Keywords: Afternoon Concert, Symphony Concert
| Anna Handler | |
| Bastian Spier | Horn |
| Ein Sommernachtstraum. Ouvertüre op. 21 | Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy |
| Hornkonzert Nr. 1 Es-Dur op. 11 | Richard Strauss |
| Symphonie A-Dur KV 201 | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
These events are similar in terms of concept, place, musicians or the program.
Music is like time, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Its tempo can resemble a heartbeat, a steady pulse, or the expansion of the universe. This concert takes us on an auditory journey from the vastness of space, through seasons and time, right down to the present moment.
Does the cello have so many fans because it is most similar to the human voice? At least that's what cellists like to say about their instrument, which became the new star in string heaven during the Romantic period. Since the Baroque era, the violin had been the undisputed queen, with the cello relegated to the continuo with the double bass. Antonín Dvořák also had to make friends with the cello, which was sometimes derided as a “sorrow box” due to its pronounced melancholic qualities. As a guest in the USA, he finally wrote a great dance-like concerto for the instrument, which became a favorite piece from his pen around the world, rich in melody and virtuoso. The family concert title “Hello Cello!” is a greeting with which we and our audience aged 8 and over welcome artist in residence Sheku Kanneh-Mason, his wonderful instrument and the Dvořák concert. And an exclamation of surprised admiration: Hello - what this cello can do!
‘The expedition concerts are all about the pure joy of listening. We approach the great masterpieces of classical music from different directions, listen to the details, combine background stories and anecdotes with musical discoveries and take the audience on this journey,’ says Joana Mallwitz, describing the format. She first shares her enthusiasm at the piano, then switches to conducting the Konzerthausorchester. The entire work is then performed together - in this case, Bela Bartók's brilliantly orchestrated Concerto for Orchestra from 1943, in whose five movements the composer combines Western musical tradition with Hungarian folk music.
Of light and shadow: The 19-year-old Franz Schubert's third symphony in D major, which is cheerful and at times like a folk song, was written for a private circle in 1815 and probably premiered there, is followed by Anton Bruckner's tragic last work, his unfinished ninth in D minor. He worked on the finale of this symphony, which continues the weighty tradition of its eight predecessors, until his death in 1896. He fervently hoped to be able to finish the last movement and even spoke of it to his doctor. Because the apartment was sealed too late after his death, all kinds of authorized and unauthorized persons immediately pounced on the existing manuscript pages. Its creator, however, had finally realized that his strength and time would not be enough to complete it. He therefore decreed that his “Te Deum”, completed twelve years earlier, should be played instead of the fourth movement. However, the symphony is often simply performed unfinished. Incidentally, Iván Fischer and the Konzerthausorchester already played Bruckner's monumental Ninth in 2013.
A very British evening: Stephanie Childress, a young conductor from London, performs works by three of her fellow countrymen. For a five-movement work commissioned by the Rural School Music Association in 1950, Ralph Vaughan Williams took on a baroque concerto grosso in his very own musical language. This allowed him to divide the musicians taking part in the concerto - mostly beginners, some advanced players and only a few who had mastered their string instrument to a high standard - into the groups “concertino”, “ripiendo” and “ad lib”. The latter group only played on empty strings, which, according to the composer, could be omitted if necessary. The soloist in Britten's highly demanding Violin Concerto from 1939 is 23-year-old Dutch violinist Noa Wildschut, who our audience already celebrated in the Great Hall in 2016 and 2019. Edward Elgar's famous “Enigma Variations”, premiered in 1899, characterize thirteen people from his circle and ultimately himself. But their identity is not the original “Enigma”. According to the composer, the structure conceals a kind of musical riddle, about which various theories have been put forward to date.
Mozart's “Magic Flute” is a masterpiece of the 18th century that reflects the moral concepts of the time with regard to the roles of men and women. Iván Fischer wants to confront parts of this favorite opera with 21st century values. He concentrates on well-known arias and scenes: Reversed gender roles of central characters invite an unexpected new listening experience as well as reflection. For example, a King of the Night, interpreted by the outstanding countertenor Samuel Mariño, appears as the antagonist of the powerful Sarastra, sung by Deniz Uzun. Iván Fischer also plays with the music itself, for example when he has the famous overture performed not only by the Konzerthausorchester but also by the Vocalconsort Berlin.
‘The expedition concerts are all about the pure joy of listening. We approach the great masterpieces of classical music from different directions, listen to the details, combine background stories and anecdotes with musical discoveries and take the audience on this journey,’ says Joana Mallwitz, describing the format. She first shares her enthusiasm at the piano, then switches to conducting the Konzerthausorchester. The entire work is then performed together - in this case Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony from 1807/08, the first four notes of which are among the most famous beginnings of works in music history. Its universe, according to a popular interpretation, is the individual and his/her fate. This is why it unofficially bears the German nickname ‘Fate Symphony’, which was not given to it by Beethoven. The composer struggled with his early onset of deafness. He found the strength not to despair in composing and also wanted to uplift his fellow human beings in distress: ‘Anyone who knows my music cannot become completely despondent.’
What would the Advent season be without Johann Sebastian Bach's music, especially the Weihnachts-Oratorium (Christmas Oratorio) that all the musicians in Germany simply call ‘WO’? The Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the traditional boys' choir of the Leipzig Thomaner - founded in 1212 and thus one of the oldest choirs of all - and renowned soloists fill the Great Hall with the familiar sounds and festive atmosphere.
Begin 2025 in a musical way with us in the Great Hall - with the Konzerthausorchester, our chief conductor Joana Mallwitz, cello soloist Nicoas Altstaedt and festive and cheerful orchestral pieces from Johann Strauss' rousing Fledermaus Overture to Antonín Dvořák's turbulent “Carnival” and Ottorino Respighi's tone poem “Roman Festivals”.
Good news for all fans of Sebastian Knauer - the pianist is back at the Konzerthaus with Mozart's Concerto in D minor, premiered in 1785. Compared to earlier works in this genre, the orchestra is increasingly taking on the role of piano partner, which is of course good news for the Konzerthausorchester. Under the Dutch conductor Jan Willem de Vriend, however, our musicians will first play the inter-act music to a drama about the Egyptian King Thamos, which is set in the sun city of Heliopolis and was first performed in 1774. There is little to say about the plot - apart from the fact that the right people get each other and the schemers die by their own daggers or by being struck by lightning. Finally, Haydn's No. 99 from 1793, one of the „London“ symphonies, is played. In it, he used clarinets for the first time and (whether because of this or anyway is not known) had considerable success with the public.
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