ConcertPulse
Guest performance
Philharmonie Berlin, Chamber Music Hall (Berlin)
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“It is the best thing I have written in my life”, declared Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1784 of his piano quintet. Many of his most famous works had not yet been written, but the quintet remains a Mozartian jewel, with its melodic beauty and charming dialogues between the instruments. It is no wonder that the young Ludwig van Beethoven was inspired by Mozart’s example to write an equally enchanting quintet. Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker play both works with pianist Kit Armstrong. Contemporary counterpoints are provided in the form of wind quintets by Hans Werner Henze and Wolfgang Rihm.
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.
In addition to his career as a celebrated soloist, violinist Christian Tetzlaff performs all over the world with his own string quartet. This guest performance in the Chamber Music Hall opens with Beethoven's late, expressive String Quartet op. 131, the beginning of which Richard Wagner called “probably the most melancholy thing that has ever been expressed in sound”. In his “Choral Quartet”, Jörg Widmann expresses “sounds and phases of futility that come from nowhere and lead nowhere,” he says. The programme concludes with Johannes Brahms' Second Quartet, which steers a lush course between melancholy and joie de vivre.
Aleady as a child, artist in Residence Seong-Jin Cho was impressed by “the brilliant and dramatic expression” of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5. His view has since evolved, he says: “This music is not only fiery, but also lyrical, deep and broad”. He will perform the work with Jakub Hrůša, chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. The Concerto for Orchestra, which shifts between melancholy and joie de vivre, is also one of Béla Bartók’s most popular works. Leoš Janáček’s folk suite from the opera Osud (Fate), on the other hand, is a rarely performed.
Aleady as a child, artist in Residence Seong-Jin Cho was impressed by “the brilliant and dramatic expression” of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5. His view has since evolved, he says: “This music is not only fiery, but also lyrical, deep and broad”. He will perform the work with Jakub Hrůša, chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. The Concerto for Orchestra, which shifts between melancholy and joie de vivre, is also one of Béla Bartók’s most popular works. Leoš Janáček’s folk suite from the opera Osud (Fate), on the other hand, is a rarely performed.
Aleady as a child, artist in Residence Seong-Jin Cho was impressed by “the brilliant and dramatic expression” of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5. His view has since evolved, he says: “This music is not only fiery, but also lyrical, deep and broad”. He will perform the work with Jakub Hrůša, chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. The Concerto for Orchestra, which shifts between melancholy and joie de vivre, is also one of Béla Bartók’s most popular works. Leoš Janáček’s folk suite from the opera Osud (Fate), on the other hand, is a rarely performed.
The pianist Sunwook Kim has been acclaimed for his sensitivity, brilliance and stylistic confidence – all qualities well-suited to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, whose Piano Concertos No. 3 and No. 4 he performs with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. While the Third is tragic, serious and combative, the Fourth is lyrical, impetuous and playful. Two works by contemporary British composers will also be performed: Anna Clyne's string work Stride, which is inspired by Beethoven's music, and Helen Grime's Elegiac inflections, which demonstrates the diverse sonic possibilities of a wind ensemble.
In 1851, the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer sounds off in his essay »on women« that they do not really and truly have sense and sensitivity, »neither for music, nor poetry, nor fine arts«. In such surroundings, Emilie Mayer must have seemed like a provocation: the young woman from small-town Mecklenburg led a glorious life as a composer in Berlin, performed one symphony after the other, became the deputy head of the Berlin Opera Academy and an honorary member of the Philharmonic Society in Munich. It’s high time to rediscover her and her music!
He has played for three American presidents, the Supreme Court of the United States and has performed at the World Economic Forum—though thus far, at least, superstar Joshua Bell has not been invited to conduct the renowned political gathering. In Berlin, he’ll work as »playing conductor« with the 100-member DSO for the first time. Just one practical problem: what will he do with the Stradivarius violin, which is worth millions? »When I’m conducting, I keep the violin in one hand and conduct with my bow,« he laughs.
Mitsuko Uchida is the grande dame of the piano – and one of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s close artistic companions. Her elegant, gripping and sensitive playing makes her an ideal interpreter of the piano works of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert. In the final concert of our piano series, we will hear her perform Beethoven's Piano Sonata in E minor, which journeys between contemplative calm and passionate forward momentum, as well as Schubert's last sonata - a work full of intense emotions: sometimes rapturous and reflective, sometimes comforting; and at times, offering a terrifying glimpse into a psychological abyss.
Beethoven’s dramatic and heroic Egmont Overture is well-known and much loved. However, very few listeners know the extensive incidental music that Beethoven also wrote Goethe’s drama Egmont. Gustavo Dudamel gives us the opportunity to hear how vividly the composer depicts the fate of the Dutch prince Egmont in music: his triumphs, his love, his failure. Fate also plays a central role in Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, symbolised by a relentless motif that runs through the entire work. The composer uses it to mirror his own struggles with himself and the world – passionately, stirringly, movingly.
Beethoven’s dramatic and heroic Egmont Overture is well-known and much loved. However, very few listeners know the extensive incidental music that Beethoven also wrote Goethe’s drama Egmont. Gustavo Dudamel gives us the opportunity to hear how vividly the composer depicts the fate of the Dutch prince Egmont in music: his triumphs, his love, his failure. Fate also plays a central role in Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, symbolised by a relentless motif that runs through the entire work. The composer uses it to mirror his own struggles with himself and the world – passionately, stirringly, movingly.