Concerts with works by

Antonín Dvořák

Dvořák Cello Concerto

Dvořák Cello Concerto

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.

Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Daniel Cho / James Conlon

In this concert with the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra conducted by James Conlon, »the« Czech composer of the 19th century meets »the« Czech composer of the 20th. We are, of course, talking about Antonín Dvořák and Bohuslav Martinů. With his Seventh Symphony, Dvořák was keen to prove that he was far more than merely a master of local Czech influences. »My symphony should turn out in such a way that it moves the world,« and it has done so ever since its acclaimed premiere in London in the 1880s. »I cannot tell you how much the English honour me! I’m written about everywhere and they say I’m the lion of this year’s music season in London.«

Dvořák: Stabat mater & Te Deum

The two works on this evening mark the beginning and climax of Antonín Dvořák’s success for good reason: After its premiere in Prague in 1880, the »Stabat mater« laid the foundation for Dvořák’s international career. In London in 1883, the audience was so enthusiastic that Dvořák was invited the following year to personally conduct a performance at the Royal Albert Hall with 800 singers, a large orchestra and an audience of 12,000. The magnificent success marked Dvořák’s international breakthrough. Almost ten years later, the »Te Deum« was premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York. Dvořák, known for his Bohemian, native national colour, was commissioned to help the Americans in their search for their own national musical style. During his time in the USA, Dvořák composed his most famous works today, such as the Ninth Symphony »From the New World« and the Cello Concerto.

Mendelssohn-Quartett Leipzig

Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Daniel Cho / James Conlon

In this concert with the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra conducted by James Conlon, »the« Czech composer of the 19th century meets »the« Czech composer of the 20th. We are, of course, talking about Antonín Dvořák and Bohuslav Martinů. With his Seventh Symphony, Dvořák was keen to prove that he was far more than merely a master of local Czech influences. »My symphony should turn out in such a way that it moves the world,« and it has done so ever since its acclaimed premiere in London in the 1880s. »I cannot tell you how much the English honour me! I’m written about everywhere and they say I’m the lion of this year’s music season in London.«

Mariani Klavierquartett

The Mariani Piano Quartet, composed of renowned musicians, performs three piano quartets. They rediscovered Gernsheim's romantic work, banned by the Nazis. Martinů's energetic quartet, composed in exile, and Dvořák's work complete the program. A 7-minute discussion highlights interesting aspects. The concert will be recorded and broadcast.

Guest performance

Pleistozän

The Arctic is an alien habitat, a magnet for travellers, researchers and adventurers. And in the meantime, the continent has become a symbol of climate change. In the innovative scientific concert entitled »Pleistozän« (Pleistocene – the name of the last great ice age), geographer Dr André Baumeister takes the audience on a great journey through time illustrating the development of this unique habitat. He shows pictures and films, reports on his journeys along the Norwegian coast to the upper Arctic, Spitsbergen and the east coast of Greenland – and brings the beauty and fragility of the Arctic to life. An orchestra plays works to accompany the film, including music by Australian composer Nigel Westlake, who himself ventured onto the eternal ice with his »Antarctica Suite« of 1991.

»Le Passion de Carmen«

Soprano Stella Motina and pianist Vera Bogdanchikova take the audience on an unforgettable musical journey through the south of Spain and explore the passion of Carmen. From Manuel de Falla’s »Seven Spanish Folk Songs«, which illuminate love in ever new facets, they move on to Dvořák’s »Cigánské Melodie«, which awakens the desire to dance. To the sound of castanets, the audience finally arrives in Seville and takes a break in the »Lillas Pastia« taverna. The best melodies from »Carmen« by Georges Bizet are played here. Carmen, the beautiful, self-confident woman, enjoys her freedom. An adventure unfolds: love, passion, jealousy and the prophecy of fate. The beating of the chords is reminiscent of the stamping of feet in flamenco, in which the woman seems to lift her heels to assert her personal independence. The exciting journey comes to an end, but of course the listeners can linger for a moment and prolong the melodic excursion. The artists have prepared something very special.

Rising Stars / Quatuor Agate

Quatuor Agate drew its name from Brahms’ Sextet No. 2, dedicated to the composer’s second love, Agathe von Siebold. For this programme, it pairs Ligeti’s quite Bartókian Quartet No. 1 and Dvořák’s Quartet No. 13, a triumph among his chamber music.

