Guest performance
Philharmonie Berlin, Main Auditorium (Berlin)
»Ecstatic screams from the audience, standing ovations« was how the Tagesspiegel described Mao Fujita’s DSO debut in April 2023. Fujita’s god is Mozart. One music track from his ›Mozart Reworked‹ CD made it all the way to the top on Apple Music’s ›Piano Chill Playlist‹; his recording of all the piano sonatas has been enthusiastically received by the critics. A real discovery.
Anyone who delves into George Frideric Handel’s vocal and instrumental music will find a wealth of treasures. Elegance, virtuosity, delicacy – all this can be discovered in an endlessly inventive world of musical expression. In a programme with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and conductor Robin Ticciati, you can experience some of Handel’s most beautiful arias and orchestral pieces from operas and other works. Iestyn Davies, one of the leading countertenors of our time, is the soloist. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a great admirer of Handel. His festive and exuberant “Haffner Symphony” concludes the programme.
Under the motto »Orchestra for Democracy«, the DSO invites the audience to two concerts that combine music and speech to make a powerful plea for human rights and the value of our democracy. Central works of classical modernism and late romanticism meet contemporary reflections and create a format that places the demands and reality of our society at the centre.
Under the motto »Orchestra for Democracy«, the DSO invites the audience to two concerts that combine music and speech to make a powerful plea for human rights and the value of our democracy. Central works of classical modernism and late romanticism meet contemporary reflections and create a format that places the demands and reality of our society at the centre.
Under the title Paradise lost? On the Threat to Nature, the Berliner Philharmoniker and chief conductor Kirill Petrenko open their third Biennale. One work that ideally reflects the theme is Beethoven’s “Pastoral”, which exuberantly celebrates the beauty of country life. However, the idyll proves to be fragile and is swept away by an apocalyptic storm. Miroslav Srnka’s work Superorganisms, heard here in its German premiere, embodies a completely different kind of natural phenomenon. It depicts life forms that can only exist in a community in a fascinating way. The concert opens with Arcana, by Edgard Varèse; The title refers to 16th-century alchemist and astrologer Paracelsus, who sought universal knowledge, and believed that the stars could help understand human healing.
Under the title Paradise lost? On the Threat to Nature, the Berliner Philharmoniker and chief conductor Kirill Petrenko open their third Biennale. One work that ideally reflects the theme is Beethoven’s “Pastoral”, which exuberantly celebrates the beauty of country life. However, the idyll proves to be fragile and is swept away by an apocalyptic storm. Miroslav Srnka’s work Superorganisms, heard here in its German premiere, embodies a completely different kind of natural phenomenon. It depicts life forms that can only exist in a community in a fascinating way. The concert opens with Arcana, by Edgard Varèse; The title refers to 16th-century alchemist and astrologer Paracelsus, who sought universal knowledge, and believed that the stars could help understand human healing.
Under the title Paradise lost? On the Threat to Nature, the Berliner Philharmoniker and chief conductor Kirill Petrenko open their third Biennale. One work that ideally reflects the theme is Beethoven’s “Pastoral”, which exuberantly celebrates the beauty of country life. However, the idyll proves to be fragile and is swept away by an apocalyptic storm. Miroslav Srnka’s work Superorganisms, heard here in its German premiere, embodies a completely different kind of natural phenomenon. It depicts life forms that can only exist in a community in a fascinating way. The concert opens with Arcana, by Edgard Varèse; The title refers to 16th-century alchemist and astrologer Paracelsus, who sought universal knowledge, and believed that the stars could help understand human healing.
In this series, the Berliner Philharmoniker and guests spark enthusiasm for classical music and take a closer look at the art of composing. In moderated concerts, they demonstrate the sound colours of the instruments or show how nature can sound.
»The work of a crazy man.« »A thing made by idiots.« Wild comments for Stravinsky after his ‘Rite of Spring’ premiered in Paris in 1913. People jeered and hissed in the stalls; nothing more could be heard of the music. Respectable listeners clobbered each other. The police reported that 27 people were injured at the »massacre« (Debussy) and Jean Cocteau, who was in attendance, noted that »a countess’s diadem was askew«. What was once a shocker transformed into a classic of modernism. What better recommendation could there be?
Playing violin sounds like fingernails scratching on a chalkboard. That’s how Gil Shaham’s mother reacted to his wish to learn the instrument. But he won out, and later even won a Grammy. What he says about Korngold’s magnificent violin concerto: »It takes a listener on a journey of about half an hour, and at the end, you’re transformed. You feel like you’ve read a great novel or seen a great movie.«
When she is on the podium, says Joana Mallwitz, she wants to take the audience with her “from the very first note”. This approach has already brought her a remarkably successful career. After holding positions as General Music Director in Erfurt and Nuremberg, she has been Chief Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin since 2023. In her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, she leads us through very different worlds of sound with works by Prokofiev, Hindemith and Ravel. Anna Vinnitskaya will be the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work full of dreamy melancholy and pianistic brilliance.
When she is on the podium, says Joana Mallwitz, she wants to take the audience with her “from the very first note”. This approach has already brought her a remarkably successful career. After holding positions as General Music Director in Erfurt and Nuremberg, she has been Chief Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin since 2023. In her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, she leads us through very different worlds of sound with works by Prokofiev, Hindemith and Ravel. Anna Vinnitskaya will be the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work full of dreamy melancholy and pianistic brilliance.
When she is on the podium, says Joana Mallwitz, she wants to take the audience with her “from the very first note”. This approach has already brought her a remarkably successful career. After holding positions as General Music Director in Erfurt and Nuremberg, she has been Chief Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin since 2023. In her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, she leads us through very different worlds of sound with works by Prokofiev, Hindemith and Ravel. Anna Vinnitskaya will be the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work full of dreamy melancholy and pianistic brilliance.
Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony is considered by many to epitomise romanticism in orchestral music. The first call of the horns is typical of the era – evoking a sound world that is at once warm, idyllic and full of yearning. Conductor Zubin Mehta has included two further Romantic works on the programme: Carl Maria von Weber’s overture to the fairy-tale opera Oberon and Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with its combination of heartfelt expression and overwhelming virtuosity. Himari, who comes from Japan and is just 13 years old, makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker as soloist.
Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony is considered by many to epitomise romanticism in orchestral music. The first call of the horns is typical of the era – evoking a sound world that is at once warm, idyllic and full of yearning. Conductor Zubin Mehta has included two further Romantic works on the programme: Carl Maria von Weber’s overture to the fairy-tale opera Oberon and Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with its combination of heartfelt expression and overwhelming virtuosity. Himari, who comes from Japan and is just 13 years old, makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker as soloist.
Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony is considered by many to epitomise romanticism in orchestral music. The first call of the horns is typical of the era – evoking a sound world that is at once warm, idyllic and full of yearning. Conductor Zubin Mehta has included two further Romantic works on the programme: Carl Maria von Weber’s overture to the fairy-tale opera Oberon and Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with its combination of heartfelt expression and overwhelming virtuosity. Himari, who comes from Japan and is just 13 years old, makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker as soloist.