Chief of the Airforce Concert

Concert of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna

Concert of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna

Our chief conductor conducts the "Fate Symphony"

Beethoven’s works »give everyone an optimistic mood, elevate them out of loneliness, grief, bundle their strengths scattered in day-to-day life and make them imagine what they were actually born to do«. This is the way Beethoven’s music was once described. As a benefit for the spirit, we have two of his wonderful emotional creations: The »Coriolan« Overture from 1807 is a sonorous monument full of »reflecting poetry« and entwines itself around the story of a tragic hero exiled from his homeland. One year later, he wrote his Fifth Symphony, with its many twists and turns leading up to its final triumph – whose name, »Fate Symphony«, was not coined by him. But because of its ingenious »per aspera ad astra« spirit, it certainly matches his words: »I will reach into the jaws of fate, it shall certainly not bow me down.« Both the famous motif from the Fifth and references to the »Coriolan« overture appear in the exciting work, »subito con forza«: The South Korean Unsuk Chin composed it in 2020 on the occasion of the Beethoven Year – and was inspired for it by Beethoven‘s wavering states of mind and a line from his conversation books: »Major and minor. I am a winner.« Martinůs second symphony was written in 1943 in America, where terrible news such as the brutal annihilation of the village of Lidice reached him from his dearly missed homeland. Melancholic overtones testify to his pain, but otherwise the work, including a quote from the »Marseillaise«, is widely life-affirming – possibly because of what he believed: »Music should always be full of joy, even if it is tragic.«

Our chief conductor conducts the "Fate Symphony"

Beethoven’s works »give everyone an optimistic mood, elevate them out of loneliness, grief, bundle their strengths scattered in day-to-day life and make them imagine what they were actually born to do«. This is the way Beethoven’s music was once described. As a benefit for the spirit, we have two of his wonderful emotional creations: The »Coriolan« Overture from 1807 is a sonorous monument full of »reflecting poetry« and entwines itself around the story of a tragic hero exiled from his homeland. One year later, he wrote his Fifth Symphony, with its many twists and turns leading up to its final triumph – whose name, »Fate Symphony«, was not coined by him. But because of its ingenious »per aspera ad astra« spirit, it certainly matches his words: »I will reach into the jaws of fate, it shall certainly not bow me down.« Both the famous motif from the Fifth and references to the »Coriolan« overture appear in the exciting work, »subito con forza«: The South Korean Unsuk Chin composed it in 2020 on the occasion of the Beethoven Year – and was inspired for it by Beethoven‘s wavering states of mind and a line from his conversation books: »Major and minor. I am a winner.« Martinůs second symphony was written in 1943 in America, where terrible news such as the brutal annihilation of the village of Lidice reached him from his dearly missed homeland. Melancholic overtones testify to his pain, but otherwise the work, including a quote from the »Marseillaise«, is widely life-affirming – possibly because of what he believed: »Music should always be full of joy, even if it is tragic.«

›The Magic of Silence‹

On the occasion of Caspar David Friedrich’s 250th birthday – he was probably the most significant painter in the German Romantic era – he is the focus not only of a major Berlin exhibition, but also of a lecture-concert in the James Simon Gallery, architectural entry point to Museum Island. The evening is entitled ›The Magic of Silence‹, the title of a book on Friedrich that Florian Illies, its author, will shape jointly with clarinetist Bernhard Nusser, soprano Alessia Schumacher and pianist Dirk Wedmann. The programme consists of songs by Meyerbeer, Schubert, Schumann and Spohr that musically pick up on the Romantic spirit.

The Music of Snowflakes

The sound of jingle bells can be heard in the distance, the air is filled with the scents of Christmas trees and aromatic bakes, the world is beginning to sparkle with colours and lights, and the houses, gardens, forests and fields are wrapped in a white feather quilt. And at the Philharmonic? FeNek knows that the magic of Christmas lies also in the unique music, which evokes memories of meeting loved ones, singing carols together and having fun in the snow or on the ice. Christmas is about images and sometimes whole films of recorded stories. If you want to feel that special atmosphere, come to the concert at the Warsaw Philharmonic. When magical snow starts to fall in the Concert Hall, the stage and the auditorium will fill with the sounds of carols, winter songs and tunes from those favourite Christmas films we love watching each year. To this concert, bring a hand-made bauble. Bring to the concert… a hand-made bauble

The Music of Snowflakes

The sound of jingle bells can be heard in the distance, the air is filled with the scents of Christmas trees and aromatic bakes, the world is beginning to sparkle with colours and lights, and the houses, gardens, forests and fields are wrapped in a white feather quilt. And at the Philharmonic? FeNek knows that the magic of Christmas lies also in the unique music, which evokes memories of meeting loved ones, singing carols together and having fun in the snow or on the ice. Christmas is about images and sometimes whole films of recorded stories. If you want to feel that special atmosphere, come to the concert at the Warsaw Philharmonic. When magical snow starts to fall in the Concert Hall, the stage and the auditorium will fill with the sounds of carols, winter songs and tunes from those favourite Christmas films we love watching each year. To this concert, bring a hand-made bauble. Bring to the concert… a hand-made bauble

Women of the Windrush

Nadine Benjamin stars in Shirley J. Thompson’s one-woman, one-act opera which weaves together filmic documentary and song in a heart-warming love letter to the resilience of the Windrush settlers.

The Wedding of the Sun King

Probably France’s largest 17th century festival comes to life again here: the wedding between the »Sun King« Louis XIV and the Spanish princess Marie-Thérèse ended the long-standing hostility of both countries in 1660 and was fittingly ostentatiously celebrated, firstly on the Spanish border, then in Paris. Thereby, a large-scale musical setting befitting their social status from sacred works via fanfares to dance and opera should also be included. Vincent Dumestre, with his period performance orchestra Le Poème Harmonique and vocalists, has put together a splendid panorama of French baroque music, which transforms the entire Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall into a royal ballroom. The proverbial timpani and trumpets sound, there is a lot of music by Jean-Baptiste Lully – Louis XIV’s favourite composer – and by Francesco Cavalli, who travelled from Italy to Paris for the wedding specifically for performances of his operas. This programme incidentally evolved from Dumestre and his ensembles for the Palace of Versailles, which the Sun King had built as an overflowing, sumptuous structure – also to make space for the theatre, ballet and opera performances he so loved. Today, the stars of the early music scene take golden hammers into their hands here and sound repertoire gems of the 16th to 18th century.

Concert of Christmas Carols

Concert of Christmas Carols at the Warsaw Philharmonic, photo: DELUGA.art Although carols have become a fixture in the musical landscape of winter, we still know little about the origins of music-making over the Christmas period. Numerous internet sources give the oldest mention of carols as being a supposed directive issued by Telesphorus, bishop of Rome, in 129 AD specifying the performance of a ‘Hymn of the Angels’ during a festive mass. Some commentators have even gone so far as to mention the title of the carol which Pope Telesphorus had in mind, overlooking the fact that Christmas services have only been held in the Roman Church since the fourth century, while the song they cite is usually dated to the eighteenth (not the second) century. Although a final answer seems unlikely, the search for the oldest carol continues, attesting to the role which the subject of Christmas has played down the centuries – both in official liturgical songs and in music-making in the home. As every year, this will be evoked for listeners by the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir. During the traditional Christmas concerts, the choir – often accompanied by soloist and instrumentalists – will perform a programme comprising carols old and new, from home and abroad. The repertoire of the December concerts alters slightly each year and offers a unique glance at the wealth of music linked to one of the most important Christian feasts. Bartłomiej Gembicki