Daniel Barenboim returns to Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO) for a very special collaboration – ten years after his first performance as piano soloist with them. Together they present a stunning rendition of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto. Hardly any other musician has studied the works of Beethoven as thoroughly as Barenboim and he turns the second movement into something special indeed: the calmness and intimacy of the Adagio is second to none. “No other piano player creates such a magical atmosphere in the quiet passages; no other is capable of stopping time hypnotically like this.” (Abendzeitung) The second part of the night is devoted to Sergei Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony. Here, the BRSO soars to great achievements in sound, creating a finale “with vertiginous vehemence and power of sound” (Bachtrack). PROGRAM: Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5; Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5
The Odeonsplatz Concert 2017: Honeck & Grubinger
Munich’s Odeonsplatz Concert is one of the openair highlights of the year. Nestled in the historic city centre, between the magnificent Residenz Palace, the towering Theatinerkirche and the Feldherrnhalle, the Odeonsplatz provides the appropriate setting for an exceptional performer such as Martin Grubinger. The Austrian multi-percussionist is credited for turning classical solo percussion into an event. He demonstrates his versatility with works by Bruno Hartl, John Corigliano and Tan Dun, who wrote The Tears of Nature specifically for him. Performing at a breakneck pace, Grubinger, “a virtuoso beyond believe” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), challenges the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck to a percussion duel at the highest level. Pieces by Antonin Dvorák and Dmitri Shostakovitch complete the programme.
The Odeonsplatz Concert – “Spanish Night”
The ballet music “El sombrero de tres picos” by Spain’s Manuel de Falla, with its three dances that characterize three Spanish regions, opened the lively proceedings in the open air. It was complemented by the Iberian influences in the other works written by composers outside Spain, such as Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto (performed by star violinist Julia Fischer), that shows clear signs of Spanish influence in the rhythm and melody. The musicians rounded off this Spanish night in Munich with Claude Debussy’s homage to Spain, “Ibéria”, and Maurice Ravel’s “Alborada del gracioso”.
Haitink conducts Shostakovich and Webern
Bernard Haitink begins the musical programme at the rostrum of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks with Anton Webern’s early and seldom played orchestral work “Im Sommerwind”. It is followed by Dmitri Shostakovich’s 15th Symphony.
Salonen conducts Sibelius and Grieg
This concert by the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundunks has an entirely Scandinavian theme. Under the aegis of Finnish-born Esa-Pekka Salonen the orchestra begins the recital with “Eleven Gates”, a work of soundpainting by the contemporary Swedish composer Anders Hillborg. Alice Sara Ott provides the focal point of the evening, with the Piano Concerto by the Norwegian Edvard Grieg. The orchestra rises to the challenge with the impressive final work, the great Fifth Symphony by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, a performance marking his 150th birthday “that no one who was present will ever forget.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Andris Nelsons: From the new World
“Andris Nelsons and the BR-Symphonieorchester are a sensation”, raved the press. It isn’t often that a young conductor excites audiences and stirs up critics to the extent that Andris Nelsons does. As can be seen in this concert “From the New World”, he communicates his passion with a vocabulary of gestures that sweep the audience off their feet. The concert with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks is devoted to the “New World”. The main work of the evening is Antonín Dvorák’s Ninth Symphony, “From the New World”. The first half features compositions of the 20th and 21st-century by American composers Charles Ives and John Adams, along with a work by Igor Stravinsky, who spent several decades in the U.S.
Bernard Haitink conducts Beethoven Missa Solemnis
“Bernard Haitink found great nuances and nice timbres of the orchestra effectively and impressively underlining the bombastic passages of the piece” (Münchner Merkur). Teaming up with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir, the grandseigneur of the stars of the podium devoted himself to the “Missa Solemnis” of Ludwig van
Beethoven.
Salzburg Festival 2024: Simon Rattle conducts Mahler 6
The concert is the culmination of the 2024 Salzburg Festival with the BRSO and Simon Rattle taking the stage. Mahler’s Sixth Symphony, known for its tragic and dramatic elements, marks the end of the festival at the Großes Festspielhaus with a symphonic performance that ranges from tranquil countryside depictions to profoundly emotional moments.
BR: Mariss Jansons conducts Mahler & Rachmaninov
The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of its musical director Mariss Jansons gives ist debut at the Philharmonie de Paris: With Vladimír Sommer’s Antigone, Gustav Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, the evening’s programme revolves around the subjects of death, transcendence and the afterlife. Renowned alto and Mahler expert Gerhild Romberger makes Mahler’s ballads a “special and flawless experience” (Wiener Zeitung). The praised Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra shines “bright under their chief conductor Mariss Jansons. Impressive.” (Kurier) PROGRAM Mahler: Kindertotenlieder; Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances; Sommer: Antigone
Blomstedt conducts Beethoven and Nielsen
The Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt is a phenomenon – as he approaches his 88th birthday, he is one of the oldest conductors in the world. And yet: on the rostrum he embodies such a vitality and energy, that he at once enthralls his musicians as well as his audiences. Blomstedt directs the orchestra in two symphonies that could scarcely be less alike: The musicians play Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony and Symphony No. 5 by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen with concentrated intensity, honouring Nielsen in his 150th anniversary year.