Levi Schechtmann & David Wurm

David Briggs, Organ

The first part of David Briggs’ concert proceeds majestically, the second part is symphonic. With this British organist, one of the stars of the organ world is gracing the Elbphilharmonie: previously a cathedral organist in Truro and Gloucester, then as artist in residence in New York and Toronto, he is in demand worldwide when the king of instruments is to sound. Because if there is one thing that the British can do it is this: royal splendour! The baroque composer Jeremiah Clarke had already elegantly celebrated this in his »Prince of Denmark’s March«. This is why the contemporary composer Patrick Gowers has written a humorous remark in the rumba rhythm. The story of Pelléas and Mélisande, which Claude Debussy immersed in impressionistic orchestral colours and David Briggs arranged for organ, also plays in the royal atmosphere. Furthermore, Briggs is devoted to Symphony No. 1 by Johannes Brahms. Because this is his speciality: arranging big orchestral symphonies for symphonic organ. Primarily, the symphonies of Gustav Mahler impressed the Brit, but also Brahms is eminently suitable, especially his first symphonic opus. The tremendous pedal point for instance (fittingly the name for accompanying repeated notes) with which the first movement begins is really made to be played on the eponymous instrument. And with a skilful arranger such as David Briggs we can be certain: the other three movements will also sound as if they were composed for the organ. Especially when he has such a symphonic instrument as the organ of the Elbphilharmonie under his feet and hands.

Gewandhausorchester, David Robertson Dirigent

IM KREIS . . . ... seiner Schüler Webern und Berg begeht Schönberg bei uns sein Jubeljahr. An der Geburtstagstafel ist für drei weitere Gäste eingedeckt: Bach, bei dem alles beginnt und endet, Brahms the Progressive, und Wagner, der sich selbst eingeladen hat und das Vorspiel zum antitonalitären Zirkel mitbringt. Die runde Tafelmusik beginnt mit Weberns Gesellenstück von 1908 und dem allerletzten Berg-Werk vom anderen Ende der zweiten Wiener Schulzeit 1936. IM DUNKEL Souverän gebietet der 25-jährige Webern dem gewaltigen spätromantischen Orchester und beschwört zugleich mit dem barocken Satzprinzip der Passacaglia den zeitlosen Geist Bachs. Jedes Detail des farb- und formenreichen Satzes leitet Webern aus einem stetig kreisenden Hauptund einem Gegenthema her. Fast zeitgleich komponierte sein knapp zehn Jahre älterer Lehrer das Monodram Erwartung. Zur Uraufführung gelangte Schönbergs schneller Wurf jedoch erst vor 100 Jahren: Zemlinsky leitete 1924 in Prag die Premiere. Der Schauplatz – eine Mondnacht im Wald – scheint durch und durch romantisch. Doch das Dunkel ist zugleich Seelenraum einer Frau auf der Suche nach ihrem Geliebten, hinund hergerissen zwischen Ungewissheit, Hoffnung, Angst, Einsamkeit und Grauen. IM HIMMEL Wir bleiben halt unverbesserliche Romantiker! Auch mein neues Violinkonzert bestätigt es wieder, resümiert Berg also mit gutem Grund gegen Ende seines Lebens. Das einmalige Konzept des Werkes stand längst, als ihn die Nachricht vom Tod der 18-jährigen, an Kinderlähmung leidenden Manon Gropius ereilte, Tochter Alma Mahler-Werfels aus der Ehe mit Walter Gropius. Im letzten Abschnitt verschmilzt die genial gebaute Zwölftonreihe mit dem Beginn des Sterbechorals Es ist genug!, den Berg aus Bachs Leipziger Kantate O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort! BWV 60 herbeizitiert – nicht ahnend, dass er neben Manon auch sich selbst aus dem Leben verabschiedete.

