The Oddity Effect

Selfie in the Dark

Für ihn ist Komponieren eine Art Medikament gegen die Gewalt des Lebens. Georges Aperghis ist »eine unverwechselbare Stimme und ein herausragender Komponist unserer Zeit«, so die Würdigung der Ernst-von-Siemens-Musikstiftung. Bei »Selfie in the Dark« handelt es sich um einen Kompositionsauftrag des Festivals, der hier zur Uraufführung kommt – und dass der Aperghis in Erinnerung an seine verstorbene Frau Edith komponiert hat. Auf der Suche nach dem Klang der Stille hingegen komponierte Eivind Buene 2017 im norwegischen Winter »Lessons in Darkness« und imaginierte dabei das Ensemble als menschliche Gemeinschaft. Ergänzt wird das Programm durch eine:n Preisträger:in des ACHT BRÜCKEN Kompositionswettbewerbs. Gefördert durch das Kuratorium KölnMusik e.V. Gefördert durch die Kunststiftung NRWDas Konzert wird vom WDR für den Hörfunk mitgeschnitten. Sendetermin und Link finden Sie auf unserer Webseite.

Round 2 "THE MAHLER COMPETITION"

Winners of the first round

Round 2 "THE MAHLER COMPETITION"

Winners of the first round

Round 2 "THE MAHLER COMPETITION"

Winners of the first round

SPECIAL CONCERT: FINAL CONCERT "THE MAHLER COMPETITION"

The winner of the MAHLER COMPETITION 2023 is Giuseppe Mengoli! He will conduct the final concert. The winner of the prize for the best conducting of the contemporary piece is Kevin Fitzgerald. He will conduct "Con moto" by Bernd Richard Deutsch.

Christoph Sietzen | The Wave Quartet | Academy of Ancient Music

Christoph Sietzen, a master of the marimba, has revolutionized the instrument with his virtuosity and stage presence. Debuting at the Salzburg Festival at 12, he inspires contemporary composers while also exploring early music, including playing the harpsichord. He combines these worlds with the Academy of Ancient Music, featuring a new piece by Giorgio Musolesi for percussion and baroque orchestra.

Live-Concert broadcast to the Zeiss-Grossplanetarium – New Year’s Concert

NOSPR / New Year's Eve concert in the rhythm of tango

Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Nils Mönkemeyer / Kent Nagano

The Russian composer Vladimir Tarnopolski is certainly no stranger to contemporary music. His works have been performed at many major festivals over recent decades. He has received various prizes and released many of his works on CD. As a professor of composition at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, he has also passed on his knowledge to a whole generation of young composers. »Im Dunkel vor der Dämmerung« (»In the Dark before Dawn«) is the title of a new work commissioned by the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra and premiered in this concert. »Sinfonia Eroica« was the title Ludwig van Beethoven gave his third symphony in 1804, a »heroic symphony composed to celebrate the memory of a great man«. Whether or not this »great man« was to be little Napoleon? At first it was, in all likelihood. But Beethoven probably decided to leave out any corresponding dedication, since the Corsican’s personal coronation as emperor was, in the composer’s eyes, a bitter betrayal of the republican ideas of the French Enlightenment. Was Beethoven himself perhaps the hero? An innovator in the context of music history? Whatever the answer, he certainly breaks new ground with his »Eroica«.

Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Nils Mönkemeyer / Kent Nagano

The Russian composer Vladimir Tarnopolski is certainly no stranger to contemporary music. His works have been performed at many major festivals over recent decades. He has received various prizes and released many of his works on CD. As a professor of composition at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, he has also passed on his knowledge to a whole generation of young composers. »Im Dunkel vor der Dämmerung« (»In the Dark before Dawn«) is the title of a new work commissioned by the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra and premiered in this concert. »Sinfonia Eroica« was the title Ludwig van Beethoven gave his third symphony in 1804, a »heroic symphony composed to celebrate the memory of a great man«. Whether or not this »great man« was to be little Napoleon? At first it was, in all likelihood. But Beethoven probably decided to leave out any corresponding dedication, since the Corsican’s personal coronation as emperor was, in the composer’s eyes, a bitter betrayal of the republican ideas of the French Enlightenment. Was Beethoven himself perhaps the hero? An innovator in the context of music history? Whatever the answer, he certainly breaks new ground with his »Eroica«.