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Our honorary conductor Christoph Eschenbach

Date & Time
Wed, Mar 13, 2024, 16:30
»And the soul, unguarded, wants to soar in free flights, to live within the magic circle of the night deeply and a thousandfold.« These dream-lorn lines by Hermann Hesse inspired Richard Strauss to write one of his moving »Four Last Songs«. These depict a life cycle and bear witness to his confrontation with his own death. At 83, the aged composer looked back on his triumphant life »weary of wandering«. When a journalist asked him about his next projects, Strauss... Read full text

Keywords: Symphony Concert, Vocal Music

Info & Ticket (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)
Artistic depiction of the event

Musicians

Christoph EschenbachConductor
Hanna-Elisabeth MüllerSoprano

Program

»Vier letzte Lieder«Richard Strauss
Symphonie Nr. 2 c-MollAnton Bruckner
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Last update: Fri, Nov 22, 2024, 12:39

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Our honorary conductor Herbert Blomstedt

Sat, Jun 17, 2023, 19:30
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Vincent van Gogh was of the firm belief: "If you truly love nature, you will find everywhere beautiful." Mendelssohn went on several grand tours across Europe, often taking inspiration from natural events and painting numerous watercolours. In 1829, the Scottish landscape served as a musical inspiration for him – despite miserable weather conditions, as he wrote in a letter: “Together, the Scottish Highlands and the sea brew nothing but whiskey, fog, and bad weather." But Mendelssohn also visited Edinburgh and the "palace where Mary Queen of Scots lived and loved." His Third Symphony captures the atmosphere of Scotland magnificently, and with its allusions to the sound of bagpipes creates a music that is "reminiscent of a vanished time". In this concert, our orchestra will also present a stirring 1845 work that is a perfect match for Mendelssohn’s musical idiom: the Fourth Symphony by Franz Berwald – an exciting composer from the homeland of our honorary conductor Herbert Blomstedt, who is always keen to promote his Swedish compatriot. Berwald likewise travelled extensively throughout Europe, living in Vienna and Berlin for a time, but then returned to Sweden. Many of his charming pieces were written in the picturesque town of Nyköping – his wife once described the atmosphere there: "One day passes like another, without any variety other than that which God's beautiful nature presents to those whose hearts are receptive to impressions of this kind. Franz is busy composing throughout the day, and in the evening we regularly walk out into the surrounding countryside."
Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)
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Christoph Eschenbach, Christian Schmitt

Wed, Feb 19, 2025, 18:00
Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)
Christoph Eschenbach (Conductor), Christian Schmitt (Organ)
Happy 85th birthday on 20 February 2025! We wish this to our Honorary Conductor, for whom one thing is for sure: »Music gives you youth, freshness and lots of new beginnings.« Christoph Eschenbach always leaves an impression with his unmistakable aura: he is not a podium matador by any means, but rather comes across at times like a Buddhist monk with his convincing gestures and penetrating eyes full of warm-heartedness. A conductor who prefers silence rather than many words – and one who sees himself as a »musician among musicians«. This results in captivating interpretations with a great sense of mutual understanding, including such works close to his heart as in this year’s programme: Christoph Eschenbach once said that Bruckner was one of his »greatest treasures«. He discovered his love for Bruckner’s music while listening to a radio programme as a boy. And it still fascinates him to this day, so he explores the fascination of Bruckner’s first work with us – this »cheeky little fellow«. It is truly a great blessing that we have been able to come together with such a charismatic artistic personality for such a long time. It is like a longstanding and very close love affair that is constantly being revitalised – also with Saint-Saëns’ »Organ Symphony«: this powerful piece was recorded with Christoph Eschenbach and our orchestra at the Bamberg Cathedral back in 1987 for an audio release. We have every reason to be excited about how the work will sound together with our house organist Christian Schmitt on the concert organ our audience loves so much – after all, our Honorary Conductor remains curious in his old age: »I want to still be conducting when I’m 100, because I might be able to discover even more at the age of 99 than I can at the moment.«
Info & Ticket (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)
Artistic depiction of the event

Christoph Eschenbach, Christian Schmitt

Thu, Feb 20, 2025, 20:00
Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)
Christoph Eschenbach (Conductor), Christian Schmitt (Organ)
Happy 85th birthday on 20 February 2025! We wish this to our Honorary Conductor, for whom one thing is for sure: »Music gives you youth, freshness and lots of new beginnings.« Christoph Eschenbach always leaves an impression with his unmistakable aura: he is not a podium matador by any means, but rather comes across at times like a Buddhist monk with his convincing gestures and penetrating eyes full of warm-heartedness. A conductor who prefers silence rather than many words – and one who sees himself as a »musician among musicians«. This results in captivating interpretations with a great sense of mutual understanding, including such works close to his heart as in this year’s programme: Christoph Eschenbach once said that Bruckner was one of his »greatest treasures«. He discovered his love for Bruckner’s music while listening to a radio programme as a boy. And it still fascinates him to this day, so he explores the fascination of Bruckner’s first work with us – this »cheeky little fellow«. It is truly a great blessing that we have been able to come together with such a charismatic artistic personality for such a long time. It is like a longstanding and very close love affair that is constantly being revitalised – also with Saint-Saëns’ »Organ Symphony«: this powerful piece was recorded with Christoph Eschenbach and our orchestra at the Bamberg Cathedral back in 1987 for an audio release. We have every reason to be excited about how the work will sound together with our house organist Christian Schmitt on the concert organ our audience loves so much – after all, our Honorary Conductor remains curious in his old age: »I want to still be conducting when I’m 100, because I might be able to discover even more at the age of 99 than I can at the moment.«
Info & Ticket (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)
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Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Christoph Eschenbach

