Concerts with works by

Hector Berlioz

Sonderkonzert Lisa Batiashvili. London Symphony Orchestra. Antonio Pappano Symphonie fantastique

The Heidelberg Spring Festival welcomes top international classical musicians to the Heidelberg Congress Center. The London Symphony Orchestra, led by Antonio Pappano, opens with Berlioz's "Le Corsaire." Violinist Lisa Batiashvili performs Szymanowski's Violin Concerto, followed by Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique," a blend of dreamlike, pastoral, and grotesque scenes.

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.

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.

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.

Académie Piano Piano 2024-2025 – Concert de Clôture

Fazil Say Kazuki Yamada City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Fazil Say, a genre-bending oriental storyteller and pianist, has captivated audiences and critics for almost 30 years. Known for his exceptional improvisational talent, unconventional interpretations, and blend of classical, jazz, and Turkish folk music, Say's performances are described as direct, open, and exciting. He will be performing with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under the direction of its new chief conductor, Kazuki Yamada, playing works by Berlioz and Ravel.

Pygmalion / Raphaël Pichon

The Pygmalion choir and orchestra, and its conductor Raphaël Pichon, like to juxtapose contrasting works while reviving the spirit in which they were created. They are joined here by two faithful accomplices, Sabine Devieilhe and Stéphane Degout.

London Symphony Orchestra/ Half Six Fix – Berlioz

Kick-start your evening with a 60-minute Half Six Fix concert. Introduced by the performers, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.

London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano

Dreams and fantasies from enigmatic Szymanowski to Berlioz’s most rock’n’roll work, the Symphonie fantastique.

Lisa Batiashvili | London Symphony Orchestra | Sir Antonio Pappano

Lisa Batiashvili describes Karol Szymanowski's first violin concerto as a dance between eroticism and compassion, dream world and reality, performed with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano. They also perform Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique", another passionate love story, and the sparkling "Le Corsaire" overture.

Sonderkonzert Lisa Batiashvili. London Symphony Orchestra. Antonio Pappano Symphonie fantastique

The Heidelberg Spring Festival welcomes top international classical musicians to the Heidelberg Congress Center. The London Symphony Orchestra, led by Antonio Pappano, opens with Berlioz's "Le Corsaire." Violinist Lisa Batiashvili performs Szymanowski's Violin Concerto, followed by Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique," a blend of dreamlike, pastoral, and grotesque scenes.

London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Antonio Pappano

With the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano, global champions of the classical music scene come together at the Hamburg International Music Festival. The LSO stands out in the exuberant music scene of the UK’s capital city as an orchestra with international claim to leadership and has in Pappano a principal conductor whose global career seeks peers. In their programme, the musical power couple combines two French composers, who fearlessly pushed boundaries in their respective time: Hector Berlioz and Pierre Boulez. Hector Berlioz had a soft spot for programmatic music. He loved staging stories with the powerful sound of a large orchestra. This is how his concert overture »Le corsaire«, after the book of the same name, The Corsair, by Lord Byron, enthrallingly recounts a wild pirate on a stormy sea. And Berlioz’s legendary »Symphonie fantastique« sends a young musician in love from his first happy infatuation via a rousing ball into an ecstatic hell-ride to the Last Judgment – had Berlioz lived later, he might have become an inspired film music composer. The romantic extroversion of Berlioz frames a programme of contrasts: two works for ensemble by Pierre Boulez, which plunge into intimate soundscapes. In »Livre pour cordes« (Book for Strings) for string orchestra and »Mémoriale« (Memorial) for solo flute and ensemble, Boulez spins delicate threads of sound through the musical space of possibilities and, full of relish, invites you to hear around the corner.

Debussy Wagner Berlioz

Debussy Wagner Berlioz

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester / Kayhan Kalhor / Yo-Yo Ma / Alan Gilbert

In 2025, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester will be 80 years old – an occasion to round off the 2024/25 season with a concert programme that is far from ordinary. Founded in bombed-out Hamburg in 1945, the ensemble once set an example of humanity and community in a world shattered by war, ideology and cruelty. 80 years later, this message seems more important than ever. Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor composed his concert »Venus in the Mirror« for »peace and friendship«, which is now being launched in Hamburg.