Shunske Sato | Concerto Köln | Jakob Lehmann

Concerto Köln

Soprano Jeanine De Bique from Trinidad and Concerto Köln bring heroic female figures to life in arias and orchestral works in the Great Hall. The basis is the singer's debut album 'Mirrors', which “from furor to goosebumps, from breathtaking coloraturas to sensual, beautiful, simple melodies” revels in the entire range of baroque opera emotions.

Olga Pashchenko | Concerto Köln | Harry Ogg

Leipzig was a musical hotspot in the 19th century, attracting prominent composers like Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Pianist Olga Pashchenko and Concerto Köln explore the city's musical past, tracing connections between Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, and Clara Wieck. Chopin also visited, praising Clara's piano playing and enjoying Schumann's hospitality.

Meister in Köln

Guest at the Philharmonie Köln

Ludwig van Beethoven: genius, freethinker and troubled soul – as well as a master of coping with crises through music. In 1809, he lamented: »We have experienced a rather crowded misery. The entire course of events has affected my body and soul. What a destructive, desolate life around me! Nothing but drums, cannons, all kinds of human misery!« At that time, he was greatly distressed by the current situation, as Vienna was occupied by Napoleon's troops. Food shortages, the black market and inflation were making life difficult for the people. Beethoven often sought shelter in the cellar – and put pillows over his head to avoid hearing the noise. But despite these unfavourable conditions, he wrote his great Fifth Piano Concerto: a gigantic work that gives the impression as if he wanted to drown out the chaos of war with the power and splendour of his music. For long segments, it spreads a belligerent sound – but with the Adagio, a very contemplative movement is interwoven: Beethoven is said to have been thinking of the »chants of devout pilgrims«. These fragmented states of mind are already pervasive in his Fifth Symphony, which was premiered a year earlier and can certainly be understood as a statement on the political fate of Europe at that time. With its famous obsessive motif, the work is at first full of anxiety and emotional complexity over long stretches. But an astounding inner force is able to find its way out of the initial darkness and into the ever brightening light. Like Beethoven wrote in one of his conversation books, which he used because of his deafness and in which he also collected essential ideas: »With music I have transformed my suffering into hope«.

Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Chor Hamburg / Concerto Köln / Hansjörg Albrecht

The opening concert of this year’s International Bach Festival Hamburg will feature Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Passion cantata »Die letzten Leiden des Erlösers«, written for Hamburg, performed in the Laeiszhalle by the ensemble Concerto Köln, which specialises in historical performance practice, and the Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Choir. Together with the final concert on Easter Sunday, it forms the thematic arc of this Bach festival centred on the Passion and Resurrection.

Brahms' second piano concerto

Icelandic Víkingur Ólafsson is currently one of the world's most acclaimed and sought-after pianists. The New York Times coined him ”Iceland's Glenn Gould”, and his recordings are showered with five-star reviews. This season, he is the Artist-in-Residence at Konserthuset Stockholm.Following the success of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which he performed to a full house here at Konserthuset last season, he now takes on another of the classical music world's great B's – Brahms. He presents Beethoven's late piano sonatas in a solo recital a few days before this concert, and now Brahms with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.Brahms was at the height of his fame and ironically referred to composing a "tiny piano concerto" in letters. It is, of course, quite the opposite, with music brimming with drama, passion, and sincerity. Unlike his first, Brahms's second piano concerto was a success right from its premiere.French conductor Stéphane Denève also leads the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in American Stacy Garrop's beautiful Penelope Waits from 2013, inspired by Greek mythology, and mythological music with dance themes by Paul Dukas and Richard Strauss.

Brahms' second piano concerto

Icelandic Víkingur Ólafsson is currently one of the world's most acclaimed and sought-after pianists. The New York Times coined him ”Iceland's Glenn Gould”, and his recordings are showered with five-star reviews. This season, he is the Artist-in-Residence at Konserthuset Stockholm.Following the success of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which he performed to a full house here at Konserthuset last season, he now takes on another of the classical music world's great B's – Brahms. He presents Beethoven's late piano sonatas in a solo recital a few days before this concert, and now Brahms with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.Brahms was at the height of his fame and ironically referred to composing a "tiny piano concerto" in letters. It is, of course, quite the opposite, with music brimming with drama, passion, and sincerity. Unlike his first, Brahms's second piano concerto was a success right from its premiere.French conductor Stéphane Denève also leads the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in American Stacy Garrop's beautiful Penelope Waits from 2013, inspired by Greek mythology, and mythological music with dance themes by Paul Dukas and Richard Strauss.

Tan Dun’s Water Concerto

Colin Currie takes on Tan Dun’s extraordinary, culture-crossing Water Concerto.Life finds a way, and even under Soviet repression, composers were testing boundaries and telling forbidden truths. Arvo Pärt drew on the music of the past to liberate explosive new creative forces. Lutosławski reached for all the colours of a full symphony orchestra, and launched glittering sonic fireworks into grey Cold War skies. Eva Ollikainen rediscovers two modern classics, and Colin Currie – in the words of one critic, ‘surely the world’s finest and most daring percussionist’ – explores new ways of listening, with the extraordinary, culture-crossing Water Concerto by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon composer Tan Dun.Please note venue.

Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1

Beethoven was drawn to characters, fictional or real, who dared to stand up against injustices. Egmont in Goethe's drama of the same name was one such fictional but clear role model for Beethoven. In the overture, he encapsulates the drama, from the slow introduction through tragedy to a triumphant conclusion. The orchestra is led by the young and increasingly renowned Czech conductor Jirí Rozen, making his debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.Triumphant melodies are also found in Max Bruch's first violin concerto, one of classical music's most beloved concertos. It's heavenly beautiful music with irresistible romantic fervor. The soloist is the exceptional South Korean violinist Inmo Yang, winner of two of the world's most prestigious violin competitions: the Paganini Competition in Genoa and the Sibelius Competition in Helsinki. He now debuts with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.In Dora Pejacevic's music, traces of Wagner, Brahms, and Bruckner can be found, but it is also strongly personal with rich colors and profound seriousness. After a cautious, slow introduction, this symphony from 1918 moves into contrasting and determined music, painting vivid natural scenes. The music also features exuberant pirouettes that are swept away by dazzling climaxes towards the end. It's an impressive work by a composer who was long neglected.

Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 2

Strange but true: they used to call Dvořák’s Eighth his ‘English’ symphony.Yet its lilting melodies and exuberant dance rhythms could hardly be more Czech – the sound of a composer who’s thoroughly at home, and loving it. Pure sunshine, in other words, and in the hands of conductor Valentina Peleggi it’s a gloriously tuneful climax to a concert that begins with Mozart’s comedy overture and stars the internationally-acclaimed young British horn player Ben Goldscheider in Richard Strauss’s playful Second Horn Concerto. They said it was impossible to play, but for Ben Goldscheider it’s not just possible – it’s fun.Pre-concert event, 2.15pmEnjoy the sound of local young talent, as musicians from Create Music, the music education hub for Brighton & Hove and East Sussex, give a special free performance in the Congress Theatre foyer.