Frank Schätzing / Reading

Frank-Michael Erben & Charlotte Steppes

Frank Peter Zimmermann plays Respighi

»Music is love‘s soul, for it is the touching of the divine with the human.« These were the thoughts of Bettina von Arnim – and in our concert conducted by Andrew Manze we indulge in such deep soundscapes as Respighi‘s »Concerto Gregoriano« from 1921: it conjures up a religiously solemn world of the middle ages – inspired by his preoccupation with the honorable church modes and meditative melodies of Gregorian chant, which had seized him »like an addiction« at the time. The violin concerto is therefore largely a lyrical-contemplative composition and quotes the Easter sequence »victimae paschali laudes« in the middle movement – but in the end it soars hymn-like with echoes of the famous »Salve Regina« chant like a fervent profession of faith. One critic characterised the violin part as that of »a cantor in an ancient religious ceremony, with the orchestra personifying the choir of the believers«. With us, Frank Peter Zimmermann will assume the role of solo choir leader with his Stradivarius. What follows is a journey into the Bruckner cosmos: his creative work was inseparably intertwined with religious sentiments, which earned him the nickname »Musician of God«. Before he had dared to approach symphonies, he had already made a name for himself as an eminent organist and church composer. After several dissatisfactory attempts, he composed his first definitive symphony in Linz in 1865/66 – which, however, he reworked in Vienna in 1891 on the basis of the experience he had gathered thereafter: it captivates the listener with its natural originality, grandiose themes and climax after climax – and in addition offers deep insights into Bruckner‘s state of mind in the heartfelt Adagio.

Klaus Mäkelä & Frank Peter Zimmermann

A programme with three works requiring solo singers is certainly something special – so that Frank Peter Zimmermann has brought along two pieces never heard before in the concerts of the BRSO: Bartók’s roughly ten-minute Rhapsody No. 2 for violin and orchestra (1928) and Martinů’s Suite concertante (1944), a four-movement violin concerto in everything but name. Both works thrive on the tension between original eastern European folk melodies, modern sonic garb and the unique individual styles of their respective creators. A folk inflection of a quite different kind depicts the “heavenly joys” that soprano Anna Lucia Richter invokes in the final movement of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. But the childlike naivety of this idyll openly displays its fractures, and perhaps no Mahler symphony is as enigmatic as his purportedly “simple” Fourth. Standing at the rostrum is the young Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä, now in his second appearance with the BRSO following his début of February 2020.

Klaus Mäkelä & Frank Peter Zimmermann

A programme with three works requiring solo singers is certainly something special – so that Frank Peter Zimmermann has brought along two pieces never heard before in the concerts of the BRSO: Bartók’s roughly ten-minute Rhapsody No. 2 for violin and orchestra (1928) and Martinů’s Suite concertante (1944), a four-movement violin concerto in everything but name. Both works thrive on the tension between original eastern European folk melodies, modern sonic garb and the unique individual styles of their respective creators. A folk inflection of a quite different kind depicts the “heavenly joys” that soprano Anna Lucia Richter invokes in the final movement of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. But the childlike naivety of this idyll openly displays its fractures, and perhaps no Mahler symphony is as enigmatic as his purportedly “simple” Fourth. Standing at the rostrum is the young Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä, now in his second appearance with the BRSO following his début of February 2020.

Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank

Everything seems to have been said about them, books have been written, films made, podcasts produced, facts collected upon facts. And yet there remains a void into which all the facts and words cannot penetrate - but the music can. In his composition, Grigori Frid approaches the inner states of Anne Frank, traces her longings and fears, and thus echoes the great literary power of Anne Frank's words. He creates a sensualization of the situation and thus a strong possibility of identification for young people today. After the White Rose, this graphic opera is dedicated to another iconic figure and victim of the Nazi dictatorship: Anne Frank. Digital and handmade, with comic, film, gore and poetry, documentary and fantastic, telling history and stories differently. For the truth behind reality! Production: David Bösch Setsund costume: Patrick Bannwart Video: Falko Herold Dramaturgy: Janina Zell, Michael Sangkuhl Music theater pedagogy: Maura Kopschitz

Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank

Everything seems to have been said about them, books have been written, films made, podcasts produced, facts collected upon facts. And yet there remains a void into which all the facts and words cannot penetrate - but the music can. In his composition, Grigori Frid approaches the inner states of Anne Frank, traces her longings and fears, and thus echoes the great literary power of Anne Frank's words. He creates a sensualization of the situation and thus a strong possibility of identification for young people today. After the White Rose, this graphic opera is dedicated to another iconic figure and victim of the Nazi dictatorship: Anne Frank. Digital and handmade, with comic, film, gore and poetry, documentary and fantastic, telling history and stories differently. For the truth behind reality! Production: David Bösch Setsund costume: Patrick Bannwart Video: Falko Herold Dramaturgy: Janina Zell, Michael Sangkuhl Music theater pedagogy: Maura Kopschitz

Film concert with Frank Strobel

EFPI FILMPHILHARMONIE PRESENTATION Film Copyright © Park Circus Limited Musik Copyright © Sewell/Kay Edition The film will be shown in the original version with German subtitles.

Kirill Petrenko and Frank Peter Zimmermann

What Jean Sibelius is to Finland, Edward Elgar is to England: both composers gave their country its own national musical language. With his Lemminkäinen Suite, Sibelius transports us to the world of Finnish legends. He tells of the adventures of a young, high-spirited hero in music that is as impassioned as it is sincere. Edward Elgar’s violin concerto reflects the values of Victorian England – profound, romantic, noble. The violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, widely acclaimed for his selfless musicality, performs the concerto under the direction of Kirill Petrenko.

Kirill Petrenko and Frank Peter Zimmermann

What Jean Sibelius is to Finland, Edward Elgar is to England: both composers gave their country its own national musical language. With his Lemminkäinen Suite, Sibelius transports us to the world of Finnish legends. He tells of the adventures of a young, high-spirited hero in music that is as impassioned as it is sincere. Edward Elgar’s violin concerto reflects the values of Victorian England – profound, romantic, noble. The violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, widely acclaimed for his selfless musicality, performs the concerto under the direction of Kirill Petrenko.

Kirill Petrenko and Frank Peter Zimmermann

What Jean Sibelius is to Finland, Edward Elgar is to England: both composers gave their country its own national musical language. With his Lemminkäinen Suite, Sibelius transports us to the world of Finnish legends. He tells of the adventures of a young, high-spirited hero in music that is as impassioned as it is sincere. Edward Elgar’s violin concerto reflects the values of Victorian England – profound, romantic, noble. The violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, widely acclaimed for his selfless musicality, performs the concerto under the direction of Kirill Petrenko.