82nd Vienna Philharmonic Ball

Vienna Philharmonic / Lorenzo Viotti

Was it winter when Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote his »Capriccio espagnol«? One can certainly vividly imagine the composer well warpped-up and seated before the fireplace as he dreamt his way to warmer regions. But whenever it was written, the work conjures up the flamenco, fiestas and mild nights under a southern sky. With their musical journey beyond the boundaries of space and time, the fantastic Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of young Swiss conductor Lorenzo Viotti once again show that their reputation as one of the world’s best orchestras is well-deserved. Sergei Rachmaninov’s »Toteninsel« (Isle of the Dead): is a strong contrast to Rimsky-Korsakov’s »Capriccio«. Inspired by an Arnold Böcklin painting, the composer depicts life after death in the swelling, rushing sound of infinity. And in his Seventh Symphony of 1884, Antonín Dvořák likewise portrays a different world: with dramatic conflicts and echoes of Bohemian folk songs, the music dreams of the political independence of the Czech Republic, which was still part of the Hapsburg Empire at the time.

Chamber Concert Vienna Philharmonic

Vienna Philharmonic / Igor Levit / Thomas Adès

The Vienna Philharmonic, pianist Igor Levit and conductor Thomas Adès: each of these names alone promises world class artistry. What kind of concert will be the outcome when the three performers join forces? The Austrian Standard wrote of the orchestra’s last concert with Levit that »they were not only on the same wavelength, they were literally surfing on a wave of energy«. For the Hamburg International Music Festival, they have put together a programme full of (positive!) surprises that is well off the beaten track. The classical prelude is a symphony by Joseph Haydn, followed by Thomas Adès’ piano concerto, which has already been performed around 60 times since its premiere in 2019 – a remarkable amount for a contemporary work. Given the fame that the multi-talented British composer enjoys, this success is hardly surprising. A New York Times critic wrote about the premiere of the concerto: »As ever, the craft is astounding, the orchestration ceaselessly brilliant. The voice is wholly his own — dissonant, offbeat, whiplash, wry — even as it whispers to musics past. This breathless concerto comes across as zesty and accessible. But don’t be fooled. Just below the surface, the music sizzles. I can’t wait to hear it again.« Adès, whose music is full of musical echoes from baroque to jazz yet refuses to follow any dogmas, sets the tone for the second half of the concert featuring Leoš Janácek, whose musical language around a century ago was equally undogmatic. His rhapsody »Taras Bulba« sets Nikolai Gogol’s tragic tale of the same name about a father and his two sons to music. So vividly that a film inevitably unfolds in the mind’s eye of the listener. By way of a prelude, two miniatures pay tribute to Pierre Boulez as the spotlighted composer of the International Music Festival.

19th Special Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic

Springtime from Vienna

Springtime from Vienna

Springtime from Vienna

The Vienna-Berlin Connection

The ensemble Philharmonix is a mix of members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. What brings them together? The shared urge to combine classical music with jazz, Latin, folk, Hollywood melodies and pop. And so, in this concert, you can hear excerpts from Strauss’s exhilarating operetta Die Fledermaus alongside Schoenberg’s forward-looking Chamber Symphony No. 1, Schubert’s romantic “Death and the Maiden” Quartet as well as a tribute to the Austrian pop singer Falco – all in witty, spirited, unconventional arrangements that play with our expectations and hold loads of surprises.

Guest performance Vienna ‒ Leipzig

Chamber concert: Classic Vienna