ConcertPulse
Zwergenkonzert
Gewandhaus Leipzig, Mendelssohn-Saal (Leipzig)
Filters
"Beginnings"
Leonard Bernstein combined classical music, jazz, show music and folk music from various communities. The songs from his vibrant New York Romeo and Juliet story „West Side Story“ have been loved by audiences since 1957. George Gershwin also combines classical concertos and jazz, and his music has found a home on Broadway and in Carnegie Hall. Pianist Kirill Gerstein performs Gershwin's world hit „Rhapsody in Blue“ as a soloist with the Konzerthausorchester under Iván Fischer. From the New World, we travel to old Europe, to France. However, nothing sounds old here: Darius Milhaud's cheerful „Ox on the Roof“, driven by Brazilian rhythms, which of course sounds much more elegant as the French „boeuf sur le toit“, is followed by two of Erik Satie's meditative piano miniatures arranged for orchestra. Finally, eerie undertones pervade Maurice Ravel's „La Valse“. First performed in 1920, this waltz is both a dance of death and an ironic homage to the 19th century.
The Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Germany's youth orchestra, celebrates its 50th anniversary with a season of works by American composers. The program includes pieces by Copland, Gershwin, Bolcom (with the Kebyart Saxophone Quartet), and Bernstein. A new commissioned work by Swiss composer Daniel Schnyder will also be premiered. Delyana Lazarova conducts.
Leonard Bernstein combined classical music, jazz, show music and folk music from various communities to create distinctive musicals that were successful around the globe. George Gershwin also combines classical concert and jazz, and his music is at home on Broadway and in Carnegie Hall. Pianist Kirill Gerstein performs Gershwin's world hit „Rhapsody in Blue“ as a soloist with the Konzerthausorchester under Iván Fischer. From the New World, we travel to old Europe, to France. However, nothing sounds old here: Darius Milhaud's cheerful „Ox on the Roof“, driven by Brazilian rhythms, which of course sounds much more elegant as the French „boeuf sur le toit“, is followed by two of Erik Satie's meditative piano miniatures arranged for orchestra. Finally, eerie undertones pervade Maurice Ravel's „La Valse“. First performed in 1920, this waltz is both a dance of death and an ironic homage to the 19th century.
Pianist and Echo Klassik award-winner Sebastian Knauer presents a very special programme - the sounds of Hollywood - in original works and new, never-before-heard arrangements written exclusively for him, accompanied by the large orchestra of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra. The evening will be conducted by Oscar-nominated composer and conductor David Newman. He comes from the most successful film music dynasty in the history of the Academy Awards. The programme includes music by his father Alfred Newman, the founding father of the Hollywood sound, composer of the world's most famous fanfare, the 20th Century Fox logo, winner of nine Oscars and his brother Thomas Newman, who has also been nominated for several Oscars. The Oscar-winning composers Alex North, Bernard Herrman, Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner can also be heard. Of course, the great American classics George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber are not to be missed on this evening.
In the entertaining Epiphany Concert, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is led by the British conductor John Wilson. He is an authority on film music and has reconstructed and arranged many classic soundtracks for concert settings. Since 1994, Wilson leads his own hand-picked orchestra, specializing in film and musicals, and performs annually at The Proms summer festival.The Twelfth Night Concert 2023 was a resounding success when British conductor John Wilson led the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in a program blending seductive film music with the best from the world of musicals. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that we welcome him back in a programme featuring irresistible musical hits by the very best in the genre – Bernstein, Sondheim, Gershwin, and Rodgers & Hammerstein, among others.On vocals: the British actor and musical star Julian Ovenden. He has appeared in television series in both England and the USA and participated in numerous famous musical productions on Broadway in New York and in the West End in London. He has also performed on several occasions at Proms concerts alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra.The concert will be recorded by SVT and broadcast later the same day, Sunday 5 January 2025, with a repeat on Saturday 11 January 2025.***As traditional as the concert itself is the dance afterwards in the Grünewald Hall. This time with Laszlo Royale – the band, led by singer Malena Laszlo, that has provided entertainment at countless Nobel banquets!***Puff pastry roll with mushrooms and shaved pecorinoBouchée with crayfish Skagen, vendace roe, and dillCold poached salmon with dill mayonnaiseFrench potato salad with capers, spring onion, and a creamy dressingRomaine lettuce with pickled cucumber, feta cheese, spring onion, and dillTwo types of cheese – Taleggio and Cheddar, served with marmaladeBread, crispbread & whipped butterServed with a glass of wine, beer, or a non-alcoholic alternative.
