Concerts with works by

Olivier Messiaen

Dorothy Irving Scholarship

Award-winning lieder with Duo Lorenzen-Ekberg.The legendary concert singer and educator Dorothy Irving (1927–2018) left a powerful impression on the Swedish music scene. Her artistry was bold and meticulous, with a deep dedication to the expressive power of lyrics and music.Before they passed away, she and her husband Lars Fjellstedt founded a scholarship administered by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music to “promote and preserve the art of the lied.” The scholarship is now being presented for the second time and goes to Duo Lorenzen-Ekberg, comprising soprano Kathrin Lorenzen and pianist Oskar Ekberg: “for their breathtaking lightness and cooperative, playful and in-depth presentation of historic and human dimensions in a modern, international vocal repertoire, and for revealing the existential depth of Scandinavian lieder.”Kathrin Lorenzen, born in Flensburg in 1994, has become established as a popular soloist and concert vocalist in Germany and Scandinavia. In January 2024, she won the Royal Swedish Academy of Music’s Soloist Prize. In May 2024, Kathrin won second place and the audience prize in the international Mirjam Helin Competition in Helsinki, in competition with 485 singers from 57 countries.Oskar Ekberg, born in 1977, has been an in-demand soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician nationally and internationally since his debut with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2004. He has garnered significant appreciation for his dedication and recordings of Swedish music, including all of Johan Helmich Roman’s harpsichord suites, earning him a nomination for a Grammis Award in the category of Best Classical Album.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Magdalena Kožená / Gergely Madaras

Gabriel Fauré and Claude Debussy were both influenced by the same musical movement. Fauré's orchestral suite from his incidental music to "Pelléas et Mélisande" is considered his finest orchestral work. Israeli conductor and composer Ohad Ben-Ari, based in Berlin, will premiere his song cycle "Paterson" with the Hamburg Symphony. The cycle is based on Ron Padgett's poetry from Jim Jarmusch's film. Olivier Messiaen's "Poèmes pour Mi" is a tribute to his wife Claire Delbos, written during her pregnancy. Smetana's "The Moldau" will be performed, reflecting the fact that the Vltava (Moldau) river contributes more water to the Elbe than the Elbe's own source.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard & Tamara Stefanovich

Janine Jansen & Denis Kozhukhin: Brahms, Schumann and more

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!

Janine Jansen | Denis Kozhukhin

Exceptional violinist Janine Jansen, known for her numerous performances of Brahms' violin concerto, now focuses on his violin sonatas with award-winning pianist Denis Kozhukhin. Their exploration extends into the 20th century, encompassing Ravel, Messiaen, and Poulenc's distinct contributions to the genre. Jansen and Kozhukhin share a passion for chamber music and a dedication to shaping its emotional depths.

Janine Jansen spielt Brahms

Award-winning pianist Denis Kozhukhin and Dutch violinist Janine Jansen team up to perform Romantic works. Jansen, praised by The Times for her ability to revitalize repertoire pieces, feels connected to every piece she plays. The successful Jansen-Kozhukhin duo creates music with existential depth and emotional tension, making their performances unforgettable.

Jansen and Kozhukhin

With her dazzling technique and natural stage presence, Dutch violinist Janine Jansen has long been among the top tier of international star violinists. Pianist Denis Kozhukhin also combines outstanding technique with mature musicality and an ability to establish a close connection with the audience. They have both previously visited Konserhuset, individually and together.During their acclaimed visit in 2022, they performed, among other pieces, Brahms' third violin sonata. Now, we hear the first two: the "rain sonata," so named because its finale includes a quote from Brahms' own song "Regenlied," and the second, named "Thun" after the town in Switzerland where Brahms spent time when he composed it. There, he was inspired by the beautiful surroundings. "There are so many melodies here that one must be careful not to trample on any of them," he expressed it.Before Ravel's concluding violin sonata with its famous blues movement, we hear Eugène Ysaÿe's sensually dark-toned Poème élégiaque, a milestone in the violin repertoire, and Olivier Messiaen's Thème et variations, which in character resembles his most performed work, Quartet for the End of Time.

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.

Orgelstunde am Karsamstag

Dominik Susteck

13 Jahre alt war Dominik Susteck, als er die Orgel für sich entdeckte. Zugleich war er völlig fasziniert von der Musik Olivier Messiaens, die sein Interesse für die zeitgenössische Musik weckte. Heute gilt Susteck als einer der international bedeutendsten Neue-Musik-Organisten. Trotzdem muss er immer zu seinen beiden musikalischen Ziehvätern Bach und eben Messiaen zurückkehren.Vom großen Barockmeister Bach spielt Susteck auch die berühmte wie spektakuläre Toccata und Fuge in d-Moll. Vom Franzosen Messiaen hat er zwei Werke ausgewählt, die dieser Anfang der 1930er Jahre als Titularorganist an der Pariser Église de la Trinité komponiert hat. Es sind die sinfonisch angelegten Meditationen über die »Himmelfahrt« sowie »Apparition de l’église éternelle« als ekstatische Klangvision von der ewigen Kirche.

FLEUR BARRON & KUNAL LAHIRY

In an extraordinary and highly personal program, mezzo­soprano Fleur Barron and pianist Kunal Lahiry explore the echoes of global colonial history in music and poetry. Artists who share dual Asian and Western heritages, they examine diverse perspectives of identity and belonging, repression and freedom, in both familiar and lesser­known works from the past 150 years.

Sharon Kam and Sitkovetsky Trio: Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps

For lovers of chamber music the Recital Hall is the venue of choice. You can hear the musicians breathe and you can practically touch them. This hall is also cherished by musicians for its beautiful acoustics and direct contact with the audience. In the Recital Hall you can hear the best musicians of our time. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Recital Hall for yourself!

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France / George Benjamin

Debussy’s shimmering, pictorial score finds resonance with the work of Olivier Messiaen, a great colourist of orchestral material, at his best in Chronochromie, rich with the sounds of nature.

Renouveau Kammerkonzert 8

Musicians of the Komische Oper Berlin present intensive listening experiences in special locations as part of their chamber concerts. From the festive ambience of the Schiller Theater to the monumental vastness of the old hangar at Tempelhof Airport, with new sound worlds at the Kindl site to enchanting experiences in a tent.

(No Title)

Hanna-Elisabeth Müller | Daniel Ottensamer | Juliane Ruf

Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, a young and successful soprano, emphasizes the importance of song selection in her recitals. She appreciates the intimate atmosphere of Lieder, performing without the distractions of costumes or sets. In Cologne, she will perform with her long-time piano partner, Juliane Ruf, and clarinetist Daniel Ottensamer.

Close-up: Early birds

Musicians of the Concertgebouw Orchestra perform their own programmes in the Recital Hall as part of the Close-up chamber music series. Each of these concerts is unique and performed only once as part of the series. It’s the very best way to experience the individual qualities of the orchestral musicians! These intimate concerts are organised by the Friends of the Concertgebouw and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Jane Archibald / Szymon Nehring / Sylvain Cambreling

»That was my first work played by an orchestra and my first contact with a large audience. I was 22 years old at the time,« reports Olivier Messiaen. Les offrandes oubliées (The Forgotten Offerings) was composed in 1930 and premiered on 19 February 1931 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées by the Orchestre des concerts Straram under the direction of its chief and namesake Walther Straram. The »symphonic meditation« (the subtitle) is based on linguistically tangible yet abstract ideas. The texts were written by Messiaen himself. The themes of the three verses (Cross – Sin – Eucharist) can be understood as situations of contemplation, descent and rapture and form the three sections of the work.

Organo con stromenti