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December 8, 2024

Organ Concert: Tomaž Sevšek

Sun, Dec 8, 2024, 17:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Tomaž Sevšek (Organ), Serge Zimmermann (Violin), Raúl Teo Arias (Violin), Magdalena Kraus (Violin), Wolfram Hauser (Viola), Indrek Leivategija (Cello), Jan Rosenkranz (Double Bass)

A whole range of stops will be pulled out once again: This time, an experienced and acclaimed organist will be our guest at the keys and pedals of our concert organ, much loved by the audience. Together with strings from the Bamberg Symphony, he will present several works that are wonderfully fitting for this Advent Sunday. The first part is dedicated to baroque music: after three touching solo pieces by Bach, a long-lost concerto for organ and violin by Vivaldi is performed – a particularly melody-laden example of his boundless artistry. In the second part, Tomaž Sevšek offers a foray into other musical realms – including a work composed in 1951 by his compatriot Primož Ramovš, whose numerous organ pieces have only rarely been performed in Germany to date. Portuguese composer João Pedro Oliveira is a versatile and award-winning composer: »Persistent Particles« from 2021 experiments with the tonal and technical possibilities of the organ in a fascinating manner. Schumann rented a pedal keyboard for his grand piano in 1845, which gave him and his wife Clara »much delight«. One of the results was the intimate study for pedal piano – in which Schumann expressed his spiritual and compositional affinity with Bach. The French composer Alexandre Guilmant expressed his fondness for the German Romantic composer in his atmospheric work »Final alla Schumann« in 1893.

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

October 20, 2024

Organ Concert: Julian Becker and Aleksanteri Wallius

Sun, Oct 20, 2024, 17:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Julian Becker (Organ), Aleksanteri Wallius (Organ), Ilian Garnetz (Violin)

Off to the next round: this is the starting signal for our extremely popular organ series – and our »Queen of Instruments« shines in all its glory with its almost 6,000 pipes after a recent general refurbishment. The first concert of the season will feature two young prizewinners of prestigious competitions: firstly, we have a programme rich in connections by organist Julian Becker. He performs together with our concertmaster Ilian Garnetz: with the violin sonata in C minor composed around 1720, the two show how Bach’s complex world of sound and musical ideas can be performed. The following homage to the unrivalled baroque master is a milestone in the work of Hungarian composer Zsigmond Szathmáry, born in 1939. Already his fellow countryman and predecessor Franz Liszt created a popular organ work on the name B-A-C-H in 1856: baroque music in a romantic setting. The possibilities of our organ are also fully mobilised in the second part of the concert: by the Finnish artist Aleksanteri Wallius, who won the Wiesbaden Bach Competition in 2023. He opens with a colourful and virtuoso piece by his compatriot Veli Kujala: »Azul« was written in 2004 and fascinates with its rhapsodic character. He then plays a transcription of an era-defining piano work: Liszt’s grandiose Sonata in B minor from 1853 impresses with a plethora of moods and thematic metamorphoses – which is why Wagner raved: »The sonata is beautiful beyond all description; grand, charming, deep and noble. I am deeply moved by it.«

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

February 10, 2024

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conducts Brahms and Schumann

Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 20:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider (Conductor), Saleem Ashkar (Piano)

Johann Sebastian Bach knew very well the consoling power that music has. He was virtually constantly composing new pieces – often following suggestions, as in the case of the six-part ricercar, a part of his »Musical Sacrifice«: none other than Frederick the Great inspired him in 1747 to compose this masterful fugue, which we perform in Anton Webern‘s colourful orchestration – before Schumann‘s symphony, in whose music Tchaikovsky felt »the echoes of mysterious processes in the life of our souls«. Schumann often poured his suffering into music, and composing to him was as a way of overcoming a crisis, such as in 1844/45: he had suffered a breakdown, the after-effects of which burdened him for a long time. But then he was suddenly overwhelmed by a creative impulse: »For some days now, it has been drumming and trumpeting within me.« This was the genesis of his second symphony, the result of musical self-therapy in a »dark time« when he initially continued to feel »half-sick« but gradually began to feel »better again«. Indeed, the symphony seems like a desperate struggle against tormenting demons – and swings ambiguously back and forth between melancholic and heroic passages. However, the evil spirits were not to leave Schumann: He died in a mental hospital in 1856 – at the time when Brahms was tinkering with his first piano concerto. The Adagio is thus seen as a soulful prayer for the deceased friend. Otherwise, though, the brilliant work captivates with passionate melodies and great gestures that strive to chase away all gloomy thoughts – completely in the spirit of Schumann‘s optimistic statement: »Sending light into the depths of the human heart – the artist‘s profession!«

