450 Years Staatskapelle Berlin

On the occasion of its 450th birthday, the Staatskapelle Berlin under the baton of its chief conductor Daniel Barenboim embarks on a journey through music history. With Wagner and Beethoven, two composers are represented who have shaped the Staatskapelle’s repertoire decisively, in both opera and symphonic works. The programme is complemented by advanced music from the 20th and 21st centuries by Boulez and Widmann, the latter having dedicated a newly composed work to the Staatskapelle. PROGRAM Boulez: Initiale for seven brass instruments; Wagner: Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Widmann:Zeitensprünge – 450 Takte für Orchester (World premiere of the commissioned work); Beethoven: Symphony No. 7

Franz Lehar: The Land of Smiles

Staatskapelle Dresden; Staatsopernchor Dresden Top-class soloists, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sachsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden present highlights from Lehar’s popular operetta The Land of Smiles. Besides a bittersweet love story, the piece offers one of the greatest operetta hits: “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz”. According to conductor Christian Thielemann “Operetta only becomes really good when it is performed at a very high level”, a challenge that the Staatskapelle Dresden together with Jane Archibald, Erin Morley and Pavol Breslik masters impressively.

Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2018

The Festive Advent Concert has become a much loved tradition in Dresden and one of German TV’s biggest classical music success stories. In 2018, conductor Lorenzo Viotti, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Staatsopernchor join forces with soprano Hanna-Elisabeth Müller and violinist Daniel Hope to present a programme ranging from Mozart’s Violin Concerto in G Major to excerpts from Rossini’s “Petite messe solennelle” and sacral works by Mendelssohn and Reger.

BR: Festive Gala with Lang Lang and Mariss Jansons

Feel like taking a world tour? Let Mariss Jansons and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks take you to Europe, America and Asia in their festive gala programme. They are joined by super star Lang Lang, who performs the dreamy Andante from Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C major as well as an excerpt from the Yellow River Concerto, a popular piece from his native China. To end the concert maestro Jansons unleashes a musical firework display with an Hungarian Dance by Brahms and Rumanian folk music by Ligeti.

Festive Gala from the Semperoper Dresden 2018 – J. Strauss: The Bat

In this gala evening from the Semperoper Dresden Franz Welser-Möst brings his incomparable musicianship to the most Viennese of all operettas, Johann Strauss Jr.’s “Die Fledermaus”. The concert version shines with a distinguished cast headed by star tenor Jonas Kaufmann as Eisenstein, Rachel Willis-Sørensen as Rosalinde and Elisabeth Kulman as Prince Orlofsky. A sparkling production full of fizz and subtle humor.

It’s me. Hilary

Hilary Hahn is doubtlessly one of the most successful violinists of our time. Numerous award-winning CD recordings and concerts with the most important conductors and orchestras worldwide make her an artist who seems to have achieved everything at a young age. The audience flocks to their sold-out concerts, which are appreciated and respected by fellow musicians. Whether the deceased Sir Colin Davis, her musical friend and partner Paavo Järvi, Kent Nagano or Gustavo Dudamel – they were and are full of praise and admiration: Hilary Hahn’s virtuosity is unique, her perfectionism legendary. And yet, again and again and with full dedication, she crosses the boundaries of classical music in order to find new impulses and challenges for herself and her music.

The Christmas Tree Concert – Martha Argerich & Daniel Barenboim

Long-time artistic partners and close friends Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim bring their extraordinary artistry to the Pierre Boulez Saal in a piano duo recital, which features Bizet’s charming “Jeux d’enfants” alongside Ravel’s work for four hands “Ma Mère l’Oye” and Liszt’s rarely heard “Weihnachtsbaum suite”, an arrangement of Christmas carols written for his granddaughter. When Argerich and Barenboim invite the children in the audience to sit on the floor around the piano for their performance of Weihnachtsbaum, it is in the spirit of Christmas, when families come together, and reminiscent of the work’s premiere: First performed in a Rome hotel room on Christmas Day 1881 by Liszt’s granddaughter Daniela, the suite of 12 pieces brought the composer a family reunion with his beloved daughter and granddaughter.