Classical Concerts at

Laeiszhalle

Auf eine Currywurst mit Gregor Gysi

Gregor Gysi talks and recites from »Ein Leben ist zu wenig. The Autobiography.« and presents his latest books »What Politicians Don’t Say ...« and »A Currywurst with Gregor Gysi«. In »Was Politiker nicht sagen ...« – with the apt subtitle »... weil es um Mehrheiten und nicht um Wahrheiten geht!« (›What politicians don’t say ... because it’s about majorities and not truths!‹) he explains how communication works in politics, why parliamentarians are not nominated according to professionalism, what speaking time limits apply in the Bundestag and why he mainly addresses the audience in talk shows and less the fellow panellists.

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.

Kammerorchester der Neuen Philharmonie Hamburg

The Neue Philharmonie Hamburg was founded in 2003 by freelance professional musicians from all over the world. Since then, the orchestra has established and maintained a leading position in the northern German music scene. It sees itself as a dynamic orchestra that can be expanded from smaller chamber orchestras to a large symphony orchestra with choir.

Kateryna Titova / Klavierabend

»She is a revolutionary: technically brilliant, brushed against the grain; not a punk of classical music, but not quite a fine lady either. An artist who tells stories with her hands,« wrote MDR on the occasion of the release of Kateryna Titova’s debut CD with works by Rachmaninov. The young pianist, who comes from the Ukraine, has been awarded first or second prize at twenty international piano competitions.

Deutsches Philharmonie-Orchester Berlin

A very unique musical dawn of spring awaits the audience with a singular selection of famous modern and romantic orchestral pieces under the direction of Igor Budinstein. A rousing programme full of the energy of Ravel’s »Bolero!« and works by Romantics such as Debussy and Bizet.

Cuarteto Casals / Ana Vidovic

With the Cuarteto Casals, one of the world’s best string quartets is coming to Hamburg. And with the excellent guitarist Ana Vidovic, there is not only a great musician to enjoy, but also the rather rare combination of string quartet and guitar. The corresponding music promises Spanish-Italian fireworks and plenty of special features.

Workshop: Klassiko Orchestra Instruments

This workshop offers a tour through the classical symphony orchestra. From the violin, cello and double bass to the trumpet and flute: participants can try them all out. And there are instruments in different sizes for youngsters and adults alike. To conclude the workshop, a little music-making session where everyone joins in shows that all the instruments harmonise. Please note: this workshop is aimed at families with children aged four and above. Children younger than four may not participate in this workshop. All participants need a ticket.

Teatime Classics

The NOVO Quartet from Denmark currently commutes between Vienna and Copenhagen to get the final touch to its training in its studies with string quartet greats. The musicians have already scooped up many prizes. As the final concert of this season’s Teatime Classics, they combine a classic with a rare piece: one of the famous »Rasumovsky« quartets by Beethoven encounters a quartet by Grazyna Bacewicz, whose fascinating music borrows from Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Bartók – highly recommended listening! The NOVO Quartet, formed in Copenhagen in 2018, is one of the most promising young ensembles in Denmark. The quartet, which currently resides in Vienna and Copenhagen, consist of violinists Kaya Kato Møller and Nikolai Vasili Nedergaard, violist Daniel Sledzinski and cellist Signe Ebstrup Bitsch. The quartet was recently awarded the First Prize and four special prizes at the 77th Geneva International Music Competition, amongst others. The NOVO Quartet is currently studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna as part of the ECMAster programme under Professor Johannes Meissl. The quartet receives further musical inspirations from Hatto Beyerle (Alban Berg Quartett), Valentin Erben (Alban Berg Quartett), Heime Müller (Artemis Quartet), Asbjørn Nørgård (Danish String Quartet) and Fredrik Sjölin (Danish String Quartet). The NOVO Quartet gives concerts throughout Denmark and has also performed in countries such as China, the USA, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Greenland.

Leon Gurvitch: Bachomania

Classical music meets the art of improvisation: in his solo piano programme »Bachomania«, internationally acclaimed pianist and composer Leon Gurvitch brings the music of Johann Sebastian Bach to life in a completely new and exciting way. To mark the 340th anniversary of the great master’s birth, Gurvitch not only celebrates his timeless works, but also invites the audience to experience Bach through the lens of modern interpretation. With respect and imagination, he adapts compositions that were not originally intended for piano – including excerpts from the famous cello suites and chorales such as »Jesus bleibet meine Freude«. These works are revitalised by Gurvitch’s own handwriting and enhanced by spontaneous improvisations that make each concert unique.

