Jakub Hrůša & Isabelle Faust

Jakub Hrůša & Isabelle Faust

The BRSO is giving its début in Gasteig’s Interim Quarter with Jakub Hrůša and the violinist Isabelle Faust, who recently thrilled Munich audiences with her readings of Adámek, Schoenberg, Eötvös and others. Now she will play the Britten concerto of 1939, a work whose symphonic earnestness and luscious violin writing place it among the foremost violin concertos of the 20th century. In addition to the insolent and brilliant First Symphony, an examination piece from the 19-year-old Shostakovich, Jakub Hrůša will introduce us to a composer from his own Czech homeland who suffered the fate of being at the wrong place at the wrong time: Miloslav Kabeláč (1908–1979). Kabeláč was unable to come to terms with the totalitarian regimes under which his country suffered, and has remained a barely heard voice as a result. In its spacious and ingeniously constructed overarching crescendo, The Mystery of Time (1957) has a magnetic power similar to that of Ravel’s Boléro.

Isabelle Faust & Friends

Arnold Schönberg’s Chamber Symphony famously once led to a riot in Vienna, but now the only virtuoso handiwork happens on stage when violinist Isabelle Faust tackles this challenging and rarely performed piece. In this evening of chamber music, some of the great works of early new music lead into the melancholy of Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet. The performance of Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet corresponds with the Berliner Philharmoniker’s chamber music afternoon event on 15 September 2024: the programme includes the benchmark clarinet quintet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Wolfgang Rihm’s response and continuation of this important clarinet quintet tradition.

Bamberger Symphoniker, Jakub Hrůša & Julia Fischer

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.

Gewandhausorchester, Jakub Hrůša Dirigent

The most valuable prize in music competitions is always the amazed and participating audience. This was no different 75 years ago, when the Bach world commemorated the 200th anniversary of the composer's death and the Bach Competition was held for the first time in Leipzig, the site of the central celebrations. Brahms, a connoisseur and admirer of Bach's music, paid homage to it in various ways. Honegger's Symphony No. 2, written during the occupation of Paris in 1941, reflects the composer's distress over the world war. The finale, infused with Bach-like polyphony, culminates in a trumpet fanfare and a chorale melody radiating hope and reconciliation.

Gewandhausorchester, Jakub Hrůša Dirigent

The most valuable prize in music competitions is always the amazed and participating audience. This was no different 75 years ago, when the Bach world commemorated the 200th anniversary of the composer's death and the Bach Competition was held for the first time in Leipzig, the site of the central celebrations. Brahms, a connoisseur and admirer of Bach's music, paid homage to it in various ways. Honegger's Symphony No. 2, written during the occupation of Paris in 1941, reflects the composer's distress over the world war. The finale, infused with Bach-like polyphony, culminates in a trumpet fanfare and a chorale melody radiating hope and reconciliation.

Jakub Hrůša & Julia Fischer

Aristotle once said that "The beginning is half of the whole." This concert will present a brand-new creation by Johannes X. Schachtner, who was born in 1985 into a Bavarian family of musicians. This young composer already has an extensive catalogue of works to his credit and collaborates with international artists such as the acclaimed violinist Julia Fischer, for whom the violin concerto we commissioned was written. The concerto refers explicitly to our roots in Prague, nodding to the Bohemian musical tradition that we have continued to cultivate under our principal conductor Jakub Hrůša. The forms adopted by Czech composers such as Dvořák and Janáček have inspired Schachtner to write a sequence of several connected movements rather than employ the traditional classical-romantic solo concerto structure. Jazz influences can be heard in the concerto, too – we can’t wait for its premiere! Dvořák's most famous contribution to the symphonic genre is marked by a similar sense of a new beginning: his cultural mission for his sojourn in the "New World" was to create an American national music – for in contrast to Europe with its centuries-long musical tradition, there had been no major developments in the field of classical music in the “land of unlimited possibilities”.

Jakub Hrůša conducts Beethoven

Under the baton of our Chief Conductor, we take our listeners on musical soul-searchings through emotional highs and lows: We combine two sonic legacies revolving around heroes – and there is a connection between them. As Romain Rolland said admiringly of Beethoven: »You are the embodiment of heroism in all of modern art. You give us your bravery, your faith that struggle is bliss.« Due to the political events around Napoleon, numerous myths surround Beethoven’s »Eroica«. The symphony was initially dedicated to the Frenchman – but even Prometheus, who brought fire to mankind in ancient times, is a possible candidate as the hero. And it is also possible that this instrumental journey may even retrace Beethoven's own fate. For the generations that followed, the famous Helden-Symphonie has remained a powerful memory – including for Richard Strauss, who almost a century later referred to the model in a way that was both playful and serious: »Ein Heldenleben« is set in E-flat major, like the »Eroica«, and displays autobiographical characteristics. In the meantime, Strauss even referred to it as a »heroic symphony«. The result is a very haunting work: at the beginning, the protagonist confronts his adversaries – the malicious envious and presumptuous know-it-alls and supposedly the nagging music critics of that time. For peace of mind, the hero then ultimately flees the world with his beloved mate. Strauss gave numerous hints about the detailed content of the symphonic poem – but what was important to him was its central message: »It is enough to know that it portrays a hero in combat with his enemies.«

Jakub Hrůša conducts Beethoven

Under the baton of our Chief Conductor, we take our listeners on musical soul-searchings through emotional highs and lows: We combine two sonic legacies revolving around heroes – and there is a connection between them. As Romain Rolland said admiringly of Beethoven: »You are the embodiment of heroism in all of modern art. You give us your bravery, your faith that struggle is bliss.« Due to the political events around Napoleon, numerous myths surround Beethoven’s »Eroica«. The symphony was initially dedicated to the Frenchman – but even Prometheus, who brought fire to mankind in ancient times, is a possible candidate as the hero. And it is also possible that this instrumental journey may even retrace Beethoven's own fate. For the generations that followed, the famous Helden-Symphonie has remained a powerful memory – including for Richard Strauss, who almost a century later referred to the model in a way that was both playful and serious: »Ein Heldenleben« is set in E-flat major, like the »Eroica«, and displays autobiographical characteristics. In the meantime, Strauss even referred to it as a »heroic symphony«. The result is a very haunting work: at the beginning, the protagonist confronts his adversaries – the malicious envious and presumptuous know-it-alls and supposedly the nagging music critics of that time. For peace of mind, the hero then ultimately flees the world with his beloved mate. Strauss gave numerous hints about the detailed content of the symphonic poem – but what was important to him was its central message: »It is enough to know that it portrays a hero in combat with his enemies.«