Keywords: Symphony Concert, Vocal Music
| MDR-Rundfunkchor | Choir |
| MDR-Sinfonieorchester | Orchestra |
| Dennis Russell Davies | Conductor |
| Christoph Prégardien | Tenor |
| Mirella Hagen | Soprano |
| Robert Schumann | Requiem für Mignon op. 98b |
| Kurt Schwertsik | Fioretti per San Francesco op. 88 |
| Joseph Haydn | Sinfonie B-Dur Hob. I:102 |
These events are similar in terms of concept, place, musicians or the program.
It only lasts seven minutes, but it is nonetheless monumental: Arnold Schoenberg’s melodrama »Ein Überlebender aus Warschau« (A Survivor from Warsaw). Schoenberg had readopted the Jewish faith, and he wrote the piece, which opens with a fierce trumpet signal, in 1947 to commemorate the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto. The score mixes the narrative of a man hiding in the sewers with German commands, martial rhythms – and finally the hopeful Hebrew words »Schma Yisrael«, which the Jews use to prepare for death. The part of the narrator is taken by Dominique Horwitz, himself the son of Jewish parents. The French-German actor and chansonnier is in great demand for performances of literary works of music, from Tom Waits’s »Black Rider« to Stravinsky’s »Histoire du soldat«. And the soloists in the second part of the programme likewise have resounding names: among them are the American soprano Susanna Phillips, alto Gerhild Romberger and baritone Michael Nagy. »War and Peace« is the motto of the Hamburg International Music Festival, and chief conductor Alan Gilbert and his NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra place the emphasis on a work of hope and brotherly love: Beethoven’s world-famous Ninth Symphony. The overwhelming finale culminates in Friedrich Schiller’s lines »All men shall be brothers«, which win the day against all the powers of destruction. Beethoven not only touched a nerve in his own time by ending the symphony with a large-scale chorus of rejoicing: nowadays, everyone is familiar with the melody in the guise of the European anthem. Even the playing time of a compact disc, when the CD format was introduced, was geared to enable Beethoven’s oversized Ninth to be played without a break.
It only lasts seven minutes, but it is nonetheless monumental: Arnold Schoenberg’s melodrama »Ein Überlebender aus Warschau« (A Survivor from Warsaw). Schoenberg had readopted the Jewish faith, and he wrote the piece, which opens with a fierce trumpet signal, in 1947 to commemorate the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto. The score mixes the narrative of a man hiding in the sewers with German commands, martial rhythms – and finally the hopeful Hebrew words »Schma Yisrael«, which the Jews use to prepare for death. The part of the narrator is taken by Dominique Horwitz, himself the son of Jewish parents. The French-German actor and chansonnier is in great demand for performances of literary works of music, from Tom Waits’s »Black Rider« to Stravinsky’s »Histoire du soldat«. And the soloists in the second part of the programme likewise have resounding names: among them are the American soprano Susanna Phillips, alto Gerhild Romberger and baritone Michael Nagy. »War and Peace« is the motto of the Hamburg International Music Festival, and chief conductor Alan Gilbert and his NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra place the emphasis on a work of hope and brotherly love: Beethoven’s world-famous Ninth Symphony. The overwhelming finale culminates in Friedrich Schiller’s lines »All men shall be brothers«, which win the day against all the powers of destruction. Beethoven not only touched a nerve in his own time by ending the symphony with a large-scale chorus of rejoicing: nowadays, everyone is familiar with the melody in the guise of the European anthem. Even the playing time of a compact disc, when the CD format was introduced, was geared to enable Beethoven’s oversized Ninth to be played without a break.
The State Association of North German Amateur Orchestras celebrates the 100th anniversary of the BDLO Federal Association of Amateur Music Symphony and Chamber Orchestras with Mahler’s »Resurrection Symphony«. To this day, performances of Mahler’s monumental Second Symphony are an impressive event - not only in Hamburg, where the composer once had the inspiration for the choral finale in the Michel. Together, the Gustav Mahler Association Hamburg, which has set itself the task of raising public awareness of the composer and the traditional music association, founded a project orchestra and choir especially for this concert, bringing the work of the century to the Laeiszhalle to mark the anniversary.