Ruth Reinhardt & Vivi Vassileva

Concert broadcast: The concert will be broadcast on April 25, 2025, at 8:00 PM on Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

Alla Boemia

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2025

Beethoven and Price

In a completely new manner from before, Beethoven infused his second symphony with surprising effects. The orchestra swiftly switches between the faintest of whispers to thunderous outbursts in sudden turns. Here, wild humor and dramatic mood abound. Portuguese conductor Dinis Sousa leads the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in this symphonic milestone.The concert appropriately commences with an overture: Dvorák's powerful and darkly evocative Othello – one of three concert overtures Dvorák wrote to musically portray various aspects of human existence.The young British pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason (born 2003) makes her debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. She is at the beginning of a flourishing career and performs here with the romantically grandiose piano concerto by American composer Florence Price (1887–1953) – music never before heard in Konserthuset.Jeneba Kanneh-Mason is the sister of cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason – who performed at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – and pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason. Both have previously appeared at Konserthuset. They are three of seven extremely talented siblings often referred to as The Kanneh-Masons.

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2025

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.

Roberto Gonzalez-Monjas Hilary Hahn Jean Sibelius Antonín Dvořák Ludwig van Beethoven

“It’s lush, it’s romantic, it has conflict and lightness. There is a physicality to this piece that’s really fun.” This is how tonight’s soloist Hilary Hahn described Antonín Dvořáks Violin Concerto when she recorded the piece in 2022. Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) played the violin, and worked as an orchestral violist for ten years before his breakthrough as a composer. The Violin Concerto in A minor from 1883 is, like much of Dvořák’s music, strongly influenced by Czech musical heritage, with lively melodies and strong contrasts. The concert opens with the short but eventful orchestral piece Pan and Ekho from 1906 by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). The piece is based on Greek mythology and the wild god Pan’s romantic advances towards the unhappy nymph Ekho, who can only repeat what others say.Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) started working on his Symphony No. 7 during a refreshing stay in the spa town of Teplitz. He conducted the symphony premiere in 1813 at a charity concert for wounded soldiers who had returned from the Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon’s failed crusade toward Russia, the tides had turned. Symphony No. 7 was premiered along with a piece celebrating the Battle of Vitoria. The concert hit the zeitgeist perfectly and was a huge success. Beethoven referred to the symphony as one of his best works. The symphony opens with a slow, suggestive introduction. The melancholic second movement Allegretto is the symphony’s most famous – at the first concerts it was cheered as an encore. The last movement is perhaps the most thrilling music Beethoven wrote.

Kulturnatt Stockholm – Wind Quintet

Meet top-level young musicians in an intimate concert where both audience and performers share the stage of the Main Hall at Konserthuset Stockholm. With the lights dimmed, this atmospheric event offers a close-up experience of live classical music – either seated on stage (subject to availability) or in the stalls. To be this close to the music is truly special!The musicians are students of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s International Orchestra Academy – an advanced, international training programme for exceptionally gifted young musicians. Under the guidance of Royal Stockholm Philharmonic section leaders and the School of Music in Piteå, the students receive intensive training in orchestral, chamber and individual performance.They also present themselves in a series of public chamber concerts – like this one, featuring music by the Czech composer Antonín Dvorák. The programme includes his String Quartet No. 12, performed here in an arrangement for wind quintet. This work is often referred to as “The American”, as it was composed during a summer break from his post at the National Conservatory in New York. Dvorák spent the holiday in the town of Spillville, Iowa, home to a large Czech community.More on RSPO Orchestra Academy ***Please noteBags larger than A4 (approx. 30x20 cm) may not be brought into Konserthuset during Kulturnatt Stockholm.

Abwechslung ist die Seele der Musik

At Sunday's chamber music concert in Hall 1 of the Tabakquartier, alternating ensembles from the ranks of the Bremen Philharmonic will present some of their favorite works from the chamber music repertoire.

Chamber concert: String sextet

Remarkable leaps and bounds for the chamber music playing that our orchestra members love: Borodin was actually a full-time chemist and physician, but his passion for music constantly rekindled, including from 1859 in Heidelberg – where he composed his romantic string sextet in D minor. Some time later, he returned to Russia and the work was lost. It did not turn up for almost 100 years until it was finally discovered in an antiquarian bookshop. And it may still be missing something, as it consists of just two movements – one of which seems to shimmer like Mendelssohn’s »Midsummer Night’s Dream« and the other is laced with folk songs from Borodin's homeland. Dvořák’s sextet, premiered in 1879, also bubbles along folkloristically, which has to do with its chronological proximity to his famous »Slavonic Dances« and emphasises his image as a »Bohemian musician«. Although this was only one aspect of his multifaceted personality, Dvořák loved the cheerful and colourful environment around him, where people liked to celebrate festivals. His work quickly became one of the classics of the genre – and also inspired Schönberg to write his string sextet »Verklärte Nacht« in 1899. It is based on a poem by Richard Dehmel, saying: »There is a glow around everything, you drift with me across a cold sea, but a warmth of your own flickers from you into me, from me into you.« Schönberg found a poetic voice here that reflected his aesthetic stance – and an impressive love story that defied the moral standards of the time. He created a late romantic musical world for this – and the composition is one of his most popular pieces of chamber music today.

Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Anja Bihlmaier

„The 'Concert Românesc' reflects my deep love for Romanian folk music and Romanian-speaking culture as such. The piece was immediately banned and only performed many decades later,“ says Ligeti about his 1951 work, which was banned at the time due to some dissonances that were considered undesirable. The Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov then takes his place among the Konzerthausorchester. In the Piano Concerto in G major from 1784, Mozart leaves old formal principles behind, including the fact that the winds are already frequently entrusted with solo tasks. The concert, conducted by Anja Bihlmaier, ends with Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 8, which beautifully showcases the orchestral instruments in a lyrical and melodic manner - from the waltz-loving strings to the virtuoso flute dancing along in the last movement.

Mozart-Matinee

The Konzerthausorchester invites families to the Great Hall on Sundays at 11.00 - croissants and hot chocolate included! A musician always leads through the program. They reveal secrets from everyday life in the orchestra and invite you to join in. Meanwhile, younger siblings between the ages of 3 and 6 are very welcome at the “Musical childcare”.

Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Anja Bihlmaier

„The 'Concert Românesc' reflects my deep love for Romanian folk music and Romanian-speaking culture as such. The piece was immediately banned and only performed many decades later,“ says Ligeti about his 1951 work, which was banned at the time due to some dissonances that were considered undesirable. The Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov then takes his place amog the Konzerthausorchester. In the Piano Concerto in G major from 1784, Mozart leaves old formal principles behind, including the fact that the winds are already frequently entrusted with solo tasks. The concert, conducted by Anja Bihlmaier, ends with Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 8, which beautifully showcases the orchestral instruments in a lyrical and melodic manner - from the waltz-loving strings to the virtuoso flute dancing along in the last movement.

Bennewitz Quartett

Based in Prague, the multi-award-winning Bennewitz Quartet is regarded as a cultural ambassador for the Czech Republic, embodying the Bohemian-Czech sound idiom par excellence. The ensemble is named after the important violinist and founder of the Czech violin school Antonín Bennewitz. The programme includes Brahms' predominantly cheerful third string quartet, which he wrote in 1875 during a summer holiday on the Neckar near Heidelberg. For the string quintet by their compatriot Dvořák, the four Czechs have borrowed reinforcements from the Salzburg Hagen Quartet: Violist Veronika Hagen completes the line-up in the Bohemian master's third and final string quintet. Composed in 1893, it is one of the pieces that, like his 9th Symphony „From the New World“ and the 12th String Quartet with the nickname „American“, we owe to the composer's extended stay in the USA. Whether and to what extent some of the motifs and melodies originate from indigenous music that fascinated Dvořák has been a matter of some controversy among musicologists, though.

Eschenbach, Melnikov · Dvořák, Rachmaninoff

Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia / Joshua Bell / Daniel Harding

»I’m in love with Dvořák’s Violin Concerto and I don’t see that changing in the foreseeable future.« With this declaration of love, star violinist Joshua Bell takes the wind out of the sails of all those who think you only need to know the Bohemian composer’s – undeniably wonderful – Cello Concerto. In fact, the Violin Concerto offers everything you could wish for in a great evening at the Elbphilharmonie: melting melodies, highly virtuosic splendour, rousing dances. The Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia accompanies this enchanting work with Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony – a gathering of classical music masters!

Fridays@7 with Eschenbach and Melnikov

HEATH QUARTET

Josef Suk’s close bond with his composition teacher Antonín Dvořák was not merely artistic—he was also his older colleague’s son­-in-­law. The Heath Quartet juxtaposes Dvořák’s String Quartet Op. 51, known as the “Slavonic” due to its many allusions to Czech folk music, with Suk’s meditation on an ancient chorale for Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. Written on the eve of World War I, the composition is a plea for peace and protection as well as an expression of new­ found Czech patriotism. Works by Benjamin Britten and Joseph Haydn complete the program.

Mahler Festival: Chianti Ensemble with Mahler and more

In the Recital Hall this week, you will hear the 'other side' of Mahler: works for just a few musicians. In two Sunday Morning Concerts, these come together with those of Mahler's contemporaries and friends. Today, the Chianti Ensemble performs, among others, the Piano Quartet, Mahler's only remaining chamber work.Mahler wrote his Piano Quartet as a teenager. Certainly for Mahler's standards, it is very romantic, Schumannesque - and unfinished. A first movement is complete, but only a few bars of the scherzo exist. The piece was recovered by his widow Alma Mahler in the 1960s. The Chianti Ensemble, operating from the Netherlands, consists of five internationally sought-after soloists, and today performs Mahler's quartet alongside pieces by Webern and Dvořák.