Classical concerts featuring

Symphoniker Hamburg

Symphoniker Hamburg / Magdalena Kožená / Gergely Madaras

Gabriel Fauré and Claude Debussy were both influenced by the same musical movement. Fauré's orchestral suite from his incidental music to "Pelléas et Mélisande" is considered his finest orchestral work. Israeli conductor and composer Ohad Ben-Ari, based in Berlin, will premiere his song cycle "Paterson" with the Hamburg Symphony. The cycle is based on Ron Padgett's poetry from Jim Jarmusch's film. Olivier Messiaen's "Poèmes pour Mi" is a tribute to his wife Claire Delbos, written during her pregnancy. Smetana's "The Moldau" will be performed, reflecting the fact that the Vltava (Moldau) river contributes more water to the Elbe than the Elbe's own source.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Boris Giltburg / Han-Na Chang

Mozart premiered his first minor-key piano concerto in Vienna on February 11, 1785. This concerto in D minor marks a departure from his usual pleasing style. Shostakovich's Tenth Symphony's scherzo reflects Stalin's terrifying image, while the Allegretto and finale assert the composer's presence through his musical initials (D-Es-C-H).

Symphoniker Hamburg / Diana Adamyan / Sylvain Cambreling

The Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, also known as the Symphoniker Hamburg, is a German orchestra based in Hamburg. It was founded in 1957.

Verdi: Messa da Requiem / Sylvain Cambreling

»Grief and prayer, fear and hopeful confidence, they speak a more passionate and individual language here than we are used to hearing in church«, wrote the music critic Eduard Hanslick about Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in 1875. In fact, there is so much drama in the work that the Catholic Church initially protested against performances – it was far too secular. Together with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the opulent work will be sung by the EuropaChorAkademie, a talent factory for the best young singers from all over Europe.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Michel Camilo / Clark Rundell

Dominican composer and pianist Michel Camilo, winner of Grammy, Latin Grammy, and Emmy awards, blends jazz, classical, pop, and world music with Caribbean influences. This concert features his energetic Piano Concerto No. 1, fusing jazz and classical elements, alongside Bernstein's "Candide" overture, reflecting Camilo's diverse musicality.

»Singas kunterbuntes Faschingskonzert«

Windfuhrs Werkstatt-Konzert #3

The Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, also known as the Symphoniker Hamburg, is a German orchestra based in Hamburg. It was founded in 1957.

Windfuhrs Werkstatt-Konzert #3

The Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, also known as the Symphoniker Hamburg, is a German orchestra based in Hamburg. It was founded in 1957.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Alexander Gavrylyuk / Harry Ogg

Rachmaninov had been living with his wife on Lake Lucerne in his newly built villa »Senar« (Sergei & Natalia Rachmaninov) for four years when he composed his Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini in 1934. The theme comes from the last of the 24 Caprices for solo violin, which are so technically tricky that they contributed significantly to Paganini’s reputation as the devil’s violinist. The curious list of composers who were inspired by Paganini’s theme ranges from Brahms and Liszt to Szymanowski, Blacher, Lutosławski and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Rachmaninov uses the theme as the starting material for a series of 24 variations with an introduction and coda, ingeniously combining the structure of the work with that of a three-movement concerto. Adaptations of the opulent 18th variation (in the rare key of D flat major) can be found in films as well as pop songs and video games. In the seventh variation, Rachmaninov also introduces the »Dies irae« – a cross-reference that appears like a signature in many of his works and also recurs at the end of the variations.

Bruch: Das Lied von der Glocke

The Hamburg Oratorio Choir will be performing a rarely performed work in the Laeiszhalle: Max Bruch’s »Lied von der Glocke«, an extremely impressive, powerful-sounding setting of Friedrich Schiller’s famous poem of the same name. In this oratorio, the Swiss composer succeeded in 1878 in translating Schiller’s poem about the human life cycle and the social significance of traditions and community into extremely expressive music and filling it with deep emotional content.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Sylvain Cambreling

Christoph Willibald Gluck's opera "Alceste" deeply impressed the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Years later, Mozart completed a symphonic trio. Franz Liszt, inspired by a drawing, revisited his symphonic poem form two decades later. Richard Wagner's "Tristan" prelude encapsulates the struggle of hopeless love.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Stefanos Tsialis

This text discusses Charlie Chaplin's movie "Modern Times," focusing on its tragicomic nature and Chaplin's innovative use of music and sound. It highlights the film's emotional impact, Chaplin's unique performance style, and the timeless message of hope conveyed in the ending. The text also mentions a live performance of the film's score conducted by Stefanos Tsialis, emphasizing the complexity and precision of Chaplin's musical composition.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Han-Na Chang

Mozart's "little" G minor symphony, written at age 17, gained fame through Miloš Forman's 1984 film "Amadeus." Mozart valued it enough to request the score ten years later. Completed on October 5, 1773, after his third Italian trip, it's his first minor key symphony, inspired by Haydn's 39th symphony. Mahler's Fifth Symphony quotes Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio." Mahler struggled with the Fifth, revising it multiple times. The famous Adagietto, a love letter to his wife Alma, shouldn't be played too slowly.

