Music of the Vasa times

Shakespeare of Music

Shakespeare of Music

Shakespeare of Music

Great works of music

Why not play piano concertos as a chamber ensemble? It would be impossible to show rational obstacles. In the times before the phonograph, that was exactly how people learnt great works of music that were not being performed at a concert hall near them. Privately, at home, at meetings, making music together. It is the meeting of artistic individualities and their willingness to collaborate that give chamber music its sense. Hence the presence of Chopin’s Concerto in E minor in the version for five instruments today, on the 175th death anniversary of this most important Polish musician of all. For the same reason, its counterpoint will be the famous Trout, Schubert’s masterpiece which introduced the early romantic sensitivity to chamber music. This is music derived from the spirit of a simple song. These two romantic build up layers of human emotions, activate affections and pile up associations. This is all we need. Adam Suprynowicz Concert duration: approximately 100 minutes

The power of brass, the might of the manuals

Although the organ is traditionally associated with sacred music and grand concerts, it can also be a fascinating complement to less typical chamber settings. The untypical combinations in this year’s organ concert series provide unique sounds and new, unexpected combinations. The result? We become more open to new interpretational possibilities and free experimenting. The programme of the concert, including pieces by Petr Eben, Otto Hoser, Thierry Escaich and Craig Phillips, shows how well the organ can sound paired with brass instruments and percussion. Hear it for yourselves: a fascinating richness of new possibilities! [Alexandra Kozowicz] Concert duration: approximately 50 minutes

NOSPR / Alsop / Yang / Polish sonorism and music of the north

Although Sibelius’ Violin Concerto is not programmatic music, it is permeated by the same Northern colour and breadth of breath that can be found in nearly all works by the creator of Finlandia. This is because landscape is not present there merely as a decoration – as it was in 18th-century music – but to reflect the scenery of the soul. Part of the core violinistic repertoire, enclosed within the framework of classical form, for over a hundred years, the piece has not ceased to inspire a sense of wonder, not only with its mysterious atmosphere and richness of sound, but also with its symphonic elan and originality of themes. While the British musicologist Donald Tovey called the final movement of the Concerto a “polonaise for polar bears”, he granted it – and rightly so! – an honourable place among the greatest violin concertos of Romanticism. Another great classic of 20th-century music is Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, in which – as Alex Ross put it – the Hungarian composer and folklore researcher “decided to throw away his notebook and began dancing with them [peasants]. From the strings, there rise clouds of dust, setting on the feet of the frenzied dancers.”. While the musical language of this late work of Bartok’s is a softened one, its form is classicising, and the sounds are nearly euphonic, still what is the most important for his style was retained – distinct rhythms, colourful instrumentation, and subtle inspiration drawn from folklore. Piotr MatwiejczukConcert duration: approximately 110 minutes

Music of mindfulness. Hypnotising and transcendental

Compositions by Arvo Pärt and i Giya Kancheli are permeated with deep reflection on the meaning of life, referencing universal aspects of the human experience. Their ubiquitous minimalism provides space for introspection and meditation. It enables the listener to reach such focus that has an element of metaphysics in it. In the context of the contemporary conflicts, unrest, and even fashionable trends of mindfulness, this music lets one focus on what is truly important and beautiful. It opens for the listeners doors to reflection on their own lives and on the surrounding world. Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, one of his best known works, has already been arranged for various instrumental ensembles. The version for a string quartet is special: it reinforces the hypnotising and transcendental message of the piece, opening up new opportunities for interpretation. In the Georgian language, the title of Giya Kancheli’s work, Amao Omi, means “a war of nonsenses”. It reflects the composer’s involvement in spreading pacifism and a reflection on human brutality and the pointlessness of war. Alexandra KozowiczConcert duration: approximately 60 minutes