Gewandhausorchester, David Robertson Dirigent

IM KREIS . . . ... seiner Schüler Webern und Berg begeht Schönberg bei uns sein Jubeljahr. An der Geburtstagstafel ist für drei weitere Gäste eingedeckt: Bach, bei dem alles beginnt und endet, Brahms the Progressive, und Wagner, der sich selbst eingeladen hat und das Vorspiel zum antitonalitären Zirkel mitbringt. Die runde Tafelmusik beginnt mit Weberns Gesellenstück von 1908 und dem allerletzten Berg-Werk vom anderen Ende der zweiten Wiener Schulzeit 1936. IM DUNKEL Souverän gebietet der 25-jährige Webern dem gewaltigen spätromantischen Orchester und beschwört zugleich mit dem barocken Satzprinzip der Passacaglia den zeitlosen Geist Bachs. Jedes Detail des farb- und formenreichen Satzes leitet Webern aus einem stetig kreisenden Hauptund einem Gegenthema her. Fast zeitgleich komponierte sein knapp zehn Jahre älterer Lehrer das Monodram Erwartung. Zur Uraufführung gelangte Schönbergs schneller Wurf jedoch erst vor 100 Jahren: Zemlinsky leitete 1924 in Prag die Premiere. Der Schauplatz – eine Mondnacht im Wald – scheint durch und durch romantisch. Doch das Dunkel ist zugleich Seelenraum einer Frau auf der Suche nach ihrem Geliebten, hinund hergerissen zwischen Ungewissheit, Hoffnung, Angst, Einsamkeit und Grauen. IM HIMMEL Wir bleiben halt unverbesserliche Romantiker! Auch mein neues Violinkonzert bestätigt es wieder, resümiert Berg also mit gutem Grund gegen Ende seines Lebens. Das einmalige Konzept des Werkes stand längst, als ihn die Nachricht vom Tod der 18-jährigen, an Kinderlähmung leidenden Manon Gropius ereilte, Tochter Alma Mahler-Werfels aus der Ehe mit Walter Gropius. Im letzten Abschnitt verschmilzt die genial gebaute Zwölftonreihe mit dem Beginn des Sterbechorals Es ist genug!, den Berg aus Bachs Leipziger Kantate O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort! BWV 60 herbeizitiert – nicht ahnend, dass er neben Manon auch sich selbst aus dem Leben verabschiedete.

AKADEMIE FORUM: DAVID WAGNER

David Wagner’s novel Verkin takes the reader on an adventure from the Bosporus through Türkiye and across three continents, on a search for clues between Orient and Occident, deep into the tumultuous 20th century. It is the story of a peculiar friendship and of an extraordinary woman. A cat is brought to Berlin from Lake Van in Anatolia, a cat with one blue and one brown eye. At the welcome party given in its honor, the novel’s narrator meets the person who brought the cat and asks himself: Who is this Turkish-Armenian woman named Verkin who looks like an astronaut in her shiny metallic dress? Soon he travels to Istanbul himself to work on a new book, carrying in his luggage various German meat products as gifts to Verkin in return for the cat. No sooner has he arrived than he is being seduced: by the stories from her almost fairy-tale life. Together the two drive through the city and across the Bosporus, they travel to the Lycian coast, visit the ruins of thermal baths, roll through Anatolia in the dining car, and eventually reach Lake Van on the Iranian border. Verkin tells of her childhood in Istanbul and of her ancient Armenian family; of grandmothers who in 1915 survived the killings and displacements, and of her father, who built the largest electricity company in Türkiye; of Swiss boarding schools and of Paris in 1968; of lucrative deals in East Berlin and of artist circles in New York City in the 1970s; of her men, among them two Germans; and of a nearly fatal accident that sent her on a yearslong odyssey, of her commitment to the Armenian heritage; of her struggle against patriarchy and of her political work; of a country and a life full of contradictions. Born in 1971, David Wagner made his literary debut with the novel Meine nachtblaue Hose. He has since published many other books, including a collection of short stories, Was alles fehlt, a volume of prose writings, Spricht das Kind, the essay collections Welche Farbe hat Berlin and Mauer Park, the childhood memoir Drüben und drüben (with Jochen Schmidt), the novel Vier Äpfel, which was long-listed for the German Book Prize, and Ein Zimmer im Hotel. He was awarded the Leipzig Book Fair Prize for Leben in 2023; the following year he received the Kranichsteiner Literaturpreis and was the inaugural Friedrich Dürrenmatt Guest Professor for World Literature at the University of Bern. In 2019, Der vergessliche Riese won him the Bavarian Book Prize as well as a place on the shortlist for the Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize. His books have been translated into many languages. He lives in Berlin. Presented in GermanFeaturing a musical performance by Eda Seviniş (piano), student at the Barenboim-Said Akademie

