On Tour: Konzerthaus Wien

On Tour: Rudolfinum Prague

We’re off to the »Golden City«! It gives us great pleasure to regularly travel with our Chief Conductor to his beloved city of Prague – where he studied and began his career as an internationally esteemed conductor. This year, we are guests at the prestigious Dvořák Festival for a residency – because the audience loves Jakub Hrůša’s captivating interpretations. The opening concert already includes two of his favourite works: Dvořák’s wistful cello concerto, about which he said: »Think of a boy who is in love – that’s the content.« His popular symphony »From the New World« is also highly emotional and has been described as an »expression of his love for his homeland from afar«. On the second evening, we celebrate Smetana’s 200th birthday: the three pieces »Richard III«, »Wallenstein’s Camp« and »Haakon Jarl« tell of love, heroism and suffering.We combine them with a milestone by Beethoven, who was a frequent guest in the Vltava metropolis – and here he even met the woman he called the »Immortal Beloved« in a letter that remains a mystery to this day. His »Symphony of Fate« captivates with its grandiose metamorphoses of the four famous notes through to the magnificent finale. To conclude our visit, we will be focussing on Mahler, who also had Bohemian roots and whose Seventh Symphony is deeply linked to our orchestral history. We are performing it at a very special location in close friendship with our fellow musicians in Prague: At the place of the premiere in 1908 – and just like back then, when our predecessor orchestra of the German opera house »topped up« the Czech Philharmonic for this monumental work, we are now playing together again, music stand to music stand.

On Tour: Rudolfinum Prague

We’re off to the »Golden City«! It gives us great pleasure to regularly travel with our Chief Conductor to his beloved city of Prague – where he studied and began his career as an internationally esteemed conductor. This year, we are guests at the prestigious Dvořák Festival for a residency – because the audience loves Jakub Hrůša’s captivating interpretations. The opening concert already includes two of his favourite works: Dvořák’s wistful cello concerto, about which he said: »Think of a boy who is in love – that’s the content.« His popular symphony »From the New World« is also highly emotional and has been described as an »expression of his love for his homeland from afar«. On the second evening, we celebrate Smetana’s 200th birthday: the three pieces »Richard III«, »Wallenstein’s Camp« and »Haakon Jarl« tell of love, heroism and suffering.We combine them with a milestone by Beethoven, who was a frequent guest in the Vltava metropolis – and here he even met the woman he called the »Immortal Beloved« in a letter that remains a mystery to this day. His »Symphony of Fate« captivates with its grandiose metamorphoses of the four famous notes through to the magnificent finale. To conclude our visit, we will be focussing on Mahler, who also had Bohemian roots and whose Seventh Symphony is deeply linked to our orchestral history. We are performing it at a very special location in close friendship with our fellow musicians in Prague: At the place of the premiere in 1908 – and just like back then, when our predecessor orchestra of the German opera house »topped up« the Czech Philharmonic for this monumental work, we are now playing together again, music stand to music stand.

On Tour: Stefaniensaal Graz

»Wherever you go, go with all your heart.« True to this saying, we are travelling on winding paths again – after all, we are Bavaria’s cultural ambassadors in the world. It gives us great pleasure to be touring across Europe to distribute musical calling cards from our wide-ranging repertoire to audiences elsewhere – who may well be curious. Jakub Hrůša once said that he loves it when people »really come with an open heart and are open to experiencing something completely new – and then relate it to what they already know«. At the request of the exceptionally gifted pianist Daniil Trifonov, this time the tour takes us to numerous places in Central Europe, to concert halls that we haven't performed in for a long time. In our suitcases we bring those exciting works that we have presented to our esteemed Bamberg audience for a long time – and although we are now travelling around for a while, we will of course always return to our beloved »home port« on the Regnitz later on.

On Tour: Stefaniensaal Graz

»Wherever you go, go with all your heart.« True to this saying, we are travelling on winding paths again – after all, we are Bavaria’s cultural ambassadors in the world. It gives us great pleasure to be touring across Europe to distribute musical calling cards from our wide-ranging repertoire to audiences elsewhere – who may well be curious. Jakub Hrůša once said that he loves it when people »really come with an open heart and are open to experiencing something completely new – and then relate it to what they already know«. At the request of the exceptionally gifted pianist Daniil Trifonov, this time the tour takes us to numerous places in Central Europe, to concert halls that we haven't performed in for a long time. In our suitcases we bring those exciting works that we have presented to our esteemed Bamberg audience for a long time – and although we are now travelling around for a while, we will of course always return to our beloved »home port« on the Regnitz later on.

On Tour: Brucknerhaus Linz

»Yes, just love him, love him so much – but don’t forget that he achieved poetic freedom after years of study, go back to the foundation of his work, don’t prove his genius through the last symphony!« Schumann said this about Beethoven – and it is indeed the case that the Symphony No. 4, which Jakub Hrůša has chosen for this programme, is often treated somewhat like a Cinderella among the nine symphonies. Quite wrongly, because it is an equally masterful composition: it stands in B flat major, which is an expression of the »yearning for a better world« according to the symbolism of musical keys of a certain Mr Schubart, and is characterised by a friendly tone with many wonderful ideas. Our Chief Conductor combines it with an equally neglected piece from the pen of his beloved composer Dvořák. We will be playing the fascinating piano concerto together with the acclaimed pianist Daniil Trifonov: the wide-ranging work was premiered in Prague in 1878 and features a magnificent richness of deeply felt inspirations. We will first present the programme in Bamberg, but then also in Linz – and also travel to the birthplace of Jakub Hrůša, where we have something to celebrate: 1924 was the first time that the »Year of Czech Music« was celebrated.

On Tour: Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

»Mahler is a must!« That was absolutely clear to Jakub Hrůša when our journey together began in 2016 – as his late Romantic music is »genetically very close« to both him and ourselves. We have already performed five of his symphonies together in recent years. This programme includes the enchanting »Blumine« movement, which Mahler erased from his autobiographical first symphony and described himself as a »blissful infatuation«: he wrote it in 1884 as a young conductor when he had a crush on a soprano. However, his affection was not returned – and a year later, the »Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen« (»Songs of a Travelling Companion«) emerged from his emotional misery. Together with Konstantin Krimmel, we embark on the restless wanderings of the lovesick artist. After that we say: Not only Mahler is a must. For some time now, Jakub Hrůša has also been working more intensively on Bruckner, as he has recognised that only an orchestra that »really loves this music enough« will be able to make it work. He described the phase in which we immersed ourselves in the Symphony No. 4 in the 2018/2019 season as a »blissful experience with Bruckner« – and it was deepened even further: In the 2020 pandemic, we recorded our Chief Conductor’s personal take on all three versions of the work for a phenomenal and award-winning recording. In this programme, the »Romantic« is performed in the 1878/1880 version – first in Bamberg, as is traditional, of course. Then we will once again become »travelling companions« ourselves and present the works in two of the best halls in Europe: in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and (for the 10th time already!) in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie – where we have come to love and appreciate the inspiring acoustics.

RSB on Tour: Heilbronn

RSB on Tour: Hamburg

RSB on Tour: Rimini

RSB on Tour: Locarno