Haydn-Orchester Hamburg

Playing good music at a high level – that is the goal that the Haydn Orchestra Hamburg has set itself. And it is not without pride that it is one of the leading non-professional orchestras in northern Germany. The Haydn Orchestra Hamburg was founded in 1977 as a chamber orchestra. In the early years, the name was the programme: Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Georg Friedrich Händel and Johann Sebastian Bach were the composers of the orchestra’s early phase. Today, the orchestra consists of 90 musicians with a full woodwind and brass section. It is therefore only natural that the great symphonies and concertos of the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as the works of Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven and George Gershwin, are now increasingly played.

Klassische Philharmonie Bonn / Caleb Borick / Alexander Hülshoff

The season of the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn ends as it began – with Beethoven! This time, however, Beethoven’s most famous symphony, Symphony No. 5, which has become known as the Fate Symphony, is juxtaposed with a piano concerto by Johannes Brahms. Brahms’s second piano concerto was composed 22 years after the first work in this genre and is partly symphonic in scale. And yet Brahms himself wrote about the work to Elisabeth von Herzogenberg that he had written »a very small piano concerto with a very small, delicate scherzo«. The soloist in this concert is the 21-year-old American Caleb Borick, who won the International Telekom Beethoven Competition in 2023. But the beginning of the concert starts up north to the Scottish Hebrides: Felix Mendelssohn was privileged by his wealthy family, enabling him to undertake numerous journeys – including to Scotland, to the Hebrides, whose rugged beauty he translated into nature.

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.

Anouar Brahem Quartet

As a musician deeply rooted in the Arab tradition and at the same time open to various neighbouring worlds, Anouar Brahem has never ceased to forge new connections in his elegantly fused music, which combines the richness of his ancestral culture, the formal sophistication of Western chamber music and the expressive freedom of modern jazz.

Workshop: Klassiko Orchestra Instruments

This workshop offers a tour through the classical symphony orchestra. From the violin, cello and double bass to the trumpet and flute: participants can try them all out. And there are instruments in different sizes for youngsters and adults alike. To conclude the workshop, a little music-making session where everyone joins in shows that all the instruments harmonise. Please note: this workshop is aimed at families with children aged four and above. Children younger than four may not participate in this workshop. All participants need a ticket.

»Der Feuervogel«

Daria Parkhomenko / Klavierabend

Pianist Daria Parkhomenko has selected four outstanding piano pieces for her programme. From the slender and elegant works of Jean Philippe Rameau, originally composed for the harpsichord, to the colourful impressionistic images of Claude Debussy; from the Romanian folklore of George Enescu to the bright and original Béla Bartók. The Russian pianist of Romanian origin is regarded as one of the most promising talents of her generation. With her expressive playing, fascinating warmth of sound and magnetic power, Daria Parkhomenko enchants audiences all over the world. »Leading Lady« was the headline in the press after she won the Enescu Piano Competition in Bucharest in 2018. In 2022, she released her Enescu album, which received excellent reviews and was nominated for the Opus Klassik and the German Record Critics’ Award in 2023. The young pianist’s career reached its temporary peak in 2022 when she stepped in at short notice for the Kiel Philharmonic’s opening concert of the season under the direction of Daniel Karlberg. She had received the invitation to perform Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto just a few hours before the concert began. After a brilliant performance, she »received the rapturous applause of the Kiel audience«.

CANCELLED: K&K Philharmoniker / Soloists / Matthias & Max Kendlinger

This event has been cancelled – it will not be rescheduled on an alternative date. Tickets can be returned where they were purchased. When Verdi’s »Patria oppressa« meets Kendlinger’s »Höre Mensch«, musical forces unite for human rights. There is an essential point of contact in the work of the maestro of Italian opera and the contemporary Austrian composer Matthias Georg Kendlinger – it is always people who take centre stage.

Die Udo Jürgens Story

Unforgettable melodies, a unique character and an enduring oeuvre: Udo Jürgens has delighted millions of fans with his music and on his tours. In »The Udo Jürgens Story«, Gabriela Benesch and Alex Parker undertake a musical journey through Jürgen’s life – featuring hits such as »Mit 66 Jahren«, »Ich war noch niemals in New York«, »Griechischer Wein« and many more.

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.

Götz Alsmann & Band

The wisdom of proverbs and pop songs remain eternal truths... No wonder Götz Alsmann makes the night the centre of the evening on his new album and in his current programme. Or the evening as the highlight of the day? To this end, he draws on exquisite gems from the history of pop music, melancholic and humorous gems from 1910 to 1965 – and he does it differently to everyone else. It is not for nothing that the singer and pianist Götz Alsmann is regarded as the »King of German jazz schlager«.

