The Michael Nyman Band live at Studio Halle: Michael Nyman, who is famous for his Oscar nominated film score for Jane Campion’s film “The Piano”, is without doubt one of the great contemporary composers. Fitting the theme of the Handel-Year 2009, Michael Nyman celebrated the German premiere of his newest composition “The Musicologist Scores” in Handel’s hometown Halle. In that piece the composer looks deeply into the subject of Handel’s work. Furthermore, many other of Nyman’s works were performed. All over the world the powerful, energetic playing of The Michael Nyman Band – developed under Nyman‘s leadership over a period of three decades – brings his works to sparkling life and has long since become a characteristic feature of his music.
Manfred
As a young man, Schumann had got to know Byron’s works through his father’s publishing business. There is no question that the composer recognised his own psyche in Manfred’s rugged soul. But he also responded to the challenge of Byron’s artistic concept of Manfred as “mental theatre”.
In the Düsseldorf production, the audience “becomes” Manfred, experiencing through the eyes of the eponymous hero a projection of the visually alienated world of the Swiss mountains in which the story is set – visualisation by the Austrian media artist Johannes Deutsch.
Pierre Hantaï and Skip Sempé play Rameau’s “Symphonies for two harpsichords”
At the Chikurin Banquet Hall of Tokyo’s famous Gajoeng Hotel, Pierre Hantaï and Skip Sempé present their successful chamber music programme of Rameau’s “Symphonies for two Harpsichords”. It comprises transcriptions compiled from nine different works, among them Rameau’s first opera Hippolyte et Aricie, as well as Dardanus, Les Indes galantes, and the composer’s instrumental masterwork Pièces de clavecin en concert. Hantaï and Sempé, two artists situated at the forefront of today’s musical personalities in Renaissance and Baroque music, create a stunning atmosphere in this private recital. Recorded in the picturesque surrounding of extravagant Japanese-style murals and artworks preserved from the old Gajoen buildings – which used to be one of Japan’s first wedding complexes back in the 1930s –, this concert is a pleasure for both the eye and the ear.
Lahav Shani conducts the 80 Years of Liberation – May 8 Concert
On the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, known as Liberation Day in Germany, conductor Lahav Shani unites musicians from the Israel Philharmonic and the Münchner Philharmoniker for “a highly emotional performance” (Münchner Merkur) in the Isarphilharmonie. The two orchestras start their first ever collaboration with the deeply moving Prayer, a piece by 97-yearold Israeli composer Tzvi Avni, who travelled to Munich to witness this historic occasion. Then, the musicians come together to shape Mahler’s monumental Sixth Symphony. Shani’s Mahler is “robust, dark, rough, seeking depth” and manages to “achieve the ultimate in tragic expression here – horror and emotion give way to catharsis, to spiritual cleansing” (Süddeutsche Zeitung). PROGRAM: Avni: Prayer; Mahler: Symphony No. 6
Staatskapelle Berlin – Christian Thielemann & Erin Morley
With the performance of all of Richard Strauss’s orchestral songs and all of Franz Liszt’s symphonic poems, Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Berlin are dedicating themselves to a rarely performed but artistically significant repertoire. The response to the first concert in this new series has been promising: “A moment of happiness that one would like to hold on to” (Die Presse). “Morley took the audience by storm” (Das Opernmagazin)
Odeonsplatz Concert 2025: Franz-Welser Möst & Daniil Trifonov
For 25 years, the Odeonsplatz Concert has been an open-air highlight of the classical music summer, attracting over 16,000 viewers each year. Star pianist Daniil Trifonov opened the evening with a thrilling performance of Prokofievís Third Piano Concerto, accompanied by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst. In the second half, Welser-Möst delighted the audience with the irresistible melodies from Richard Strauss’s Rosenkalavier. “Trifonov remains the ideal choice for Prokofiev” (Süddeutsche Zeitung). PROGRAM Prokofiev: Piano Concerto, No. 3; R. Strauss: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier (arranged by Franz Welser-Möst); J. Strauss: Unter Donner und Blitz
New Year’s Eve Concert at Semperoper Dresden
The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden rings in the New Year at the Semperoper with a dazzling program of timeless hits and international stars. Andrès Orozco-Estrada conducts, with soprano Pretty Yende, baritone Benjamin Appl, and cellist Gautier Capucon as soloists. The concert spans Haydn to Márquez, featuring operatic arias, Broadway favourites, Latin rhythms, and orchestral gems like Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Haydn’s Cello Concerto, Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel, and iconic songs from My Fair Lady and Singin’ in the Rain.
Mehta conducts Mahler and Strauss
Järvi & Sidorova – Münchner Philharmoniker
“Latvian soloist Ksenija Sidorova…has true star quality – and yet always lets her instrument take centre stage” (Münchner Merkur) The Münchner Philharmoniker concert features Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi and Latvian accordionist Ksenija Sidorova. The program includes Debussy’s early piece “Printemps,” showcasing the orchestra’s subtlety. Sidorova performs “Prophecy,” an accordion and orchestra work by Erkki-Sven Tüür, known for its virtuosity and emotional final movement. The concert concludes with Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5, highlighting its bright mid-summer qualities. PROGRAM: Debussy – “Printemps”, Suite (arr. by Henri Büsser); Tüür – “Prophecy”; Sibelius – Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82
Odeonsplatz Concert 2024: Lahav Shani & Anne-Sophie Mutter
For over 20 years, the Odeonsplatz Concert has been an open-air highlight of the classical music summer, attracting over 16,000 viewers each year. In this concert event, conductor Lahav Shani leads the Münchner Philharmoniker in a varied programme “with his elegant, sensual and dance-like way of conducting…Shani is likely to win many points of favour with the concert audience. He has obviously won over the orchestra members long ago” (Münchner Merkur). Violin superstar Anne-Sophie Mutter shines in Saint-Saëns‘ virtuosic Introduction et Rondo capriccioso as well as a wonderful assortment of John Williams. “It’s been a long time since [the Odeonsplatz concert] has been this exciting” (Abendzeitung). PROGRAM: Weber – Overture to “Oberon”; Saint-Saëns – Introduction et Rondo capriccioso; Stravinsky – Firebird Suite (excerpt); Dukas – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Williams – Music from “The Witches of Eastwick”, “Sabrina”, “Harry Potter”, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, Imperial March from “Star Wars”