›Music from Jewish Exile in Shanghai‹

Jewish Music Night

Sacral and spiritual music is the focus of this three-part evening that brings together Jewish singing traditions from several continents. The Piyut Ensemble takes its name from a form of religious Jewish poetry. Synagogue songs and music from North Africa and the Middle East are the sources of inspiration for its spiritual and artistic work, which is deeply rooted in the Jewish faith and Jewish ceremonies. The band Yemen Blues received unanimous acclaim from the audience here back in the Elbphilharmonie’s opening year. Almost seven years later, their singer Ravid Kahalani returns to Hamburg with his equally exciting ensemble Voices of Yemen. Jewish-Yemeni songs intoned with an amazing rawness to the accompaniment of an electric guitar, percussion and the relentlessly pulsating bass of Shanir Blumenkranz promise once more to lead the Hamburg audience to a state of trance, joy and ecstasy. For a number of years now, young Hassidic singers in Brooklyn have been intensively searching together for the synagogue songs of their ancestors. Sound recordings from the pre-war era provide valuable points of reference for producing historically accurate yet individual interpretations. The strong, beautiful singing exudes an uplifting joy and optimism, which probably gave their ancestors strength and solace as they experienced persecution, expulsion and flight, and were forced to start new lives in foreign countries. The Brooklyn Cantors’ programme also includes a song by Yossele Rosenblatt, who worked in Hamburg from 1906 until 1912, before he made it big in the USA. Rosenblatt is still regarded as one of the greatest cantors of all time. This video gives a taste of the Brooklyn Cantors’ impressive singing.

Concert in Shanghai

Concert in Shanghai

Ensemble Finale presents 'A Celebration of Jewish Music'

Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg

The Jewish spring festival of Passover is not only a religious festival, but above all a cultural event that celebrates renewal and freedom. In keeping with this, the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg (JCOHH) is opening its new concert series »BÜSCHEN MESCHUGGE« under the motto »Hope. Blossom. A new beginning.«

Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg

The Jewish spring festival of Passover is not only a religious festival, but above all a cultural event that celebrates renewal and freedom. In keeping with this, the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Hamburg (JCOHH) is opening its new concert series »BÜSCHEN MESCHUGGE« under the motto »Hope. Blossom. A new beginning.«

Mahler Chamber Orchestra: Music from the New World

Antonello Manacorda and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra open our International Chamber Orchestra series with music from the “New World”. Anton Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony, written in New York, clearly expresses the influences of both indigenous and African American melodies – although the work is also unmistakably Bohemian in colour. 2024 marks the 150th birthday of the brilliant Charles Ives, the first American composer to gain truly global recognition. Anna Prohaska sings selected songs by Ives, juxtaposed with songs by Gustav Mahler, his European contemporary.

Music of the Movies: From the Heart

On Valentine's Day, experience music from some of the greatest love stories in film, performed by violinist Esther Abrami, soprano Carly Paoli and a live orchestra.

Choreographed Music

In Monday at Last, violinist Cecilia Zilliacus and cellist Kati Raitinen invite artists to perform both newer and older music. But this Monday, it's not guest musicians who take over the stage of the Grünewald Hall – it's dancers!Nadja Sellrup is a principal dancer with the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm, while Oscar Salomonsson has previously held a similar position. Both have performed in a range of acclaimed and widely discussed productions at the Royal Swedish Opera. They have also enjoyed distinguished international careers.Now we get to experience them in Connection–Band–Saraband with choreography by Pär Isberg, inspired by Ingmar Bergman's film Saraband, which focuses on relationships. The music comes from Bach's cello suites, which were important to Bergman.This exciting Monday at Last concert also features music by Sibelius, Lera Auerbach, and Erwin Schulhoff, as well as Jonas S Bohlin's To Cecilia for solo violin and choreography, written in 2023 for the Katrina Festival in Åland, where Cecilia Zilliacus is the artistic director.