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

February 9, 2024

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conducts Brahms and Schumann

Fri, Feb 9, 2024, 20:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider (Conductor), Saleem Ashkar (Piano)

Johann Sebastian Bach knew very well the consoling power that music has. He was virtually constantly composing new pieces – often following suggestions, as in the case of the six-part ricercar, a part of his »Musical Sacrifice«: none other than Frederick the Great inspired him in 1747 to compose this masterful fugue, which we perform in Anton Webern‘s colourful orchestration – before Schumann‘s symphony, in whose music Tchaikovsky felt »the echoes of mysterious processes in the life of our souls«. Schumann often poured his suffering into music, and composing to him was as a way of overcoming a crisis, such as in 1844/45: he had suffered a breakdown, the after-effects of which burdened him for a long time. But then he was suddenly overwhelmed by a creative impulse: »For some days now, it has been drumming and trumpeting within me.« This was the genesis of his second symphony, the result of musical self-therapy in a »dark time« when he initially continued to feel »half-sick« but gradually began to feel »better again«. Indeed, the symphony seems like a desperate struggle against tormenting demons – and swings ambiguously back and forth between melancholic and heroic passages. However, the evil spirits were not to leave Schumann: He died in a mental hospital in 1856 – at the time when Brahms was tinkering with his first piano concerto. The Adagio is thus seen as a soulful prayer for the deceased friend. Otherwise, though, the brilliant work captivates with passionate melodies and great gestures that strive to chase away all gloomy thoughts – completely in the spirit of Schumann‘s optimistic statement: »Sending light into the depths of the human heart – the artist‘s profession!«

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

February 4, 2024

Our principal organist Christian Schmitt

Sun, Feb 4, 2024, 17:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Christian Schmitt (Organ), Markus Mester (Trumpet), Angelos Kritikos (Trombone), Gregor Moser (Percussion), Robert Cürlis (Timpani)

Alongside his celebrated concerts in other cultural temples worldwide, Christian Schmitt has been our trusted »Principal Organist« for many years now. He is not the only one on the podium this afternoon, but together with musicians from the ranks of our orchestra, he creates magnificent sound effects – such as a work composed in 1976 referring to Marc Chagall: This painter-poet designed famous glass windows in iridescent colours in many places. The fascinating composition »Okna« by the Czech Petr Eben reflects his experiencing of Chagall‘s vitrage for the synagogue in Jerusalem. The piece is congenially encompassed by Bach's virtuoso music: the E-flat major prelude functions as an atmospheric overture, and the corresponding fugue follows as a masterful Baroque piece with three tightly interlocked themes. Trombone and organ then unite for the romantically-influenced »Morceau symphonique« by Alexandre Guilmant. The sparkling piece from 1902 captivates with its lyrical opening and its vibrant development with energetic, rocketing scales. Sofia Gubaidulina's 1978 sonata »Detto 1« is more spiritual – but the meditative lines also repeatedly produce heated cascades. Finally, the god of the seas symbolically makes his grand appearance: the impressive piece »Poseidon« was composed by the Swede Andrea Tarrodi in 2021. Everything here is in a state of flux with rising and falling sound masses.

