injury, the British pianist is now playing Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto – instead of the young Norwegian’s unabashedly romantic piece, a work that opens the door to the Romantic era. And it would be hard to find a better interpreter than the proven Beethoven specialist Paul Lewis. In conductor Manfred Honeck’s conception, Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet will be brought to life with a more expressive, or, to be precise, more Dadaist character: rhythmically concise, ecstatically pulsating – a playful new territory for the BRSO musicians. And, indeed, every concert that includes the Eroica is bound to be one of the highlights of an orchestral season.

Gewandhausorchester, Herbert Blomstedt Dirigent

If the Gewandhaus Orchestra could only perform one work, it would be Bruckner's Seventh Symphony. This piece, premiered by the orchestra, is uniquely tied to its history and represents the deepest emotions. Conductor Herbert Blomstedt receives standing ovations upon entering the stage, and the hall's structural integrity is tested after every performance. The symphony's climax features a powerful cymbal crash in the Adagio, a controversial addition potentially attributed to the first conductor, Arthur Nikisch, and now accepted in the latest edition.

NOSPR / Klauza / Nizioł / The American Dream

The (co)creators of the works to be presented in this concert share an American connection. Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, written for the organ, was arranged for an orchestra by the exquisite conductor Leopold Stokowski, who spent most of his life in the United States, leading such ensembles as the famous Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1940, it was with them that he recorded the soundtrack for Walt Disney’s Fantasia, which has since become a legend, having prepared the symphonic version of the famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor for this purpose in particular (he was awarded an honorary Oscar for his achievements). Allegedly – due to the similarity of their surnames – he was often mistaken with Zygmunt Stojowski, who left Europe for the States at the beginning of the 20th century and remained there until his death in 1946. On the other side of the pond, the latter was chair of the piano department at the New York Institute of Musical Art, also teaching at the Von Ende School of Music. The Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 22, is an early composition of his, created at the end of the 19th century. Unusually expressive, it is imbued with the Romantic spirit, its violin part glimmering with brilliant virtuosity. Henryk Wars – known in the States as Henry Vars – is predominantly recognised in his homeland as a pioneer of Polish jazz, composer of film music, and author of such smash hits as Miłość ci wszystko wybaczy, Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą and Zimny drań. His outstanding symphonic pieces were only discovered in the late 1990s. Among those, there was the exquisite Symphony No. 1 (1949), which blends the late-Romantic sense of drama, flawless instrumentation and a cinematic scope.Agnieszka Nowok-ZychConcert duration (intermission included): approximately 90 minutes

Bartók Mendelssohn Bartholdy Schumann

Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg

The Jewish spring festival of Passover is not only a religious festival, but above all a cultural event that celebrates renewal and freedom. In keeping with this, the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg (JCOHH) is opening its new concert series »BÜSCHEN MESCHUGGE« under the motto »Hope. Blossom. A new beginning.«

On tour with Petr Popelka

Symphonic Concert

Jacek Brzoznowski, photo: Piotr Rybakiewicz Due to reasons beyond the Warsaw Philharmonic, there has been a change of conductor for the subscription concerts on 4 and 5 April 2025. Instead of Antonello Manacorda, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra will be conducted by Jacek Brzoznowski, who is acting as Assistant Conductor for the current season. The programme of the concerts remains unchanged. Beethoven seems to have ‘commissioned’ his Symphony No. 1 in C major from himself. The ambition to tackle a form that the Romantic aesthetic revolution would soon be treating as a laboratory for absolute music would have suited the Viennese Classic’s character. The increasingly prominent 30-year-old composer dedicated the completed work, on which he worked meticulously for many years, to Gottfried van Swieten, the protector of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was the achievements of those composers, kindly disposed towards the young Beethoven, with whose output he would hardly have dared to vie at the time, that served as the starting point for his supremely successful debut symphony. The Symphony No. 1 by the twentieth-century classic Dmitry Shostakovich was his diploma piece in the composition class of the Leningrad Conservatory, from which he graduated at the age of 19. Characterised by the composer’s typical play of edgy motifs, march-like rhythms and clear textures, this work soon ventured beyond the university walls, bringing its young composer international acclaim. Subsequent anniversaries of the symphony’s first performance at the Leningrad Philharmonic in 1926 were later celebrated by Shostakovich for the rest of his life, while that famous institution, remembering the premieres of his other works, later repaid the favour by adopting Shostakovich as its patron.

Symphonie fantastique

Hector Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" takes the audience on a journey through an artist's life, experiencing a groundbreaking sound journey. The artist, infatuated with a woman, sees her at a ball, seeks peace in the countryside, and has opium-induced visions of his execution and a demonic burial. Béla Bartók's 2nd Violin Concerto also traverses diverse worlds, with Christian Tetzlaff as the soloist, experiencing a thrilling finale.