Conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker, Andris Nelsons presents a concert night which concentrates every conceivable passion: Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Trumpet Concerto “Nobody knows de trouble I see” performed with “technical perfection” (Kronenzeitung) by “the fantastic Håkan Hardenberger” (Salzburger Nachrichten) and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection”. “Nelsons proved to be delicate but hearty when interpreting Mahler.” (Wiener Zeitung). The conductor led the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to “enticingly beautiful sounds” (Die Presse). “High praise goes to the vocal soloists Ekaterina Gubanova, Lucy Crowe and the Bavarian Broadcasting choir.” (Salzburger Nachrichten) “Standing ovation”! (Kurier)
Ingo Metzmacher conducts Hans Werner Henze’s Requiem
Few modern composers had a more meaningful relationship with both past and (very real) present than Hans Werner Henze – or a more acute ear for beauty. His Requiem of 1993 is simultaneously typical and utterly original: nine wordless concertos for trumpet, piano and a shimmering chamber orchestra, each charged (in Henze’s own words) “with the human fears and problems of our time, with illness and death, love and loneliness”. This film captures the world premiere performance in Frankfurt in February 1993, with Ueli Wiget on piano and the incomparable Håkan Hardenberger on trumpet – a landmark in postwar musical history.
RCO: Nelsons conducts Beethoven and Skrjabin
Andris Nelsons is leading the Concertgebouworkest in a programme dedicated to the intriguing mythological figure of Prometheus. He is conducting “Prométhée, le poème du feu”, a large-scale symphonic poem by Skrjabin scored not just for symphony orchestra, but also for piano and chorus, while a light organ provides colours to accompany the music. In the only ballet Beethoven ever wrote, “Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus”, Prometheus imparts art and civilisation to mankind. The conflict between the masses and a leader forms the basis of Brett Dean’s trumpet concerto “Dramatis personae”, which culminates in an exciting dialogue between soloist Håkan Hardenberger and the Concertgebouworkest. PROGRAM Beethoven: Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus; Skrjabin: Prométhée, le poème du feu; Dean: Dramatis personae
Nelsons conducts Mahler & HK Gruber
Mahler’s Fifth is among the best loved of his symphonies; not least thanks to the Adagietto, made legendary as the soundtrack to Visconti’s Death in Venice. Andris Nelsons on the rostrum of the the Berliner Philharmoniker made this symphony into “a true celebration of beauty and the phenomenal Philharmonic string sound” wrote in Der Tagesspiegel delight. The concert got off to a racing start, too: the “master trumpeter” (Berliner Zeitung) Hakan Hardenberger carried the audience with him in HK Gruber’s trumpet concerto Aerial. After all his showpiece: the composer wrote this BBC Proms commission specially for him. “Hardenberger, the virtuoso supersonic, thrills his audience through and through.” (Berliner Morgenpost)
Nelsons conducts Tchaikovsky and Weinberg
With this concert, Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester continue their Tchaikovsky cycle. They are joined by star trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger who plays Mieczyslaw Weinberg‘s Trumpet Concerto, which Shostakovich described as a symphony for trumpet and orchestra. PROGRAM Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; Weinberg: Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra