Emelyanychev & Kopatchinskaja

Emelyanychev & Müller

In 1851, the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer sounds off in his essay »on women« that they do not really and truly have sense and sensitivity, »neither for music, nor poetry, nor fine arts«. In such surroundings, Emilie Mayer must have seemed like a provocation: the young woman from small-town Mecklenburg led a glorious life as a composer in Berlin, performed one symphony after the other, became the deputy head of the Berlin Opera Academy and an honorary member of the Philharmonic Society in Munich. It’s high time to rediscover her and her music!

Maxim Emelyanychev & Isabelle Faust

The BRSO welcomes Maxim Emelyanychev, one of the most fascinating talents of the young generation of conductors, to its podium for the first time. Trained by the legendary Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Emelyanychev began his conducting career in his native Russia, while at the same time attracting attention as an extraordinary pianist – with CD recordings of Mozart sonatas, for example, or playing the fortepiano in Teodor Currentzis’ Da Ponte cycle. Since 2013 he has led the highly successful Italian Baroque ensemble Il pomo d’oro, and since 2019 he has also led the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has made highly acclaimed recordings with both ensembles. For his BRSO debut, Emelyanychev has put together an attractive Romantic program in which one can expect a fresh approach inspired by the music of the Classical and Baroque periods. This is also in line with violinist Isabelle Faust’s approach – especially for the Brahms concerto, in which she pursues the ideal of clarity, transparency and lightness.

Maxim Emelyanychev & Isabelle Faust

The BRSO welcomes Maxim Emelyanychev, one of the most fascinating talents of the young generation of conductors, to its podium for the first time. Trained by the legendary Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Emelyanychev began his conducting career in his native Russia, while at the same time attracting attention as an extraordinary pianist – with CD recordings of Mozart sonatas, for example, or playing the fortepiano in Teodor Currentzis’ Da Ponte cycle. Since 2013 he has led the highly successful Italian Baroque ensemble Il pomo d’oro, and since 2019 he has also led the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has made highly acclaimed recordings with both ensembles. For his BRSO debut, Emelyanychev has put together an attractive Romantic program in which one can expect a fresh approach inspired by the music of the Classical and Baroque periods. This is also in line with violinist Isabelle Faust’s approach – especially for the Brahms concerto, in which she pursues the ideal of clarity, transparency and lightness.

Patricia Kopatchinskaja plays Luca Francesconi

»You must offer something good to the body so that the soul wants to live in it.« This quote became famous through Winston Churchill – but it originally originated from a Spanish mystic of the 16th century. Fittingly, we play an exciting violin concerto entitled »Corpo Elettrico« from Italian composer Luca Francesconi, born in 1956. The piece revolves around magical metamorphoses of energy processes: It all starts harmlessly at first, but as it progresses, the violin part, which at some point resembles a machine and becomes very explosive, sounds like a guitar solo by Jimi Hendrix. A tour de force with electronics and megaphones as well as an unbelievable pull – written for Patricia Kopatchinskaja in 2020, who continuously shakes up the classical music business with her uncompromising artistic attitude and once said: »When I play, I have to have something to say. It has to come from my whole body and soul.« The sound fireworks keep going after this – with Beethoven‘s most passionate symphony. His Seventh was given numerous programmatic interpretations in literature, which definitely associated material delights: they range from a wedding celebration and a knight‘s festival to the depiction of an »ancient wine feast«, with the finale heard as a »drinking binge«. Beethoven completed the symphony in 1812 – the year in which he also wrote his desperate letter to the »immortal beloved«, which for him meant the final renunciation of personal happiness in love. Nevertheless, he accomplished an optimistic work with his Seventh, because it was clear to him: »Music should strike fire from the human soul«.

Patricia Kopatchinskaja spielt Schostakowitsch, Ligeti und Hartmann