»Scena di Berenice«, which is rarely performed nowadays, was composed by Joseph Haydn during his second visit to London. The content is quintessential for a classical aria: a woman in love has been abandoned by her partner and now laments sonorously. 130 years later, a work by Béla Bartók caused a far-reaching scandal: the fiery dance pantomime called »The Miraculous Mandarin« was banned in Cologne in 1926 by the then Lord Mayor Konrad Adenauer. This is how barbaric the music seemed to the listeners. And it is indeed true: Bartók was not interested in music as edification. He wanted to depict reality. And reality in the early 20th century was often a long way from harmonious. In the second half of the concert, Gustav Mahler’s fourth and arguably most light-filled symphony takes us back to the beginning of the century. But beware: the light in the symphony is tempered with some dark shallow waters. At a children’s concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall back in 1960, the great rediscoverer of Mahler, Leonard Bernstein, said: »Well, you might not believe it, but the man who wrote all that jolly stuff was one of the most unhappy people in history!«
»Scena di Berenice«, which is rarely performed nowadays, was composed by Joseph Haydn during his second visit to London. The content is quintessential for a classical aria: a woman in love has been abandoned by her partner and now laments sonorously. 130 years later, a work by Béla Bartók caused a far-reaching scandal: the fiery dance pantomime called »The Miraculous Mandarin« was banned in Cologne in 1926 by the then Lord Mayor Konrad Adenauer. This is how barbaric the music seemed to the listeners. And it is indeed true: Bartók was not interested in music as edification. He wanted to depict reality. And reality in the early 20th century was often a long way from harmonious. In the second half of the concert, Gustav Mahler’s fourth and arguably most light-filled symphony takes us back to the beginning of the century. But beware: the light in the symphony is tempered with some dark shallow waters. At a children’s concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall back in 1960, the great rediscoverer of Mahler, Leonard Bernstein, said: »Well, you might not believe it, but the man who wrote all that jolly stuff was one of the most unhappy people in history!«
Tan Dun is considered one of the most impressive and influential composers of our time – a crossover artist who combines classical and modern elements in his music and creates a connection between East and West. His work »Choral Concerto: Nine«, inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and composed to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth in 2020, now celebrates its German premiere at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.
Anton Bruckner was extremely critical of his compositions throughout his lifetime – with just a few exceptions: he described his Sixth Symphony as his »boldest« and the »Te Deum« as the »pride of his life«. It is absolutely fitting, then, that the world-renowned conductor Pablo Heras-Casado should be congratulating the composer on his 200th birthday with this programme performed by a large orchestra! The »Te Deum« is a mighty creation in praise of God, with an orchestra performing alongside an organ, choir and four vocal soloists. They include the sought-after soprano Christina Landshamer and the bass Franz-Josef Selig, who recently impressed Hamburg audiences in Wagner’s »Flying Dutchman« at the State Opera. Bruckner most likely wanted to impress even divine powers with the five-part work but, that aside, has certainly been inspiring audiences down here on earth ever since the premiere. We can only guess as to what exactly Bruckner found so bold about his Sixth Symphony, but there are many possible reasons: the succinct rhythm right at the start, the energy of which is perpetuated throughout the entire first movement. Or perhaps it alludes to the third movement, which swings back and forth between spooky sequences and blaring brass. Viewed as a whole, the symphonies are among Bruckner’s most »secular« works, making them the perfect counterpart to the Te Deum.
Top musicians from the most important European orchestras and outstanding chamber ensembles united in an elite orchestra: Orchestra Leonore, founded and conducted by Daniele Giorgi. In cooperation with the Philharmonischer Chor München and with renowned vocal soloists, Orchestra Leonore will present Beethoven’s monumental Symphony No. 9 on this evening.
The Deutsche Philharmonie Berlin came together in 2018 under the direction of Boris Lichtmann. It consists of internationally renowned musicians. The dynamic orchestra currently works under the baton of Igor Budinstein and pursues a high musical standard. The main focus of this promising symphony orchestra is Viennese classical music.
As Hamburg’s oldest amateur symphony orchestra, the Hamburger Orchestergemeinschaft from 1904 organises at least two concerts a year. Time and again, the orchestra gives young, very talented conductors and soloists the opportunity to gain experience with public performances in large concert halls. For the anniversary concert, the orchestra under the direction of Wolf Tobias M. Müller showcases its musical breadth with a colourful bouquet of overtures and arias from Mozart to Puccini as well as Schubert’s »Unfinished« Symphony. To celebrate the anniversiary, a new percussion concerto by Fredrik Schwenk will be premiered.
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