If you wander “through the woods, through the pastures” musically, you soon come into romantic hunting grounds. These words from Weber’s opera Der Freischütz are the guiding idea for the traditional Salzburg New Year’s Concert of the Bläserphilharmonie Mozarteum Salzburg, led by Hansjörg Angerer. The Bläserphilharmonie, which is composed of top-class musicians from leading symphony orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Münchner Philharmoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, roams through the most beautiful hunting, nature and forest music of the 19th century.
Salzburg Wind Orchestra Gala with Martin Grubinger
A century after its collapse, the Danube Monarchy lives on – in the Waltz, the March, the Csárdás and the Polka. In a splendid gala concert the Bläserphilharmonie Mozarteum Salzburg, led by Hansjörg Angerer, brings the glamour of the world empire to life. The masterpieces of the leading composers who worked during the last hundred years of the Habsburg Monarchy are lively and triumphant, soulful and melancholic. Percussion superstar Martin Grubinger shines with a rousing performance of a specially arranged percussion suite. For the grand finale there is but one choice: The Blue Danube, the posthumous “national anthem” of the Danube Monarchy.
“La Chasse – The Hunt” – Music from Paris and Vienna
The Bläserphilharmonie Mozarteum is one of the leading wind ensembles in the world. The musicians are members from the great symphony orchestras from all over the world. Once a year they come together for a special concert at the Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg, which is always dedicated to a specific theme. “La chasse – The Hunt” builds a bridge from Vienna to Paris; hunting music of the 17th and 18th century from France and Austria is performed – on historical Parforce horns – as well as great entertaining music of the 19th and early 20th century, from Jaques Offenbach’s Cancan to Johann Strauss’s Radetzky March – original works as well as sensitively balanced stylistic arrangements for symphonic winds. It’s all about the hunt – in terms of content and music and with all its diversity and tradition. After all, people have always been hunting – deer, hares, but also happiness, success and love… . Also available is the documentary Huntsman’s Sound by Chris Kurt Weisz (A04550007 – 25′ min).