»Where to sow love, joy as love grows up.« Shakespeare already knew this – which is why we are setting off a lovingly put together musical firework at the turn of the year: it bears the stamp of our guest conductor, who is convinced that »we can understand ourselves and our feelings better through music«. Roderick Cox found his way against all odds: he grew up in a single-parent home in Macon, a small town in Georgia. There was no money to buy an instrument or go to concerts – until a foundation helped him out and he eventually got access to a classical music training programme. Today, he is a strong champion of young African-American artists from underrepresented social backgrounds. And he attracts international attention with his well thought-out concert programmes. In his debut on our conductor’s podium, he would like to showcase the range of US-American music – a fascinating mixture, sparkling like champagne. And although the pieces all originate from his home country, they also deal with more global themes and their expressive power is boundless nonetheless. The musical sparklers and possibly a few more sparking encores add a festive flair, but hopefully also remind us all how invaluable the power of music is for love and peace – in the words of Roderick Cox: »Classical music is not just an art to make us feel good, but it should also inspire social thinking, point the finger at injustice, support our freedom and connect people with each other.«
Tickets for our New Year's Eve concerts go on sale on 21 October 2024 at 10 am.
A musical trip to America at the year's end featuring composers Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin, whose works blend new Western and jazz sounds with European classical traditions. Between Bernstein's "Divertimento" and Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess", hear one of America's strongest female voices: composer Jessie Montgomery (born 1981). Her "Freedom Songs" were written for soprano Julia Bullock and arrange traditional African-American music.
Tickets for our New Year's Eve concerts go on sale on 21 October 2024 at 10 am.
Who is this formidable woman? It is clear that the former professional tennis player Marie Jacquot has been taking the stage by storm for a few years now. Hailing from France, she has been principal guest conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra since the 2023/24 season, and in the 2024/25 season she also takes on the role of chief conductor at the Royal Danish Theatre Copenhagen. Then, in the 2026/27 season, she is set to take up a new post as principal conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra. So we will certainly be hearing a lot more from her, as they say.
Who is this formidable woman? It is clear that the former professional tennis player Marie Jacquot has been taking the stage by storm for a few years now. Hailing from France, she has been principal guest conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra since the 2023/24 season, and in the 2024/25 season she also takes on the role of chief conductor at the Royal Danish Theatre Copenhagen. Then, in the 2026/27 season, she is set to take up a new post as principal conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra. So we will certainly be hearing a lot more from her, as they say.
“Creating a score for full orchestra can feel like simultaneously standing on a mountaintop, scrubbing your kitchen floor, swimming in the middle of a lake, riding the subway during rush hour, and gently holding someone’s hand,” Caroline Shaw (b. 1982) wrote at the premiere of The Observatory in 2019. Composer Caroline Shaw has received the Pulitzer Prize and Grammy for best composition. She wrote the orchestral piece The Observatory for the LA Phil, referencing a visit to the city’s famous Griffith Observatory, where she studied both the city and the sky above.She describes the piece: “There are some very large chords, and some very large spaces. (...) There are references to Strauss’ Don Juan, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 (...) There is celebration and criticism of systems. There is chaos and clarity.”During the summer of 1951, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was on vacation in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca when he received a commission for a new orchestral work. He was in the middle of reading philosopher Plato’s famous dialogue Symposium, directly translated to Drinking Party.Many of Bernstein’s most famous works are based on literary classics. The new piece, which took shape as a violin concerto and was finished in 1954, was named Serenade. As a form of music, the serenade has a light touch and has often been played in the evening, often with romantic undertones.In Plato’s Symposium, the guests rejoice in love and the god Eros. The movements in Serenade are named after the speakers - the sophist Phaedrus, the naturalist Eryxmachus, the writers Aristophanes and Agathon and the philosopher Socrates, who is cheerfully interrupted by the drunken politician Alcibiades.Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) moved to New York in 1892 to become the director at The National Conservatory of Music of America. During three years in the United States, he wrote some of his most popular works and one of his most-played symphonies: Symphony No. 9, entitled From the New World.Dvořák quickly absorbed impressions from his new surroundings and started working on a new symphony after four months in the US. One of the students sang spirituals to him, and they became one of his most important sources of inspiration. Symphony No. 9 was premiered in 1893 and became an enormous success.
For lovers of chamber music the Recital Hall is the venue of choice. You can hear the musicians breathe and you can practically touch them. This hall is also cherished by musicians for its beautiful acoustics and direct contact with the audience. In the Recital Hall you can hear the best musicians of our time. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Recital Hall for yourself!
You can simply go to a concert at the Philharmonie, spontaneously, during your lunch break – and with free admission: every Wednesday at 13:00 between September and June. The programme lasts 40 to 50 minutes: chamber music, piano works or a percussion duo – everything from Tchaikovsky to tango. Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Karajan Academy regularly perform, as well as guests from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Berlin music conservatories. As can be expected at a lunch concert, catering is available from 12 noon until shortly before the concert begins.
The relationship between Europe and the United States is at the heart of this program, where the attachment to the traditions of the “Old World” finds its counterpoint in the most famous of Dvořák’s symphonies, a veritable link between the two continents.
Where does jazz begin and classical music end? With the new “Jazzik” series, the RSB fuses jazz, classical and minimal music.After the concert, the jazz duo of Markus Ehrlich (saxophone) and Attila Muehl (guitar) will bring the evening to an atmospheric close in the foyer.The concert will be broadcast on Deutschlandfunk Kultur on December 4 at 8:03 pm.
