Liedstadt Hamburg – Opening Concert

Opening Concert in Bamberg

»Adorn yourself, O beloved soul, forsake this dark den of sin, enter into the bright light, and begin to gleam gloriously!« Thus goes a favorite hymn for the Lord’s Supper centuries ago, from which Bach created a wonderfully tranquil organ work – about which Mendelssohn commented, »If life had taken everything from me, this piece would bring me comfort again.« After this, our opening concert is all about the city of Brno, the home of our Principal Conductor. Also Petr Fiala, founder of the famous Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno and composer himself, was born here in 1943. It was his heart’s desire for Jakub Hrůša to conduct his »Stabat Mater« one day: A colourful setting of the medieval poem, focusing on the mother of Jesus in her mourning for her crucified son. We will also perform Janáček's highly original »Glagolitic Mass«, premiered in Brno in 1927: when the composer, aged 72, wrote the piece shortly before his death, he deliberately wanted to distinguish himself from Western practices and therefore spoke of a »joyful mass« – inspired by the nature spectacle of a thunderstorm and spreading an utterly secular atmosphere. And while the traditional ordinarium from Kyrie to Agnus Dei is adhered to here, the text is not in Latin but in the old Church Slavonic from the 9th century – for Janáček loved to occupy himself with different types of human tonality, which he described as his »little windows to the soul«. Musically, the agitated events are sometimes contrasted with tender passages – and just before the finale there is a brilliant organ solo, which brings this unique mass to an end like a joyful celebration.

Season opening with Vladimir Jurowski

Christina Bock falls ill, Fleur Barron replaces her.Christina Bock unfortunately had to cancel her participation in the season opening concert of the RSB on September 9th at the Philharmonie Berlin due to illness. We are delighted that Fleur Barron has agreed at short notice to take on the vocal part in Arnold Schönberg’s “Vier Lieder für Gesang und Orchester op. 22”.It began as an association of radio ensembles in a united Berlin and has grown into a solid cultural unit. Celebrate with us at the anniversary concert at the Philharmonie.The concert will be broadcast on Deutschlandfunk Kultur on 16 September 2024 at 8.03 pm.

Concert in Hamburg

Concert in Hamburg

Guildhall School Chamber Music Festival: Opening Concert

Guildhall's Chamber Music Festival opens with an entrancing programme of chamber works by Bacewicz, Bruch, Haydn, Takemitsu and Turina.

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Alain Altinoglu and the hr-Symphony Orchestra will perform in Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie with a French repertoire. The program includes Henri Dutilleux's 2nd Symphony, Claude Debussy's "Ariettes oubliées", and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade". Mezzo-soprano Ambroisine Bré joins as soloist.

Klezmerata Hamburg

The sound of the »Klezmerata« is the exciting encounter of Jewish folklore with gypsy music, tango, swing and elements of Yiddish theatre. Surprising, modern, cheerful and sensitive, the band has been winning over audiences since autumn 2018. The fun that the professional musicians have with their favourite project is immediately apparent.

Polizeichor Hamburg

The annual Christmas concert of the Polizeichor Hamburg has been attracting young and old to the Laeiszhalle Hamburg for decades. The traditional male choir is always accompanied by renowned children’s and youth choirs, such as the Schaumburger Märchensänger. The youth symphony orchestra has been a guest for 31 years. An ensemble that the singers and audience would not want to miss.

Klassikphilharmonie Hamburg

The KlassikPhilharmonie Hamburg (previously Hamburger Mozart-Orchester) was founded in 1978 by conductor Robert Stehli. The orchestra’s repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the Modern period. In addition to concerts at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and the Mozartfest Würzburg as well as international tours, the KlassikPhilharmonie is a regular and welcome guest in Hamburg’s Laeiszhalle.

Opening Night: NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / Alan Gilbert

On 13 September 1874, one of the most influential and revolutionary composers in musical history was born in Vienna: Arnold Schönberg. Exactly 150 years later, the XXL-filled NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under principal conductor Alan Gilbert and several hundred choristers along with top-class soloists congratulate him with a veritable mammoth serenade: the »Gurre-Lieder« is probably one of the most large-scale works in the entire repertoire of classical music. At the same time, a worthy start to the new NDR season full of further highlights! At the premiere of the monumental oratorio in 1913 in Vienna, Anton Webern enthused: »What a moment in my life! Unforgettable… The sensation of this roaring sound really moves me«. And this pupil of Schönberg was not the only one: the entire hall rejoiced when faced with the opulent, intoxicating sounds, which no one would have expected from Schönberg at all! The pioneer of atonality and twelve-tone music had long since distanced himself from his late-Romantic Jugendstil. When he completed the orchestration for this piece in 1910/11, which he had already started between 1900 and 1903, he, nevertheless, did not consider it obsolete, but as the »key to my entire development« and document of his musical origin. Five renowned solo singers, Thomas Quasthoff as the narrator, the combined radio choirs from Leipzig, Berlin and Hamburg as well as the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra with double and triple wind, string and percussion strengths then let the tragic story of jealousy surrounding the Danish King Valdemar and his mistress Tove become the sonorous event for the opening of the 2024/25 NDR Season. Jens Peter Jacobsen set the medieval myth play at Gurre Castle in Zealand in 1868 in several poems, which provided Schönberg with text templates for his profound orchestral song cycle.