The Elbphilharmonie, the “hall of wonders” (The Guardian), is undoubtedly the new landmark of Hamburg, a monumental synthesis of breath-taking architecture, a unique location and a world-class concert hall. In varying instrumentation the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under the baton of Principal Conductor Thomas Hengelbrock and several top-class soloists explores in the opening concert the possibilities of the Elbphilharmonie’s Grand Hall and ist acoustics with an exciting programme that spans across all musical eras, from the Renaissance to the present. It culminates in a brand-new commissioned work, created especially for this occasion by the most important living German composer, Wolfgang Rihm.
“A striking building, a scintillating concert!” (The New York Times). BONUS: This documentary accompanies the formation process of this grand building, from the first sketch plans to the rehearsals before it´s festive inauguration and includes statements by the architects Pierre de Meuron and Jacques Herzog, the acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, Christoph Lieben-Seutter, Thomas Hengelbrock and more.
Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra performing works by the Jordanian composer Saed Haddad (*1972) and the Israel-based “composer-in-residence” of Lucerne Festival 2013, Chaya Czernowin (*1957). The two world premieres were contrasted by works of the two great composers celebrating their 200th anniversary: Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner. —– PROGRAM: G. Verdi: Overture to Les Vêpres siciliennes; S. Haddad (*1972): Que la lumière soit (world premiere); G. Verdi: La traviata, preludes to act 1 and 3, Overture to La forza del destino; R. Wagner: Prelude to Parsifal; Ch. Czernowin (*1957): At the Fringe of Our Gaze (world premiere); R. Wagner: Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Daniele Gatti conducts the RCO in a special concert celebrating three Romantic heroes of the nineteenth-century: All works of the programme are related to dramatic choices and life determining decisions. All three depict the intensity of feelings of their romantic heroes, of their joy and grief about unfulfilled longing. “Daniele Gatti’s unconventionality is exiting” (NRC). “He took nothing for granted” (Trouw). “Triumphal!” (De Volkskrant) PROGRAM: Wagner, Overture to Tannhäuser; Liszt, Orpheus, Symphonic Poem No. 4; Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique
The RCO’s125th anniversary celebrations in 2013 are concluding with a Christmas Matinee in style. Andris Nelsons conducts music by Wagner, who was born 200 years ago. The other titan featuring on the programme is Richard Strauss, who himself conducted his symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra no fewer than three times in Amsterdam. —– PROGRAM: Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll / Overture and Venusberg Music (Bacchanale) from ‘Tannhäuser’; Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra (UNITEL Cat. No. A865500060000)
Th e Concertgebouw was officially inaugurated on 11 April 1888. Public interest was so great that Amsterdam experienced its very first traffic jam (of carriages). Now, 125 years later, the RCO and the Concertgebouw are organising an anniversary concert together. Under the baton of its chief conductor Mariss Jansons, the orchestra is welcoming three popular guest soloists: Janine Jansen, Thomas Hampson and Lang Lang. This festive programme features Mahler and Strauss, both of whom conducted the orchestra on several occasions. Musicians from the RCO, the Vienna and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras are joining forces for a performance of the Elégie from Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. —— WAGNER: Prelude to ‘Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’ // MAHLER: ‘Ging heut’ morgens über Feld’, ‘Rheinlegendchen’, ‘Lob des hohen Verstandes’ // PROKOFIEV: Piano concerto Nr 3 in C major, op. 26, 3rd movement // TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade for strings: Élégie // SAINT-SAËNS: Introduction et Rondo capriccioso // R. STRAUSS: Suite from ‘Der Rosenkavalier’. (75′ / 90′ / 102′) (A865500020000)
Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden open their Brahms Cycle with a performance at the stunning NHK Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The program includes Brahms’ Symphonies No. 1 in C minor and No. 3 in F major.
Classical music in a unique atmosphere, with top-class ensembles, conductors and soloists on one of the most magnificent squares in Europe are the ingredients for the success story of “Klassik am Odeonsplatz”. Since its founding in 2000, the open-air has become a firmly established highlight of Munich’s cultural life, attracting 16,000 music fans every year. This edition features piano superstar Lang Lang and charismatic Colombian conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Their can’t-miss program is made up exclusively of high Romantic classics, from Wagner’s famous Tannhäuser Overture and Grieg’s Piano Concerto to Richard Strauss’s exquisite tone poem Don Juan and, finally, Tchaikovsky’s sweeping Romeo and Juliet, whose rapturous main theme instantly calls to mind the greatest love stories ever told. An evening to revel in, to dream about and to thrill. “Everything is just right. A fabulous open-air feast.” (Münchner Merkur) “You can’t wish for more, you can’t do better.” (Abendzeitung)
“HERE TIME BECOMES SPACE” : In January 2017 the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg finally opened its doors with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester under the baton of Principal Conductor Thomas Hengelbrock and several top-class soloists. The audience enjoyed an exceptional celebration with numerous guests from the worlds of culture and politics, plus 1,000 people who won tickets in an international raffle. The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester performed an exciting programme that spans across all musical eras, from the Renaissance to the present. It culminated in a brand-new commissioned work, created especially for this occasion by the most important living German composer Wolfgang Rihm. In varying instrumentation and with outstanding soloists the possibilities of the Grand Hall and its acoustics are explored.
Who was the greater composer, Richard Wagner or Giuseppe Verdi? Carlus Padrissa and La Fura dels Baus let the two great composers come face to face in the form of giant puppets, cheered on by a crowd at nearly 10,000 spectators. The two giant puppets were the centerpieces of an extravagant spectacle featuring more than three dozen aerial acrobats, fireworks, a chorus line and two wind orchestras and two brass bands totaling about 240 musicians.
2013 open air concert from the stunning Odeonsplatz in Munich was dedicated to the music of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner performed by star tenor Rolando Villazón and world-famous baritone Thomas Hampson joined bySymphonieorchester and Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks. —— PROGRAM: Giuseppe Verdi: Ouverture to Les Vêpres Siciliennes; “Ce jour heureux est plein d’allégresse” from Don Carlos (Autodafé) // Jules Massenet: “Ce breuvage pourrait” – Vision fugitive from Hérodiade; “Ah! Tout est bien fini – O souverain” from Le Cid // Maurice Ravel: La Valse // Richard Wagner: “Freudig begrüßen wir die edle Halle” from Tannhäuser (Entry of the Guests); “Wie Todesahnung – O du mein holder Abendstern” from Tannhäuser; Prelude to Lohengrin, Act I // Giuseppe Verdi / Luciano Berio: L’Esule // Giuseppe Verdi: “Vedi le fosche notturne spoglie” from Il Trovatore (Anvil Chorus); “Dio, che nell’alma infondere” from Don Carlo