David Numwami - Basement Sessions

The SummerConcerts powered by VriendenLoterij present two months of wonderful concerts, from classical to jazz and from pop music to film scores. Top musicians from the Netherlands and around the world bring you all your favourite classical pieces, as well as tributes to Leonard Cohen and The Beatles, and all your favourite film music.We also present a host of young talent in our summer concerts, including youth orchestras from South Africa and Turkey, and top young classical soloists. After many of the concerts, we offer a meet-and-greet with the artists in an informal setting, or an afterparty with DJ in the Entrance Hall. In one of the world’s finest concert halls, there’s something for everyone this summer at The Concertgebouw!

David Numwami - Basement Sessions

The SummerConcerts powered by VriendenLoterij present two months of wonderful concerts, from classical to jazz and from pop music to film scores. Top musicians from the Netherlands and around the world bring you all your favourite classical pieces, as well as tributes to Leonard Cohen and The Beatles, and all your favourite film music.We also present a host of young talent in our summer concerts, including youth orchestras from South Africa and Turkey, and top young classical soloists. After many of the concerts, we offer a meet-and-greet with the artists in an informal setting, or an afterparty with DJ in the Entrance Hall. In one of the world’s finest concert halls, there’s something for everyone this summer at The Concertgebouw!

David Lang: poor hymnal

The Concertgebouw’s famous Main Hall is one of the best concert halls in the world, well-known for its exceptional acoustics and special atmosphere. In the Main Hall, you will feel history. Here, Gustav Mahler conducted his own compositions, as did Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky. Sergei Rachmaninoff played his own piano concertos in the Main Hall. This is also where musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, Vladimir Horowitz and Yehudi Menuhin gave legendary performances. Right up to now, the Main Hall offers a stage to the world’s best orchestras and musicians. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Main Hall for yourself!

Chamber Orchestra – David Fray

David Afkham & Christian Tetzlaff

This concert promises two exciting novelties: David Afkham will be the third conductor making his debut this season, and a symphony by Franz Schmidt will be performed for the first time ever in a BRSO concert. Afkham, currently Chief Conductor of the Spanish National Orchestra, trained as a conductor with the renowned Bernard Haitink, who was also closely associated with the BRSO – which makes for a fitting debut. Franz Schmidt is one of the Viennese fin-de-siècle composers who is unjustly neglected nowdays. Schmidt himself described the Fourth Symphony, written in 1932-1933 after the death of his 30-year-old daughter in childbirth, as a “requiem.” His epic, late-Romantic style results in deeply-felt music imbued with formal finesse and a tragic, poignant character. Berg’s Violin Concerto, written in 1935, provides the perfect companion piece, since it is also a “requiem” for someone who departed early from this world: Manon Gropius, Alma Mahler’s daughter, who died when she was only 18 years old.

David Afkham & Christian Tetzlaff

This concert promises two exciting novelties: David Afkham will be the third conductor making his debut this season, and a symphony by Franz Schmidt will be performed for the first time ever in a BRSO concert. Afkham, currently Chief Conductor of the Spanish National Orchestra, trained as a conductor with the renowned Bernard Haitink, who was also closely associated with the BRSO – which makes for a fitting debut. Franz Schmidt is one of the Viennese fin-de-siècle composers who is unjustly neglected nowdays. Schmidt himself described the Fourth Symphony, written in 1932-1933 after the death of his 30-year-old daughter in childbirth, as a “requiem.” His epic, late-Romantic style results in deeply-felt music imbued with formal finesse and a tragic, poignant character. Berg’s Violin Concerto, written in 1935, provides the perfect companion piece, since it is also a “requiem” for someone who departed early from this world: Manon Gropius, Alma Mahler’s daughter, who died when she was only 18 years old.