Simone Young & Brahms 3 & 4

Simone Young & Brahms 3 & 4

The second part of our Brahms cycle, which Herbert Blomstedt, who is still in convalescence, unfortunately had to cancel, will be conducted by Simone Young. The Australian has been one of the most important conductors of our time for many decades. She regularly makes guest appearances at all leading opera houses and concert halls and will conduct the Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival for the first time this summer.

Simone Young

Simone Young

Brahms 3

Alain Altinoglu continues his Brahms cycle with the 3rd Symphony, aiming for a fresh, agile sound. This sunny symphony is paired with Brahms-Haydn connections, featuring award-winning hr solo trumpeter Sebastian Berner performing Haydn's Trumpet Concerto. Altinoglu emphasizes transparency over opulence in Brahms's "symphonic forest idyll." Brahms's "Variations on a Theme by Haydn" complements the program, although the theme's origin is debated.

Simone Young conducts Bruckner and Rihm

When Simone Young conducts Bruckner, she prefers to perform the original versions of his symphonies: “Perhaps they are not as perfect as the later versions,” she explains. “But they have a modernity that the later ones lack.” In this concert, she presents the original version of the Second Symphony from 1872, and combines it with Wolfgang Rihm’s one-act opera Das Gehege. This dark and enigmatic piece depicts a woman who, on the eve of German reunification, frees an eagle from captivity, tries to seduce it, and ultimately kills it.

Simone Young conducts Bruckner and Rihm

When Simone Young conducts Bruckner, she prefers to perform the original versions of his symphonies: “Perhaps they are not as perfect as the later versions,” she explains. “But they have a modernity that the later ones lack.” In this concert, she presents the original version of the Second Symphony from 1872, and combines it with Wolfgang Rihm’s one-act opera Das Gehege. This dark and enigmatic piece depicts a woman who, on the eve of German reunification, frees an eagle from captivity, tries to seduce it, and ultimately kills it.

Simone Young conducts Bruckner and Rihm

When Simone Young conducts Bruckner, she prefers to perform the original versions of his symphonies: “Perhaps they are not as perfect as the later versions,” she explains. “But they have a modernity that the later ones lack.” In this concert, she presents the original version of the Second Symphony from 1872, and combines it with Wolfgang Rihm’s one-act opera Das Gehege. This dark and enigmatic piece depicts a woman who, on the eve of German reunification, frees an eagle from captivity, tries to seduce it, and ultimately kills it.

Mendelssohns Violinkonzert | Brahms 4. Sinfonie

Als neuer Chefdirigent des Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra wird Julian Rachlin in der Doppelfunktion als Dirigent und Solist das Violinkonzert von Mendelssohn interpretieren, eine nicht zu unterschätzende Aufgabe; im 2. Teil des Konzerts widmet er sich der letzten Sinfonie von Brahms, der Vierten: Die Tonart e-Moll bestimmt dieses Konzert!

Simone Young conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6

The Sixth Symphony is shorter, lighter in tone and less monumental than Bruckner’s other symphonies. Bruckner himself was in the habit of saying ‘Die Sechste ist die keckste’ (the Sixth is the sauciest). Perhaps most remarkable is the third movement: instead of the lively, Ländler-like folk dances that characterise his scherzos, Bruckner wrote a rather dark and eerie movement here, with a theme from his Fifth appearing in the Trio. It was not until December 1930, under the baton of Willem Mengelberg, that the Concertgebouw Orchestra would programme the Sixth Symphony for the first time. The performance was hailed as a success. ‘Although most of Bruckner’s symphonies can be compared to a proud Baroque cathedral,’ one critic wrote, ‘his Sixth bears a greater resemblance to a chapel – intimate and transparent, standing in an open, sunny clearing in a proud forest.’Bruckner expert Simone Young devoted herself exclusively to her work as artistic director of the Hamburg State Opera and chief music director of the Hamburg Philharmonic from 2005 to 2015. In recent years, she has returned to performing regularly as a guest conductor with major orchestras all over the world; she is making her first appearance with the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducting Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony.

Thomas Hengelbrock & Brahms 1 & 2

Unfortunately, Herbert Blomstedt had to cancel his Brahms cycle due to illness. Now we will experience the complete programme of the four symphonies with two different guests on the podium. Thomas Hengelbrock, who has already realised many exciting programmes with the BRSO, will conduct the first part with Symphonies No. 1 and No. 2. Brahms’ struggle for his first symphonic work, which the scrupulous composer only presented to the public at the age of 43, is legendary. In line with the high expectations, Brahms finally presented a monumental work with a serious, pathetically coloured mood with his C minor Symphony. After that the Second Symphony in D major followed just one year later, which has a completely different character: Due to its cheerful, idyllic tone, it was also referred to as Brahms’ “Pastoral”.