With one reed or two – the soft sound of the „wood”, i.e. woodwind instruments, is indispensable in orchestral music. Bringing together the related sounds of the oboe, the clarinet, the bassoon, and the saxophone, also has its deep tradition in chamber music. And what was not written for these instruments, can be arranged for them, thanks to the breadth of opportunities they offer. The hexatonic scale present in the name of the ensemble, i.e. that with six notes per octave, is also known as the blues scale, without which there would be no jazz. Hence the sentiment for music by Debussy and Ravel, in whose pieces a similar scale can be found. Not to mention the composing oeuvre of Leonard Bernstein, for whom jazz was as important an influence as the great European classics. While all these tropes may be traced down in the programme of the Hexatonic concert, one thing remains certain: a sound that caresses the ear. Adam Suprynowicz Concert duration: approximately 90 minutes
The Concertgebouw’s famous Main Hall is one of the best concert halls in the world, well-known for its exceptional acoustics and special atmosphere. In the Main Hall, you will feel history. Here, Gustav Mahler conducted his own compositions, as did Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky. Sergei Rachmaninoff played his own piano concertos in the Main Hall. This is also where musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, Vladimir Horowitz and Yehudi Menuhin gave legendary performances. Right up to now, the Main Hall offers a stage to the world’s best orchestras and musicians. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Main Hall for yourself!
»As artists, we can show our love with music.« These words were spoken by Sir Simon Rattle – and our audience is in for a treat as the collaboration between the top Bavarian orchestras continues. This time the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra will be conducted in our concert hall by its new Chief Conductor, whose personal style is characterised by charisma and complete humanity – and who likens a harmonious relationship between conductor and orchestra to a good marriage. With our Munich colleagues, it was certainly love at first sight. In this concert by the Bavarian ensemble, the Bamberg audience is treated to a programme of Sir Simon Rattle’s choice. It bears his typical signature, as it includes a broad spectrum of rarely heard repertoire.For the wide-ranging programme, the likeable star conductor will be joined on the podium by several of his artist friends as soloists – including the famous piano duo Katia and Marielle Labèque. We are in for an evening full of excitement with enchanting pieces that will captivate the ears and touch the heart: The list includes an irresistible choice of vivacious works written by Manuel de Falla, Igor Stravinsky, Osvaldo Golijov and Leonard Bernstein. And one thing is clear from this contrasting programme of classical music, jazz, tango, and other tunes from other regions: how valuable the unifying power of music is for life - in the words of Sir Simon Rattle, who, when asked what he wanted to give the audience as a conductor, said: »That music shows us what it means to be human. That we are not alone, that someone feels the same way.«
Golijov’s Nazareno has a permanent place on the Rattle family’s playlist. As Sir Simon’s youngest daughter puts it: “If all your classical works were like this, I’d come to every concert – because it’s so good to dance to!” This irresistible celebration of South American music will feature two of Rattle’s lifelong friends at the piano: the sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque. The works of de Falla, Stravinsky, and Bernstein provide just as much character, resulting in an absolute dream program of classical music, jazz, and tango, that demonstrates the BRSO’s full sonic and rhythmic spectrum. The concert will showcase the BRSO solo clarinettists in the Ebony Concerto, and the Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, works written by Stravinsky and Bernstein respectively for the legendary jazz clarinettist Woody Herman.
Golijov’s Nazareno has a permanent place on the Rattle family’s playlist. As Sir Simon’s youngest daughter puts it: “If all your classical works were like this, I’d come to every concert – because it’s so good to dance to!” This irresistible celebration of South American music will feature two of Rattle’s lifelong friends at the piano: the sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque. The works of de Falla, Stravinsky, and Bernstein provide just as much character, resulting in an absolute dream program of classical music, jazz, and tango, that demonstrates the BRSO’s full sonic and rhythmic spectrum. The concert will showcase the BRSO solo clarinettists in the Ebony Concerto, and the Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, works written by Stravinsky and Bernstein respectively for the legendary jazz clarinettist Woody Herman.
Golijov’s Nazareno has a permanent place on the Rattle family’s playlist. As Sir Simon’s youngest daughter puts it: “If all your classical works were like this, I’d come to every concert – because it’s so good to dance to!” This irresistible celebration of South American music will feature two of Rattle’s lifelong friends at the piano: the sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque. The works of de Falla, Stravinsky, and Bernstein provide just as much character, resulting in an absolute dream program of classical music, jazz, and tango, that demonstrates the BRSO’s full sonic and rhythmic spectrum. The concert will showcase the BRSO solo clarinettists in the Ebony Concerto, and the Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, works written by Stravinsky and Bernstein respectively for the legendary jazz clarinettist Woody Herman.
The Sunday Morning Concert brings you wonderful and much-loved compositions, performed by top musicians from the Netherlands and abroad. Enjoy the most beautiful music in the morning! You can make your Sunday complete by enjoying a delicious post-concert lunch in restaurant LIER.The Royal Concertgebouw is one of the best concert halls in the world, famous for its exceptional acoustics and varied programme. Attend a concert and have an experience you will never forget. Come and enjoy inspiring music in the beautiful surroundings of the Main Hall or the intimate Recital Hall.