Portrait Pascal Dusapin

Portrait Sofia Gubaidulina

Many phases in her extensive oeuvre betray Sofia Gubaidulina’s fascination with the sound of a large string section playing the low registers. She has written several pieces for cello ensemble, and the double bass also plays a prominent role in a number of her works. So the idea seemed to suggest itself of devoting a concert to this special preference of the now 92-year-old composer, who lives near Hamburg, thus producing a special »Portrait of Sofia Gubaidulina«. The centrepiece of the evening’s programme is the five-movement Concerto for Bassoon and low strings, written in Russia in 1975, the year of Shostakovich’s death. The rarely-heard work is one of the compositions that display the influence of this towering figure of Soviet music on Gubaidulina’s »middle style«. It is also well-known that Shostakovich encouraged and sponsored her as a young composer. The concerto’s fascination lies in the exceptionally varied and virtuoso sounds of by the low register, as well as the direct appeal of the solo part, taken here by the NDR’s solo bassoonist David Spranger. The concerto is flanked by two pieces scored for a larger cello ensemble. 2002’s »Mirage« with its light fantasies is a fine example of the nature mysticism to be found in Gubaidulina’s late works. »Am Rande des Abgrunds«, written at about the same time, is one of her most frequently-performed compositions, and surprises the listener with its use of two rich-sounding waterphones. Sofia Gubaidulina has a long-standing connection with the NDR. Among the memorable products of their cooperation are many performances put on by the NDR Chor (now known as the NDR Vokalensemble) – particularly the big first performances of the St John’s Passion and the Easter Oratorio in St. Michael’s Church, Hamburg, in March 2002.

Portrait Concert Sir András Schiff

One of András Schiff’s maxims is: »It’s important to be able to listen.« This principle applies especially to chamber music, which has always been a matter close to his heart. Because it is precisely this togetherness, and this listening and responding to each other, that are for him the most beautiful form of making music. Schiff now delivers precisely those kinds of moments of musical bliss with close musical friends such as the tenor Julian Prégardien and the cellist Julia Hagen. For the programme, Schiff has selected Romantic works by his favourite composers. These include Franz Schubert the prince of song and Robert Schumann, whose 1840 »Eichendorff« lieder cycle is on the programme. The programme also features Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 2, which was premiered in Leipzig in 1852, and the Piano Quartet No. 1 by Schumann’s friend Brahms, which was premiered in Hamburg in 1861.

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / Ingo Metzmacher

Ingo Metzmacher is one of the great explorers among conductors. He tirelessly explores new and little-known areas of the repertoire. His curiosity already characterised him during his time as General Music Director in Hamburg between 1997 and 2005. And this also characterises the vocal symphonic programme with which he returns to the podium of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in November. One day before his 67th birthday, Metzmacher conducts two rarely performed works by two jubilarians from the Romantic and modern eras with a round birthday in 2024 – and fills the stage in the Grand Hall with an opulent line-up that, alongside the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, includes the MDR-Rundfunkchor and nine vocal soloists.

Good Friday Concert: tenebrae

On Good Friday, the acclaimed British vocal ensemble Tenebrae and its founder Nigel Short are heading on a musical pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. In his full-length a-cappella work »Path of Miracles«, Joby Talbot – who was born in Wimbledon in 1971 – has captured the special atmosphere of four spiritual sites along the Camino de Santiago. Based on Bible quotations and medieval sources, 17 independent vocal parts in seven languages and great stylistic diversity depict the legends of saints and miracles associated with this pilgrimage route. The English composer found his inspiration for the 2005 work – a commissioned piece written specially for Tenebrae – »on location«: »Over the course of ten days I watched little clouds of Pyrenean mist wafting through the medieval streets of Roncesvalles, marvelled at the gruesome reliquaries in austere Burgos, saw storks on church spires in León as the evening sun poured through acres of stained glass, and witnessed traditionally clad Galician villagers harvesting their fields with hand scythes in a manner unchanged for a millennium.« Having reached Santiago and touched the hollow in the pillar at the cathedral, he felt a special closeness to the many generations of pilgrims who had followed the same tradition. »The connection to the past seemed palpable, and it was the feeling I experienced at that moment that I resolved to try to express in the music.«

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / NDR Vokalensemble / Matthias Brandt / Jonathan Stockhammer

Luigi Nono always saw himself as a political person and composer. But rather than composing musical manifestos against social injustice, he believed in the power of music to educate and enlighten. As in 1956, when he – in his large-scale cantata »Il canto sospeso« – translated farewell letters by members of the resistance that had been sentenced to death into a stirring and highly poetic tonal language. The German-American conductor and Nono specialist Jonathan Stockhammer now presents this »suspended song« in the Grand Hall. Luigi Nono’s musical credo was to »awaken the ear, the eyes, human thought« with his works. This aspiration is reflected in the »Canto sospeso«, which was premiered in Cologne in 1956 and which – with its orchestra parts, a-cappella chorales and arias – also underlines Nono’s affinity for Italian madrigal and operatic art. Yet in its musical recollection, this »song« exudes a blazing presence.

Honegger’s “Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher” with Alan Gilbert and Marion Cotillard

The accused is a national heroine, the trial a farce. In Arthur Honegger’s oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher, Joan of Arc looks back on her life, her visions, and her successes during a show trial in which she is sentenced to be burned at the stake. The work is a powerful drama and at the same time a revealing parable of corruption and the abuse of power. Honegger combines different musical styles here, from chorale to jazz-inflected music-hall sounds, to create a captivating sound painting. The conductor of the evening is Alan Gilbert. Actress and Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard will perform as the narrator.

Honegger’s “Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher” with Alan Gilbert and Marion Cotillard

The accused is a national heroine, the trial a farce. In Arthur Honegger’s oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher, Joan of Arc looks back on her life, her visions, and her successes during a show trial in which she is sentenced to be burned at the stake. The work is a powerful drama and at the same time a revealing parable of corruption and the abuse of power. Honegger combines different musical styles here, from chorale to jazz-inflected music-hall sounds, to create a captivating sound painting. The conductor of the evening is Alan Gilbert. Actress and Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard will perform as the narrator.

Honegger’s “Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher” with Alan Gilbert and Marion Cotillard

The accused is a national heroine, the trial a farce. In Arthur Honegger’s oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher, Joan of Arc looks back on her life, her visions, and her successes during a show trial in which she is sentenced to be burned at the stake. The work is a powerful drama and at the same time a revealing parable of corruption and the abuse of power. Honegger combines different musical styles here, from chorale to jazz-inflected music-hall sounds, to create a captivating sound painting. The conductor of the evening is Alan Gilbert. Actress and Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard will perform as the narrator.

Sonderkonzert am 65. Geburtstag von Steffen Schleiermacher