Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 is considered to mark a new level and stage of maturity, and is performed here alongside his first orchestral piece Variations on a Theme of Haydn. Completing the program is Szymanowski’s Third Symphony, which was written during his second Franco-Arab period and sees tenor Toby Spence take to the stage. PROGRAM Brahms: Symphony No 3, Variations on a Theme of Haydn, Szymanowski: Symphony No 3
Karajan in Japan
Join the maestro Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker for this eclectic and striking program featuring three masterpieces of the orchestral repertoire! The concert begins with Mozart’s Divertimento No. 17 in B-flat Major. Composed in 1777, the work incarnates Classicist ideals of with its apparent simplicity disguising great sophistication. Richard Strauss’s symphonic poem Don Juan follows: premiered in 1888, the work narrates the story of the famed libertine with a highly virtuosic score. The concert draws to a close with Ottorio Respighi’s Pines of Rome (1924), for which Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker prove to be the ideal interpreters of its complex and brilliant orchestration.
Karajan conducts Bruckner 8
Nearly a century after its premiere in Vienna in 1892, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 receives a brilliant interpretation by the great conductor Herbert von Karajan and the Wiener Philharmoniker—the direct orchestral descendant of the ensemble that gave the masterpiece’s very first performance! Encouraged by the triumph of his Seventh Symphony, Bruckner produced his Eighth after three years of intense work, pushed by the implacable conductor Hermann Levi to make so many revisions that it became a “suicidal obsession”. Even with Levi’s demands, the Eighth would prove to be one of the longest symphonies in the history of music!
Karajan conducts Bruckner 9
A passionate enthusiast for new technologies and new concert formats, Herbert von Karajan was a pioneer in the translation of the symphonic concert experience to film. One of the first to grasp the importance of film and CDs, would immortalize numerous works of the classical canon using these two mediums over the course of his career. Never satisfied with confining himself to musical direction, Karajan was heavily involved in the technical side of his recordings, going so far as to to dictate the placement of individual cameras. In this performance of Bruckner’s unfinished Symphony No. 9, Karajan’s talents as both music director and filmmaker are palatable: an exceptional testimony to both the maestro and this essential masterpiece of the pivotal transitional period between Romanticism and Modernism.
Beethoven Cycle – Symphony No. 9
Official anthem of the European Union since 1985, the final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (nicknamed the “Ode to Joy”) has become a symbol of peace and brotherhood. Although the Viennese public failed to appreciate a number of the composer’s later works, the premiere of the Ninth Symphony proved to be an incredible triumph for the ailing Beethoven—suffering by that time from total deafness, but nonetheless well enough to be present in the hall to enjoy his creation’s success. Experience the beloved masterwork in this powerful performance by Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker!
Ein deutsches Requiem
“Rather than a German Requiem, I should have called it a ‘human requiem’.” Brahms’s words reveal much about the universal character of his celebrated work. The Wiener Philharmoniker under the baton of the great Herbert von Karajan presents a performance of appropriate subtlety and timelessness. Brahms’s Requiem is different from the traditional mass for the dead in numerous ways: the words are in German and not in Latin, and the texts—drawn from Martin Luther’s German translation of the Bible—emphasize life’s peaceful conclusion rather than making entreaties on behalf of deceased souls facing the Final Judgement. An incredibly hopeful Requiem whose all-inclusive message resonates through to the present day.
WOA 25: Apocalyptika
Apocalyptica started out in 1993 as four students who played Metallica songs on their cellos for fun, creating a completely new sound that irrevocably fused classical music and metal. Their debut made them pioneers, and their courage to write their own pieces and engage in spectacular collaborations made them kings of a new art form. Millions of fans later, they stand as legends on the world’s biggest stages. When they return to Wacken in 2025, their mix of elegance and brute energy will electrify the crowd: four cellos that rumble like thunder and songs that strike the head and heart at the same time.
WOA 25: Ministry
Ministry are the forefathers of industrial metal – a band that emerged from the synth-pop beginnings of the early 80s to create a sound so brutal and mechanical that it influenced entire genres. Al Jourgensen, the walking enfant terrible, transformed electronic beats into thunderous walls of guitar, paving the way for acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein and Fear Factory. Classics such as ‘Stigmata’ and ‘Jesus Built My Hotrod’ were disturbing and fascinating at the same time – a mixture of punk rage, metal heaviness and technoid rhythms. Ministry shows are assaults on the senses: bright lights, booming bass, distorted vocals and an apocalyptic atmosphere that is second to none. After ten years, they return to the Wacken field to celebrate their industrial life one last time – a unique spectacle for anyone who wants to feel the pulse of the machine age.
WOA 25: Dimmu Borgir
When Dimmu Borgir take to the stage, shadows and symphony descend upon the audience in a masterful inferno. Since 1993, they have shaped symphonic black metal with their blend of dark atmosphere and orchestral pathos. Albums such as ‘Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia’, ‘Death Cult Armageddon’ and ‘Eonian’ are hymns in minor keys and orchestral monumentality, where every chord storm becomes a ritual. Their rebellion against expectations, their theatrical artistry and their unbridled energy make them legends of the genre. At Wacken 2025, fans can expect a spectacle of superlatives: two decades of sound architecture in which black metal became opera, and a performance that amazes, moves and pushes relentlessly.
WOA 25: King Diamond
King Diamond returns to Wacken in 2025 with his trademark falsetto, coffins, spotlights and stage production that lives somewhere between horror film and heavy metal opera. For decades, the exceptional Danish singer has been considered a master of musical horror: concept albums such as ‘Abigail’ and “Them” have long since become legendary, and his shows are theatrical works of art. With the new song ‘Spider Lilly’ and a long-awaited solo album on the horizon, there is now fresh fodder for all fans of dark, dramatic storytelling. When King Diamond takes to the stage late in the evening, one thing is clear: there will be no hits to sing along to, but goosebumps, horror and metal with a truly signature character – eccentric, iconic, incomparable.