From traditional Christmas carols to John Williams soundtracks – the Vienna Christmas Concert in Vienna’s grand St. Stephen’s cathedral is sure to put anybody in a festive mood! This edition features French conductor Stéphane Denève at the helm of the Wiener Symphoniker and the Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, presenting a programme that spans the gamut of festive music, including Mozart’s Laudate Dominum with soprano Rosa Feola, to Saint- Saëns’ Ave Maria with mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey, pieces from Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel and chorus hits from the beloved Christmas film Home Alone
LGT Young Soloists String Ensemble
The LGT Young Soloists delight audiences worldwide with their rousing performances at highest artistic level. They are invited to perform regularly at renowned concert halls around the world in cities like New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Moscow, Munich, Vienna, Zurich, Hong Kong and Singapore. The string ensemble is made up of highly gifted young musicians aged between 13 and 22 years. Each member already has a successful soloist career: between them, the LGT Young Soloists have already won more than 80 prizes in national and international competitions. PROGRAM: Rimsky-Korsakov/E. Zimbalist: Le Coq d‘Or Fantasy (Golden Cockerel) for violin and string orchestra, arr. Paul Struck; Rachmaninov: Vocalise op 34, No. 14 for viola and string orchestra
Peltokoski conducts Holst and Vaughan Williams
Tarmo Peltokoski, a favourite of audiences and musicians alike, is at the conductor’s podium to begin his final season as the LNSO’s Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. The accordion part of “Tango” by Arturas Maskats is played by the widely acclaimed bandoneonist Arturs Noviks. Gustav Holst is celebrating his 150th birthday in 2024, and therefore his most famous work, the symphonic suite “The Planets” is part of the program. Each movement of the seven-movement suite is dedicated to a different planet in the solar system and its astrological characteristics. In its final movement, “Neptune, The Magician”, the orchestra is joined by the singers of the Riga Project Choir, directed by Christopher Walsh-Sink. Their voices can also be heard in the performance of Ralph Vaughan-Williams’ Seventh or “Antarctic Symphony”, which has its roots in the music for the 1948 film “Scott of the Antarctic”. PROGRAM Holst: Planets; Vaughan Williams: Antarctic Symphony; Maskats: Tango