Hasi-Konzert

Children’s TV presenter Juri Tetzlaff and his best friend Hasi can once again look forward to amusing and exciting adventures this season in the popular children’s concert series »Hasi«. The young listeners are welcome to bring their favourite soft toys to the cosy cushion concerts at the Laeiszhalle, Studio E: they can even sit in their own »box«. The children get a letter from Hasi before each concert, and of course they can write back if they want to.

Hasi-Konzert

Children’s TV presenter Juri Tetzlaff and his best friend Hasi can once again look forward to amusing and exciting adventures this season in the popular children’s concert series »Hasi«. The young listeners are welcome to bring their favourite soft toys to the cosy cushion concerts at the Laeiszhalle, Studio E: they can even sit in their own »box«. The children get a letter from Hasi before each concert, and of course they can write back if they want to.

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

So much can be captured: what is known as early music (literally, »old music« in German) has long since no longer only been in the hands of the old guard, who did important pioneering work. More and more young artists, trained in specialised degree programmes, are flocking onto the stages of this world to revive the music of the past few centuries in fresh interpretations. One of the current stars on this scene is French baroque violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte, who – following his performance in the Elbphilharmonie »Fast Lane« series – you can now experience with his own ensemble Le Consort. On the programme is one work that needs no introduction: Antonio Vivaldi’s »Four Seasons«. The collection of four violin concertos portraying the seasons is one of the earliest and most famous examples of programme music – and surely one of the most popular works of all in the history of music. De Swarte now skilfully combines it in his programme with other concertos and overtures by Vivaldi and his contemporaries – and so makes the seasons appear in a new guise.

Johannes S. Leung / Daniel Gaede / Sebastian Gaede

A fascinating journey through chamber music – from classical sounds to contemporary compositions. The three renowned musicians, Daniel Gaede, former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Sebastian Gaede (NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra) on cello and internationally acclaimed Johannes Sum-Yee Leung on piano, invite you to a concert evening that will delight music lovers. Franz Schubert’s trio movement D 28 from 1812 takes centre stage, representing the classical chamber music tradition with dignity. Brahms and Rachmaninov add romantic colours. As a highlight, the audience can look forward to the world premiere of a contemporary piano trio composed by Johannes S. Leung especially for this evening.

Sinatra & Friends

The Rat Pack is back! The hit show »Sinatra & Friends« is back! The three Brits Stephen Triffitt, Mark Adams and George Daniel Long alias Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. allow the audience to experience the greatest show legends of all time – also known as the infamous »Rat Pack« – on stage.

The monks of Shaolin Kung Fu

The Shaolin monks from China are coming to the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. They present their impressive kung fu skills and the millennia-old tradition of their martial art. The show offers fascinating body art and traditional weapon fighting, which is deeply rooted in Zen philosophy. Led by an old master, 18 masters and shamis can be experienced. The Shaolin monks are known worldwide for their physical prowess and dedication to Chinese culture. In a two-hour show, they demonstrate feats such as breaking stone slabs or piercing glass by controlling the body’s energy »Qi«.

Klassikphilharmonie Hamburg

The time when film music compositions were frowned upon in concert halls due to artistic misgivings are thankfully long gone. Well-known and moving soundtracks are finding their way onto concert stages with increasing regularity. In the Laeiszhalle Grand Hall the musicians of the KlassikPhilharmonie Hamburg now present the thrilling spectrum of film music history.

Polizeichor und Polizeiorchester Hamburg

In addition to the Hamburg Police Orchestra, the Hamburg Police Choir was able to attract a well-known vocal ensemble from Austria for the spring concert. Classical music such as »Komm holder Lenz« by Joseph Haydn as well as shanties and Hamburg songs will be performed. The police orchestra will also perform a medley of well-known film music. The Vokalensemble Cantilena Tyrolensia was founded in April 2002. The name Cantilena translates as »The Old Song« and Tyrolensia stands for the Tyrolean Roots. The repertoire includes both sacred and secular music. The ensemble has performed at various concerts in North, South and East Tyrol, Bavaria, Switzerland and Belgium and can look back on successful appearances on Austrian radio. In Hamburg, the three singers will be accompanied by the choir of the Tyrol Choir Association.

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

The Neue Philharmonie Hamburg was founded in 2003 by freelance professional musicians from all over the world. Since then, the orchestra has established and maintained a leading position in the northern German music scene. It sees itself as a dynamic orchestra that can be expanded from smaller chamber orchestras to a large symphony orchestra with choir.