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

December 10, 2023

Cameron Carpenter plays Bach and Mussorgsky

Sun, Dec 10, 2023, 17:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Cameron Carpenter (Organ)

This concert promises emotional states of matter along with several »souls«: because in the technical sector, the term »soul« means the precious core of cables – and there are several of them in the Jann organ's keyboard. Our guest is Cameron Carpenter, a musical magician who will literally pull out all the stops to make the 5,800 pipes of our instrument sound. The American keyboard virtuoso looks at an organ as a kind of tool that expands his body and mind – and he brings with him exciting arrangements of musical masterpieces that explore the depths in his own unique way: He takes an imaginative walk through Mussorgsky‘s »Pictures at an Exhibition«, evoking grandiose images in his mind‘s eye – of a limping gnome, the demonic witch Baba-Yaga, a rumbling oxcart, chatty market women, frantically hopping chicks in eggshells or a grand parade through a hero‘s gate underscored by ringing bells. This visit to the museum set to music is framed by two compositions from Johann Sebastian Bach, about whose music one of his sons said it should »set the heart in motion«. Like a moving journey of the soul, the »minory« Fantasia and Fugue appears: with expressive sighing motifs, the piece soars, gathers energy again and bursts forth in a virtuoso finale. The concert ends with the equally breathtaking »Goldberg Variations«: The slow introductory movement is followed here by a highly complex and impressive sound structure – a stellar masterpiece that definitely fulfils the intention Bach had in mind when he noted as a subtitle that it was »made for admirers for the idolisation of the mind«.

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

September 22, 2023

Opening Concert in Bamberg

Fri, Sep 22, 2023, 20:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Jakub Hrůša (Conductor), Christian Schmitt (Organ), Kristina Fialová (Viola), Kateřina Kněžíková (Soprano), Jarmila Vantuchová (Mezzo Soprano), Eduard Martyniuk (Tenor), Jan Šťáva (Bass), Tschechischer Philharmonischer Chor Brno

»Adorn yourself, O beloved soul, forsake this dark den of sin, enter into the bright light, and begin to gleam gloriously!« Thus goes a favorite hymn for the Lord’s Supper centuries ago, from which Bach created a wonderfully tranquil organ work – about which Mendelssohn commented, »If life had taken everything from me, this piece would bring me comfort again.« After this, our opening concert is all about the city of Brno, the home of our Principal Conductor. Also Petr Fiala, founder of the famous Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno and composer himself, was born here in 1943. It was his heart’s desire for Jakub Hrůša to conduct his »Stabat Mater« one day: A colourful setting of the medieval poem, focusing on the mother of Jesus in her mourning for her crucified son. We will also perform Janáček's highly original »Glagolitic Mass«, premiered in Brno in 1927: when the composer, aged 72, wrote the piece shortly before his death, he deliberately wanted to distinguish himself from Western practices and therefore spoke of a »joyful mass« – inspired by the nature spectacle of a thunderstorm and spreading an utterly secular atmosphere. And while the traditional ordinarium from Kyrie to Agnus Dei is adhered to here, the text is not in Latin but in the old Church Slavonic from the 9th century – for Janáček loved to occupy himself with different types of human tonality, which he described as his »little windows to the soul«. Musically, the agitated events are sometimes contrasted with tender passages – and just before the finale there is a brilliant organ solo, which brings this unique mass to an end like a joyful celebration.

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

March 26, 2023

ORGAN CONCERT: Tobias Lindner & Jeremy Joseph

Sun, Mar 26, 2023, 17:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Jeremy Joseph (Organ), Tobias Lindner (Organ)

"O tell me, who invented this miraculous construction, full of the voices of everything that lives?" Herder asked in his poem "The Organ" – the instrument that "unites the breath of all creation". This concert will see two fascinating performers immerse themselves in the multifaceted universe of organ music: Tobias Lindner, winner of numerous international competitions and professor at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, will open the concert with a work by an unknown master from his Bavarian homeland. The mid-19th century piece "Elevazione" by Padre Davide da Bergamo is a fresh and tuneful celebration of the liturgical elevation of the host. Bach's trio sonata, composed around 1730, features both intricate fugue techniques and sensuous passages. Opera aficionado Giovanni Morandi created his Campanelli Rondo in 1883, an organ piece that contains not a few surprises. The Hungarian composer Dezsö Antalffy-Zsiross thrilled early 20th-century audiences with his spectacular works, and his "Chanson dans la nuit” contains echoes of early jazz. The programme’s second half will be performed by Jeremy Joseph, a South African organist who has won several prestigious awards. He is currently the chapel organist of the Hofburg in Vienna and also teaches as a professor at the University of Vienna. He will start with a highly virtuosic and sonorous Prelude and Fugue by Bach. Mozart wrote the rondo-like Andante for barrel organ, an enchanting music-box piece full of dainty passages in a high treble register, in 1791, the year of his death. Messiaen’s jubilant final movement of his major 1986 composition "Le Livre du Saint-Sacrement" undoubtedly succeeded in achieving this composer’s goal to create a universal dimension of "music that touches all things and God at the same time".