THE TIMES ARE RACING

How time flies. And how times change. The mixed bill "THE TIMES ARE RACING" brings together four diverse choreographies spanning the last 50 years of dance history. ADAGIO From "Adagio – Five Songs by Gustav Mahler" Choreography: Pina Bausch Music: Gustav Mahler – Adagio aus der 10. Sinfonie Set Design, Costumes: Karl Kneidl Adaption Set Design: Gerburg Stoffel Reconstruction Light: Benjamin Schälike Reconstruction Costume: Kerstin Krüger Staging: Jo Ann Endicott, Breanna O'Mara, Scott Jennings 25 minutes A Reconstruction by the Pina Bausch Foundation with the Hamburg Ballet 2024 WORLD PREMIERE: Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Opernhaus Wuppertal, 8. Dezember 1974 In 1974, in her second season as Artistic Director in Wuppertal, Pina Bausch choreographed "Adagio" as the opening of a two-part piece. 50 years later, the Hamburg Ballet under Demis Volpi will reconstruct this seminal work and return it to the stage for the first time in decades. In a poetic situation typical of Bausch's works, the first movement of Gustav Mahler's 10th Symphony, played by the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, unfolds. In seemingly random encounters and seemingly everyday movements, dance and theatrical expression create a subtle drama of absorbing intensity. Bausch lets the dancers go through profoundly human states, whether rapture or despair, resistance or devotion. VARIATIONS FOR TWO COUPLES Choreography: Hans van Manen Music: Benjamin Britten – String Quartet in F majeur, Second Movement Einojuhani Rautavaara – Kopsin Jonas aus Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), Opus 1 Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer – Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen, after Johann Sebastian Bach Astor Piazzolla – Melodía en la menor (Canto de Octubre), arrangement for Violin Solo and String, Orchestra by Bob Zimmerman Set and Costumes: Keso Dekker Lighting Design: Bert Dalhuysen Staging: Rachel Beaujean, Jozef Varga 15 minutes WORLD PREMIERE: Dutch National Ballet, Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam, February 15, 2012 "Variations for Two Couples" is a classic Hans van Manen. The Dutch choreographer is a master at creating relationships full of intent and tension. The two couples which give the piece its title perform one after the other, alternating and observing each other. Each couple seems familiar with the other, even provoking each other playfully from time to time. The movement is neo-classical, strict and controlled, but occasionally interrupted by elements of ballroom dance or the flexed hands typical of van Manen. Van Manen's choreography from 2012 is elegantly erotic, simple and yet highly virtuosic, with an unerring sense of timing and a twinkle in the eye in all the right places. The atmospheric set and streamlined costumes were designed by Keso Dekker, a long-standing collaborator of van Manen with over 60 joint creations. THE THING WITH FEATHERS Choreography: Demis Volpi Music: Richard Strauss – Metamorphoses for 23 Solo Strings Set: Demis Volpi Costumes: Thomas Lempertz Lighting Design: Volker Weinhart Dramaturgy: Julia Schinke 30 minutes WORLD PREMIERE: Ballett am Rhein, Opera House, Dusseldorf, April 29, 2023 Demis Volpi will introduce himself to Hamburg audiences with his 2023 work "The thing with feathers". The title of the ballet is borrowed from the poem "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson. The piece is a gesture of open arms, a tribute to individuality embedded in the belief in a community permeated by care and humanity. To Richard Strauss' "Metamorphoses", Volpi creates a touching interplay of sadness, joy and desire while optimistically illuminating the ephemeral nature of dance. Conductor Vitali Alekseenok describes Strauss' "Metamorphosen", a work for 23 solo string players, as a cloud of sound in which you immerse yourself and lose track of time. For him, Volpi's choreography is a visualization of the music: individual lines of sound combine with the form of the human body and reinforce each other. THE TIMES ARE RACING Choreography: Justin Peck Music: Dan Deacon – USA I-IV from the album "America" Costumes: Humberto Leon Lighting Design: Brandon Stirling Baker Staging: Craig Salstein 25 minutes WORLD PREMIERE: New York City Ballet, David H. Koch Theater, New York, January 26, 2017 The Times Are Racing was commissioned by the New York City Ballet PREMIERE IN HAMBURG Hamburg Ballet, Staatsoper, September 28, 2024 Ballet doesn't get any cooler than this! Justin Peck's eponymous "The Times Are Racing" provides an emphatic finale to this quadruple bill. Peck, Resident Choreographer of the New York City Ballet since 2014, clearly comes from the neoclassical tradition of George Balanchine. With "The Times Are Racing" he has created a brilliantly fresh and uplifting work. The dancers wear sneakers, which gives their movements a youthful spontaneity far from the balletic ideal. Peck’s choreographic language is permeated by fast-paced and complex footwork reminiscent of tap dance, which the choreographer studied as a child. Set to Dan Deacon's "America", Peck's work is an examination of his homeland, the vastness and the pace of the country, its hopeful ideals, but also the political reality of division. The colourful, pedestrian costumes by fashion designer Humberto Leon are occasionally adorned with political messages such as "Resist", "Unite" and "Act". Like the sneakers, the costumes invite the audience to identify with the dancers. The Hamburg Ballet is the first European company to present this ground breaking, iconic choreography by Justin Peck. 2 hours 30 minutes | 2 intermissions Part 1: 25 minutes, Part 2: 45 minutes, Part 3: 25 minutes

