Sinfonietta Rīga / Friedrich Thiele / Aivis Greters

Amsterdam Sinfonietta

Amsterdam Sinfonietta brings together 23 gifted chamber musicians, embodying ensemble-playing at the highest level. Led by artistic director Candida Thompson, the orchestra tours the world with adventurous programmes and crossovers with other music genres and art forms. Nostalgia for Italy runs through this evening: „The sun shines in all its splendour… at last, I feel a magical change within me,“ Tchaikovsky wrote while visiting the Italian city of Florence. „Souvenir de Florence“ is a tribute to the city he adored, music brimming over with love and joy. The young pianist Bruce Liu, who won first prize at the Chopin Competition in 2021, makes his debut with Amsterdam Sinfonietta, performing works by Chopin – his second piano concerto and the virtuosic Polonaise brillante – both in versions for piano and string orchestra.

Eisler Sinfonietta

Founded in 2018 by Prof. Nawri, the Eisler Sinfonietta, a chamber ensemble of the university, regularly performs orchestral repertoire in ensemble arrangements. Experience a captivating concert featuring works by Stravinsky, Debussy, and Bartók.

Amsterdam Sinfonietta & Karsu

Amsterdam Sinfonietta invites singer and pianist Karsu for the annual, successful New Year's tour. With her unique mix of pop, jazz and Turkish music, she has performed in more than twenty countries worldwide, performed three times in Carnegie Hall in New York and played at North Sea Jazz. She received an Edison in 2016 for her album Colors. Her participation in the TV program Best Singers in 2021 has kept millions of viewers glued to the TV. Her rendition of Hijo de la Luna and Je suis malade hit number 1 on several charts. Thanks to her popularity in Turkey, all here concerts there are sold out within a blink of an eye. In the New Year's tour, her pop, jazz and Turkish music merge with string music.

Georg Friedrich Schenck / Klavierabend

Georg Friedrich Schenck is best known for his outstanding CD recordings: His recording of Beethoven’s immensely difficult Hammerklavier Sonata continues to set standards today. The former master student of the legendary pianist André Watts is himself a long-standing professor of piano. His master students include piano virtuosos such as Evgeni Bozhanov, Sukyeon Kim, Georgijs Osokins and Hyelim Kim. For his piano recital in the Elbphilharmonie’s Small Hall, Schenck has chosen among other works Beethoven’s »Appassionata« sonata – one of the most popular sonatas in piano literature.

FEL!X. Nora Thiele - Solo

Nora Thiele, a prominent European percussionist, blends diverse musical influences. Her music transcends genres, eras, and cultures. With a focus on rhythm and improvisation, she creates captivating soundscapes. In her solo program, she combines percussion, keyboards, loops, and electronics.

Georg Friedrich Haendel / Airs allemands

For the most English of German-born composers, these intimate arias composed between 1724 and 1726 were an ode to his origins. A concentrate of grace, with Les Arts Florissants stripped down to its chamber formation, and soloists Rowan Pierce and James Way.

Georg Friedrich Haendel / La Résurrection

The Easter festivities continue with Handel’s oratorio La resurrezione, performed by Les Arts Florissants, which over the years has interpreted many of the Baroque master’s lyrical and sacred scores.

Weihnachtskonzert des Georg-Friedrich-Händel-Gymnasiums

Award of the Götz Friedrich Prize

The Götz Friedrich Prize for the 2023/2024 season goes to Lisenka Heijboer Castañón for her production of THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE OTHER MARY by John Adams at the Vienna Volksoper. Chaired by the artistic director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Dietmar Schwarz, the jury voted in favor of awarding the 5,000 euro prize to the Dutch-Peruvian director. The award ceremony will take place on October 16, 2024 in the foyer of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. For over twenty years, the Götz Friedrich Prize has been one of the most important institutions for the promotion of outstanding talent in the field of music theater directing - award winners such as Stefan Herheim, Nadja Loschky and Sebastian Baumgarten are just a few examples. After being organized by the German-Speaking Opera Conference in recent years, the Götz Friedrich Prize has returned to the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the main place of activity of its dedicatee, since the 2022/2023 season. The members of the jury are Viktor Schoner (Stuttgart State Opera), Ina Karr (Lucerne Theater), Andrea Moses (Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar), Jörg Königsdorf (Deutsche Oper Berlin) and Martin G. Berger (director). The Götz Friedrich Prize is financially supported by the Förderkreis of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The Dutch-Peruvian director Lisenka Heijboer Castañón made her debut on the main stage of the Dutch National Opera Amsterdam in 2020 with the world premiere of FAUST (WORKING TITLE) and, following this success, was entrusted with directing the music theater project I HAVE MISSED YOU FOREVER as part of the Amsterdam Opera forward festival in 2022. Also in 2022, she directed (together with Zack Winokur) the new production of TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the Santa Fé Opera and KLASSIKERMASCHINE: DON GIOVANNI at Theater Basel. Heijboer Castanón gained stage experience as an assistant to directors such as Pierre Audi, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Laurent Pelly and Lotte de Beer, with whom she has also worked as a co-director. In the 2019/20 ...

Bruce Liu / Amsterdam Sinfonietta / Candida Thompson

Mandarin, French, English? For Bruce Liu, it’s just a question for the other person – the Paris-born Canadian with Chinese roots is equally fluent in all three languages. But his best means of expression is undoubtedly music. Since winning first place at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2021, the young pianist has been attracting crowds of new listeners with his subtle and unpretentious playing. Deutsche Grammophon hired him straight away as an exclusive artist and the doors of the great classical temples suddenly opened for the piano student, who has since surpassed the great promise that comes with such a competition win. His Chopin sounds like a language of its own – universally understandable and individually moving at the same time!