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

March 5, 2023

Our honorary conductor Christoph Eschenbach / CHANGE OF CAST

Sun, Mar 5, 2023, 17:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Thomas Dausgaard (Conductor), Christian Schmitt (Organ)

CHANGE OF CAST AND PROGRAMME

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

March 4, 2023

Our honorary conductor Christoph Eschenbach / CHANGE OF CAST

Sat, Mar 4, 2023, 20:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Thomas Dausgaard (Conductor), Christian Schmitt (Organ)

Change of cast and programme on 4th and 5th of March

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

February 26, 2023

ORGAN CONCERT: Christian Schmitt & Stefan Kurt

Sun, Feb 26, 2023, 17:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

Christian Schmitt (Organ), Stefan Kurt (Narrator)

On 26 February 2023, a special programme on the season's theme of "Creation" will be presented at the Bamberg Concert Hall. The well-known Swiss actor Stefan Kurt will be a guest in the organ series of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. In keeping with Bamberg, he will read "The Story of the Lost Mirror Image" by the well-known Romantic writer E.T.A Hoffmann. With his novellistic works, Hoffmann is considered the most influential German storyteller after Goethe and until the breakthrough of Kafka's works after 1945.For this purpose, the Principal Organist of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra has selected early and late masterpieces by composers such as Bach, Mendelssohn, Widor, Brandmüller and Reger, including the well-known Passacaglia by Johann Sebastian Bach and the monumental Fantasy and Fugue in D minor op. 135b by Max Reger.With his leading role in the successful TV multi-part "Der Schattenmann" directed by Dieter Wedel, Stefan Kurt became known to a wide audience and received the Adolf Grimme Award and the Telestar for his acting performance in 1997. This is followed by extensive film and television work. 2020 sees his first collaboration with Barrie Kosky at the Komische Oper Berlin with the operetta "Frühlingsstürme".Christian Schmitt has now been curating the organ series for seven years, with highlights this season including his debut at Carnegie Hall New York under Dennis Russell Davies, with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach, and in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's organ series.

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)

Opening Concert in Bamberg

Fri, Sep 22, 2023, 20:00

Konzerthalle Bamberg, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal (Bamberg)

»Adorn yourself, O beloved soul, forsake this dark den of sin, enter into the bright light, and begin to gleam gloriously!« Thus goes a favorite hymn for the Lord’s Supper centuries ago, from which Bach created a wonderfully tranquil organ work – about which Mendelssohn commented, »If life had taken everything from me, this piece would bring me comfort again.« After this, our opening concert is all about the city of Brno, the home of our Principal Conductor. Also Petr Fiala, founder of the famous Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno and composer himself, was born here in 1943. It was his heart’s desire for Jakub Hrůša to conduct his »Stabat Mater« one day: A colourful setting of the medieval poem, focusing on the mother of Jesus in her mourning for her crucified son. We will also perform Janáček's highly original »Glagolitic Mass«, premiered in Brno in 1927: when the composer, aged 72, wrote the piece shortly before his death, he deliberately wanted to distinguish himself from Western practices and therefore spoke of a »joyful mass« – inspired by the nature spectacle of a thunderstorm and spreading an utterly secular atmosphere. And while the traditional ordinarium from Kyrie to Agnus Dei is adhered to here, the text is not in Latin but in the old Church Slavonic from the 9th century – for Janáček loved to occupy himself with different types of human tonality, which he described as his »little windows to the soul«. Musically, the agitated events are sometimes contrasted with tender passages – and just before the finale there is a brilliant organ solo, which brings this unique mass to an end like a joyful celebration.

Info (www.bamberger-symphoniker.de)