THE TIMES ARE RACING

How time flies. And how times change. The mixed bill "THE TIMES ARE RACING" brings together four diverse choreographies spanning the last 50 years of dance history. ADAGIO From "Adagio – Five Songs by Gustav Mahler" Choreography: Pina Bausch Music: Gustav Mahler – Adagio aus der 10. Sinfonie Set Design, Costumes: Karl Kneidl Adaption Set Design: Gerburg Stoffel Reconstruction Light: Benjamin Schälike Reconstruction Costume: Kerstin Krüger Staging: Jo Ann Endicott, Breanna O'Mara, Scott Jennings 25 minutes A Reconstruction by the Pina Bausch Foundation with the Hamburg Ballet 2024 WORLD PREMIERE: Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Opernhaus Wuppertal, 8. Dezember 1974 In 1974, in her second season as Artistic Director in Wuppertal, Pina Bausch choreographed "Adagio" as the opening of a two-part piece. 50 years later, the Hamburg Ballet under Demis Volpi will reconstruct this seminal work and return it to the stage for the first time in decades. In a poetic situation typical of Bausch's works, the first movement of Gustav Mahler's 10th Symphony, played by the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, unfolds. In seemingly random encounters and seemingly everyday movements, dance and theatrical expression create a subtle drama of absorbing intensity. Bausch lets the dancers go through profoundly human states, whether rapture or despair, resistance or devotion. VARIATIONS FOR TWO COUPLES Choreography: Hans van Manen Music: Benjamin Britten – String Quartet in F majeur, Second Movement Einojuhani Rautavaara – Kopsin Jonas aus Pelimannit (The Fiddlers), Opus 1 Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer – Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen, after Johann Sebastian Bach Astor Piazzolla – Melodía en la menor (Canto de Octubre), arrangement for Violin Solo and String, Orchestra by Bob Zimmerman Set and Costumes: Keso Dekker Lighting Design: Bert Dalhuysen Staging: Rachel Beaujean, Jozef Varga 15 minutes WORLD PREMIERE: Dutch National Ballet, Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam, February 15, 2012 "Variations for Two Couples" is a classic Hans van Manen. The Dutch choreographer is a master at creating relationships full of intent and tension. The two couples which give the piece its title perform one after the other, alternating and observing each other. Each couple seems familiar with the other, even provoking each other playfully from time to time. The movement is neo-classical, strict and controlled, but occasionally interrupted by elements of ballroom dance or the flexed hands typical of van Manen. Van Manen's choreography from 2012 is elegantly erotic, simple and yet highly virtuosic, with an unerring sense of timing and a twinkle in the eye in all the right places. The atmospheric set and streamlined costumes were designed by Keso Dekker, a long-standing collaborator of van Manen with over 60 joint creations. THE THING WITH FEATHERS Choreography: Demis Volpi Music: Richard Strauss – Metamorphoses for 23 Solo Strings Set: Demis Volpi Costumes: Thomas Lempertz Lighting Design: Volker Weinhart Dramaturgy: Julia Schinke 30 minutes WORLD PREMIERE: Ballett am Rhein, Opera House, Dusseldorf, April 29, 2023 Demis Volpi will introduce himself to Hamburg audiences with his 2023 work "The thing with feathers". The title of the ballet is borrowed from the poem "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson. The piece is a gesture of open arms, a tribute to individuality embedded in the belief in a community permeated by care and humanity. To Richard Strauss' "Metamorphoses", Volpi creates a touching interplay of sadness, joy and desire while optimistically illuminating the ephemeral nature of dance. Conductor Vitali Alekseenok describes Strauss' "Metamorphosen", a work for 23 solo string players, as a cloud of sound in which you immerse yourself and lose track of time. For him, Volpi's choreography is a visualization of the music: individual lines of sound combine with the form of the human body and reinforce each other. THE TIMES ARE RACING Choreography: Justin Peck Music: Dan Deacon – USA I-IV from the album "America" Costumes: Humberto Leon Lighting Design: Brandon Stirling Baker Staging: Craig Salstein 25 minutes WORLD PREMIERE: New York City Ballet, David H. Koch Theater, New York, January 26, 2017 The Times Are Racing was commissioned by the New York City Ballet PREMIERE IN HAMBURG Hamburg Ballet, Staatsoper, September 28, 2024 Ballet doesn't get any cooler than this! Justin Peck's eponymous "The Times Are Racing" provides an emphatic finale to this quadruple bill. Peck, Resident Choreographer of the New York City Ballet since 2014, clearly comes from the neoclassical tradition of George Balanchine. With "The Times Are Racing" he has created a brilliantly fresh and uplifting work. The dancers wear sneakers, which gives their movements a youthful spontaneity far from the balletic ideal. Peck’s choreographic language is permeated by fast-paced and complex footwork reminiscent of tap dance, which the choreographer studied as a child. Set to Dan Deacon's "America", Peck's work is an examination of his homeland, the vastness and the pace of the country, its hopeful ideals, but also the political reality of division. The colourful, pedestrian costumes by fashion designer Humberto Leon are occasionally adorned with political messages such as "Resist", "Unite" and "Act". Like the sneakers, the costumes invite the audience to identify with the dancers. The Hamburg Ballet is the first European company to present this ground breaking, iconic choreography by Justin Peck. 2 hours 30 minutes | 2 intermissions Part 1: 25 minutes, Part 2: 45 minutes, Part 3: 25 minutes