»Der Feuervogel«

Symphoniker Hamburg / Elina Vähälä / Sylvain Cambreling

In 1829, 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn sketched the Hebrides Overture while in Scotland. Years later, it premiered in London after revisions. Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto, influenced by Alban Berg, premiered in New York in 1940 after revisions. Beethoven's Second Symphony, despite being composed during a difficult period, is surprisingly bright and unconventional, challenging traditional forms.

Symphoniker Hamburg / David Orlowsky / Paweł Kapuła

Stravinsky's "Jeu de cartes" ballet was inspired by a Parisian taxi ride and his love for card games. The music incorporates various quotes, including Rossini, Strauss, Ravel, and Beethoven. The text also discusses Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major, written for his friend Anton Stadler and his basset clarinet, and Schubert's Symphony No. 4, nicknamed "Tragic," reflecting the composer's personal struggles and triumphs.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Sylvain Cambreling

Toru Takemitsu's "Signals from Heaven" (1987) for wind ensemble evokes a dialogue reminiscent of Venetian church music, drawing inspiration from nature and Duke Ellington. A Divertimento, attributed to Mozart but actually containing works by Starzer and Gluck, inspired Dvorak's Serenade in D minor after his 1877 Vienna visit. Composed in just two weeks, the Serenade premiered in 1878 to great acclaim. Rodion Shchedrin's popular Carmen Suite (1967), based on Bizet's opera, was written for his wife, Bolshoi ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, after Shostakovich and Khachaturian declined. She performed the role over 350 times, even at age 65.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Andris Poga

Luciano Berio, a prominent 20th-century Italian composer, had a unique relationship with tradition, creating numerous arrangements and transcriptions of various composers. In his 1989 work "Rendering," based on Schubert's unfinished Symphony No. 10, his arranging and composing skills merge. Berio likened his restoration approach to that of frescoes, reviving old colors without hiding time's damage. 1907 was a devastating year for Mahler, marked by his daughter's death, a heart condition diagnosis, anti-Semitic attacks, and his resignation from the Vienna Court Opera. Seeking solace, he found "The Chinese Flute," which inspired "Das Lied von der Erde," his personal farewell to the world, with the final song, "Der Abschied," being the longest.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Jane Archibald / Szymon Nehring / Sylvain Cambreling

»That was my first work played by an orchestra and my first contact with a large audience. I was 22 years old at the time,« reports Olivier Messiaen. Les offrandes oubliées (The Forgotten Offerings) was composed in 1930 and premiered on 19 February 1931 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées by the Orchestre des concerts Straram under the direction of its chief and namesake Walther Straram. The »symphonic meditation« (the subtitle) is based on linguistically tangible yet abstract ideas. The texts were written by Messiaen himself. The themes of the three verses (Cross – Sin – Eucharist) can be understood as situations of contemplation, descent and rapture and form the three sections of the work.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Joonas Ahonen / Sylvain Cambreling

From canyons to stars, Olivier Messiaen's composition, commissioned by Alice Tully for the US bicentennial, celebrates God's creations. Inspired by Utah's landscapes and birdsong, the piece blends nature's beauty with Messiaen's theological vision, incorporating birdsong from various regions. His longest work, it projects earthly beauty into a transcendental dimension, linking it with biblical names given to Utah locations by Mormons.

Klassik.Krimi / Symphoniker Hamburg

Mysteriöse Todesfälle sind in der Klassik keine Seltenheit! Mord und Totschlag gehören zur Tagesordnung. Da rollen die Köpfe, Menschen werden erschossen, erhängt und vergiftet. Bei diesem Krimikonzert läuft die Sache völlig aus dem Ruder, und die Grenzen zwischen Spiel und Realität verschwimmen. Eigentlich soll es ein Konzert mit kriminalistischen Anekdoten aus der Klassikwelt geben, doch dann hält ein Mord im Backstage die Musiker:innen und Juri Tetzlaff auf der Bühne in Atem. Alle stehen unter Verdacht, niemand darf den Saal verlassen, bis der Kriminalfall gelöst ist. Ein Konzert mit köstlichen Klassikhäppchen, garniert mit kriminalistischen Knobelaufgaben. Ein Programm für Krimiliebhaber:innen, Klassikeinsteiger:innen und alle, die mal etwas Neues ausprobieren wollen. Angsthäsinnen und Angsthasen können zu Hause bleiben! Ein spannendendes und interaktives Krimikonzert für Jugendliche ab 16 und Erwachsene. Jüngere Zuhörer:innen mit starken Nerven sind natürlich aber auch willkommen.