Into the Distance

Into the Distance

26 years old, and just married to a woman who is an avowed Fennoman (a Finland enthusiast), young Jean Sibelius starts composing his first tone poem. Rather than following a specific musical road map, his En saga is more of a fairy tale of mystic landscapes. It shows vast surfaces of sound, subdued melancholy, and here and there, cheerful trolls pop up for a perky little dance. Incidentally, the first sketches to this piece were made in Austria, where Sibelius, the composer with the Swedish accent, spent his time in Viennese coffee houses, reading the Finnish national epic, the Kalewala. »I never felt more Finnish than in Vienna, Italy and Paris.« In Kaija Saariaho’s case, the musical approach to the five poems by her compatriot Pentti Saarikoski had little to do with Finnish national romanticism but more with the urge to explore the art of composing. Saariaho, who passed away in 2023, had originally set the work for soprano and piano, and the Gürzenich Orchestra now examines the orchestral version. In the very first poem, The Face of Nature, the composer’s musical language builds bridges to Jean Sibelius, while Sumun läpi – Through the mist – explores impenetrable, mysterious worlds of sound. The soloist in this performance is a longtime artistic companion of Saariaho, the singer Anu Komsi. Whoever tries to spot British sounding melodies in Dvořák’s »English« symphony, his 8th, will most certainly be disappointed. The Czech composer merely switched to a British publisher for this buoyant work, hence the misleading title. The symphony is bold, and vigorously joyful. It has an introspective beginning, but after less than a minute, the atmosphere takes a turn for the jubilant, culminating in a finale with festive, beaming fanfares. Antonín Dvořák is on the fast lane to success: »You want to know what I do? My head is full – if only one could write everything down immediately! […] The ease exceeds all expectations and the melodies just keep coming.

›Into the Countryside‹

Listen, join in, have fun, discover music – the radio3 Children’s Concerts of the DSO are the perfect introduction to the wonderful world of classical music. In six concerts per season, children of primary school age can get to know the orchestra’s enchanting sound machine in all its facets. Together with the DSO, moderator Christian Schruff takes the six to twelve-year-old concertgoers on entertaining and interactive voyages of discovery, tells exciting stories, and presents great music. Already before the concert, at the Open House in the foyer, the young music fans can get to know various instruments together with members of the orchestra, have their faces painted, do crafts, sing, and much more.

»Into the Open« - Musikfestival

Into the New Year with Beethoven's Ninth

BR-KLASSIK is a German public radio station that broadcasts classical music, jazz, and other cultural programs. It is part of Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), the public broadcaster of Bavaria.

Into the New Year with Beethoven's Ninth

BR-KLASSIK is a German public radio station that broadcasts classical music, jazz, and other cultural programs. It is part of Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), the public broadcaster of Bavaria.

Live-Concert broadcast to the Zeiss-Grossplanetarium – New Year’s Concert

The radioeins storytelling concert – “The Magic Mountain”

In the evening at the bar, someone tells great stories: Adventure, drama, entanglement, love, wisdom, humour. The radioeins storytelling lounge has been creating exactly this situation since 2023. The actress and author Meike Rötzer tells in her own words what she has gleaned from the most productive of all. The radioeins storytelling lounge now becomes a radioeins storytelling concert thanks to the RSB! The literary radio format takes to the live stage, musically enhanced by the large symphony orchestra and suitable works from Gustav Mahler to Maria Herz (!). Thomas Mann’s cult novel “The Magic Mountain” is itself an invitation.The event takes about 3 hours including a break.

Dear to the heart

Supporting the »wir helfen« (we help) campaign by the newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger is more than just a tradition upheld by the Gürzenich Orchestra – it is of heartfelt importance. This season, contributing to the initiative for underprivileged children and adolescents in the region, the orchestra will play a passionate concert full of deep emotions. Before giving birth to his second concerto for piano and orchestra, with its endless melodies and sweeping, intense drama, Sergei Rachmaninoff had to fight his way through a deep valley of depression and self-doubt. In the end, hypno-therapy is what helped the Russian composer dissolve his writer’s block. Against all expectations, the concerto was a great success: It offers everything ranging from chamber musical intimacy to symphonic opulence, and demands everything from the soloist, emotionally and technically. No problem for the 24-year-old Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev, a sensational shooting star who has won countless prizes and travels the world. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky described his last symphony, the »Pathétique,« as his best work, as being dear to his heart. He claimed to have put »all his soul« into it. The fact that he died just a few days after the premiere amplifies the impression of someone who condenses all facets of his artistic identity and symphonic oeuvre, and puts them to paper. Yet the musical approach he chooses is absolutely surprising. One would think he might bring his last symphony to a rejoicing and triumphant end, an emphatic summary of his own highly successful career. Instead, Tchaikovsky chooses a melancholy, introspective ending – not so much a real finale as a touching farewell with many open questions, a musical »good bye« which, still today, goes straight to the heart.

Maria Warenberg & Malcolm Martineau: Into the Night

For lovers of chamber music the Recital Hall is the venue of choice. You can hear the musicians breathe and you can practically touch them. This hall is also cherished by musicians for its beautiful acoustics and direct contact with the audience. In the Recital Hall you can hear the best musicians of our time. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Recital Hall for yourself!