Fri, Mar 28, 2025, 20:00
Konzerthaus Berlin, Großer Saal (Berlin)
Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Christoph Eschenbach (Conductor), Simon Haje (Piano)
Our former chief conductor Christioph Eschenbach is back on the podium of the Konzerthausorchester and is bringing a highly talented young pianist with him: The 19-year-old Simon Haje will play Beethoven's fourth piano concerto from 1805, which already points in the direction of Romanticism. Robert Schumann was not the only one who loved the work, which is the first of its genre to begin directly with the solo instrument. The audience also liked it extraordinarily well straight away. Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 did not fare so well at first, which is why the easily unsettled composer revised it more often than any other of his nine symphonies. It was not until 1890 (17 years after the completion of the first version) that musicians and Viennese audiences finally stopped objecting and the work was finalised!
Info & Ticket (www.konzerthaus.de)
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Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Christoph Eschenbach

Sat, Mar 29, 2025, 20:00
Konzerthaus Berlin, Großer Saal (Berlin)
Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Christoph Eschenbach (Conductor), Simon Haje (Piano)
Our former chief conductor Christioph Eschenbach is back on the podium of the Konzerthausorchester and is bringing a highly talented young pianist with him: The 19-year-old Simon Haje will play Beethoven's fourth piano concerto from 1805, which already points in the direction of Romanticism. Robert Schumann was not the only one who loved the work, which is the first of its genre to begin directly with the solo instrument. The audience also liked it extraordinarily well straight away. Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 did not fare so well at first, which is why the easily unsettled composer revised it more often than any other of his nine symphonies. It was not until 1890 (17 years after the completion of the first version) that musicians and Viennese audiences finally stopped objecting and the work was finalised!
Info & Ticket (www.konzerthaus.de)
Artistic depiction of the event

Honorary conductor Herbert Blomstedt conducts Bruckner

Thu, May 16, 2024, 18:00
Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)
Herbert Blomstedt (Conductor)
It was an ongoing issue for Bruckner to overcome the torment of his soul: the introverted loner suffered because no woman ever wanted to have anything »serious« to do with him – and he was also humiliated by the constant critique of his works. Therefore, his symphonies seem for large parts like epiphanies of a man struggling with himself. Herbert Blomstedt says that they represent »the longing for the eternal« and that Bruckner »takes listeners into a world« that »they otherwise might never reach«: »It is the world of his very own imagination. This is where you meet his soul. And he discovered this world through music, not through religion. He believed in the fugue, in the hymn, in the symphonic way of expressing himself. He overcame his life crises with this confession.« Our honorary conductor guides us through Bruckner‘s deep eighth symphony, which he began right after the tremendous success of his seventh contribution to the genre. The painstakingly gained self-confidence, however, once again collapsed like a house of cards. In 1885, the now sixty-something bachelor hoped to have finally found happiness in love – but his luck ran out again: His young beloved, whom he did not kiss but with whom he exchanged photographs, pulled away – and did not accept the dedication of the symphony. Then the conductor Hermann Levi declined to perform it and recommended a revision, which deeply offended Bruckner. The symphony was ultimately dedicated to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and performed for the first time in Vienna in 1892 – fortunately a triumph for Bruckner. This symphony, described by himself as a »mystery«, captivates with unbridled climaxes and dynamic contrasts – but also with intimate soul paintings such as the Adagio.
Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)
Artistic depiction of the event

Honorary conductor Herbert Blomstedt conducts Bruckner

Fri, May 17, 2024, 20:00
Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)
Herbert Blomstedt (Conductor)
It was an ongoing issue for Bruckner to overcome the torment of his soul: the introverted loner suffered because no woman ever wanted to have anything »serious« to do with him – and he was also humiliated by the constant critique of his works. Therefore, his symphonies seem for large parts like epiphanies of a man struggling with himself. Herbert Blomstedt says that they represent »the longing for the eternal« and that Bruckner »takes listeners into a world« that »they otherwise might never reach«: »It is the world of his very own imagination. This is where you meet his soul. And he discovered this world through music, not through religion. He believed in the fugue, in the hymn, in the symphonic way of expressing himself. He overcame his life crises with this confession.« Our honorary conductor guides us through Bruckner‘s deep eighth symphony, which he began right after the tremendous success of his seventh contribution to the genre. The painstakingly gained self-confidence, however, once again collapsed like a house of cards. In 1885, the now sixty-something bachelor hoped to have finally found happiness in love – but his luck ran out again: His young beloved, whom he did not kiss but with whom he exchanged photographs, pulled away – and did not accept the dedication of the symphony. Then the conductor Hermann Levi declined to perform it and recommended a revision, which deeply offended Bruckner. The symphony was ultimately dedicated to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and performed for the first time in Vienna in 1892 – fortunately a triumph for Bruckner. This symphony, described by himself as a »mystery«, captivates with unbridled climaxes and dynamic contrasts – but also with intimate soul paintings such as the Adagio.
Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)