The RCO’s annual “Kerstmatinee” (Christmas Matinee) has become a much loved holiday tradition. For this edition, the orchestra, led by Philippe Herreweghe, performs J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor, one of the gems of his oeuvre – for the first time in 45 years! The choir Collegium Vocale Gent shares the stage with outstanding soloists Dorothee Mields, Hana Blažikova, Alex Potter, Robin Tritschler and Krešimir Stražanac. Often referred to as Bach’s “Hohe Messe” (High Mass), the full-scale Catholic mass was given this name in the 19th century to distinguish it from the Baroque composer’s other, small masses. Why the Lutheran Bach decided to create a Catholic mass late in life, remains unclear; what is evident, however, is that his work is nothing less than a monumental masterpiece. Herreweghe’s Mass is “grand and yet moving!” (Het Parool)
RCO: War Requiem
Witnessing a performance of Benjamin Britten’s monumental War Requiem is an experience. Scored for orchestra, large chorus, children’s choir and three soloists, it is certainly a challenge to perform. Gianandrea Noseda makes his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra with a work he has championed and for which he has received critical acclaim in performances and on record. In 1964, the Concertgebouw Orchestra performed Britten’s War Requiem under the direction of Bernard Haitink with the ‘dream team’ Britten had actually envisaged for the world premiere two years earlier: the Russian soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, the English tenor Peter Pears and the German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Now the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has again invited a Russian soprano, an English tenor and a German baritone.
RCO: Kerstmatinee 2018 – Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
A heart-warming Christmas Matinee featuring Tchaikovsky’s Christmas fairy tale The Nutcracker. For many, The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Christmas Matinee is a fun introduction to classical music – for others, it’s a familiar, festive experience to look forward to each year. The combination of the captivating conductor Semyon Bychkov and Tchaikovsky’s legendary music for the Christmas ballet The Nutcracker makes this programme truly irresistible. People of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy Tchaikovsky’s infectious music and the atmospheric fairy tale about dolls that come to life. A sugarplum fairy, a Mouse King and a return to the Land of Sweets – it’s exactly what we need in the dark, wintry days before Christmas.
RCO: Kerstmatinee – Beethoven No. 9
Beethoven’s moving Ninth Symphony is being performed on the 2019 Christmas Matinee (“Kerstmatinee“) under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst with a superb singer quartet. Many generations of listeners have attended the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s festive Christmas matinees since the tradition was founded. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is an appeal for universal brotherhood – indeed it contains some of the most moving music Beethoven ever composed. A large chorus and four vocal soloists share the stage with the orchestra to get this key message across and the work continues to enchant young and old alike.
Barenboim conducts Strauss & Tchaikovsky
On the occasion of the Festival de Música y Reflexión at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Daniel Barenboim returns to his native city to perform with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra who regularly “exceed all expectations” (FAZ) with their festival programme. During their Summer Residency at the magnificent theatre, they play Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote, enlisting the help of Kian Soltani and Miriam Manasherov. The soloists unite effortlessly with Barenboim’s orchestra which famously brings together young Israeli and Arab players from the warring states of the Middle East in a model of peaceful harmony. PROGRAM Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5; Strauss: Don Quixote
Barenboim conducts the Brahms Symphonies
On the occasion of the Festival Barenboim in Buenos Aires, Daniel Barenboim returns to his native city to perform with the Staatskapelle Berlin the entire cycle of Johannes Brahms’s symphonies. In the concert hall of Kirchner Cultural Centre, the former main post office of the city, famous for its magnificent acoustics, Barenboim’s rendition of the Symphonies elicits “bravos and standing ovations in the audience” (Berliner Morgenpost).
Currentzis & Sasha Waltz: Beethoven No. 7 at the ancient theater of Delphi
In the ancient theater of Delphi, against the backdrop of the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, musicAeterna, conducted by Teodor Currentzis, performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, in conjunction with a new choreography by Sasha Waltz and her company. Beethoven completed the symphony in 1812. The premiere 1813 at the height of the wars of liberation was a patriotic event and an enormous success. Wagner’s bon mot of this Symphony as the “apotheosis of dance” is legendary. Thae fusion of the symphony with a
dance performance would certainly have been in the spirit of the grand master of this Gesamtkunstwerk. “Currentzis compares the 7th Symphony to classical, ancient architecture […] the original sound orchestra musicAeterna plays with an almost exemplary transparency.” Deutschlandfunk
Currentzis conducts Beethoven No. 9
Teodor Currentzis and his musicAeterna present their first recording of Beethoven’s 9th symphony, produced at the Megaron Concert Hall in Athens. The history of the Ninth’s interpretations includes 200 years of staggering revelations and lingering stagnation. Performed by the musicAeterna orchestra and choir as well as stellar guest soloists under the baton of Teodor Currentzis, Beethoven’s opus magnum acquires the original poignancy and energy of a recent discovery.
Human Requiem
Human Requiem is a concert and dance performance created by German director Jochen Sandig and choreographer Sasha Waltz. It is based on Johannes Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, which Sandig followed to the letter and at the same time transformed into an extraordinary concert event featuring 60 singers of the Rundfunkchor Berlin, soprano Marlis Petersen and baritone Benjamin Appl, Angela Gassenhuber and Philip Mayers on the piano, as well as three dancers of the dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests. Set at the ancient sanctuary of Eleusis, the performance becomes an open communal space of collective catharsis, where text and body, space and sound, merge into a single work of art. The production was awarded the Classical:NEXT Innovation Award, while the New York Times acclaimed it as “an anthem for our time”.
Eden – Joyce DiDonato sings in Olympia
In the heart of Olympia, the same place where the first Olympic games were held and the Olympic torch is ignited, American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato performs EDEN. Captured on film for the first time, her internationally acclaimed tour and CD concept is more than just a concert program: EDEN not only invites the audience to reflect on the power and beauty of nature, but also to recognize our responsibility for our planet. In several emblematic locations on the ancient site of Olympia, DiDonato interprets pieces
from Cavalli to Handel and from Mahler to Charles Ives together with the ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro under the baton of Maxim Emelyanychev, featuring musicians from all around the world.