The Münchner Philharmoniker and Lahav Shani go together like, well, like the Münchner Philharmoniker and Anton Bruckner! The orchestra’s Bruckner tradition goes back to 1932, when the original version of Symphony No. 9 in D minor was premiered in Munich. With this performance of the Ninth, it is evident that Shani wants to keep this tradition alive with this orchestra: “Long silence after the last note, then standing ovations. Not for a long time has Bruckner been heard here so well, so fulfilled, so logically” (Müncher Merkur). The other half of the concert is dedicated to Bach, as Shani himself took a seat at the grand piano to play the piano concerto No. 1 in D minor: “Shani does not play with a hard, crystalline touch, but rather with a velvety one, but above all with a natural virtuosity. This is music among friends – a sentiment felt by the audience” (Münchner Merkur). PROGRAM: Bruckner – Symphony n. 9; Bach – Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor
Mehta conducts Brahms
“Such a colourful, substantial, supple legato has not been heard even from this orchestra for a long time” (Münchner Abendzeitung) “The two solo instruments seemed to merge into one voice at times, but at the same time were given ample opportunity to demonstrate their individual virtuosic qualities” (BR Klassik) Zubin Mehta’s performance of Brahms’ 3rd Symphony with the Münchner Philharmoniker showcases his mastery and control over the orchestra through minimalist gestures. The concert features soloists Lisa Batiashvili and Gautier Capuçon, who deliver a rich interpretation of the double concerto, blending their distinctive sounds harmoniously. PROGRAM: Brahms – Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra in A minor, Op. 102; Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2024
The Advent concerts have long become a tradition, and numerous internationally renowned artists have since accepted the invitation to the annual Advent concert. For this production, the audience can look forward to the Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, who is on stage with the Saxon State Opera Chorus and the Saxon Staatskapelle under the baton of Riccardo Minasi. In addition to soprano Nikola Hillebrand, another prominent guest is Thomas Quasthoff, who celebrates his fiftieth stage anniversary this year.
An American Night from the Semperoper Dresden
Karina Canellakis and the Staatskapelle Dresden whisk the audience away to the land of opportunity with melodies from Broadway to Hollywood. With energetic fervor, the conductor starts the evening with the overture to Bernstein’s Candide and the concert suite No. 1 from West Side Story. Soprano Fatma Said (“beautifully lyrical” – Der Merker) and tenor Jonah Hopkins sung Tony and Maria “with great feeling and intimacy” (Der Merker). Pianist Kirill Gerstein interprets Gershwin’s piano concerto in F major with great feeling for “rhythmic and jazzy peculiarities” (Der Merker). Arriving firmly on Hollywood turf with works by Steiner and Korngold, the concert ends with one last excursion to the musical stage with Cole Porter’s “Wunderbar” from Kiss Me, Kate.
The Odeonsplatz Concert: Harding & Kavakos
“Kavakos plays Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with a Kavakos-like supremacy making every trill flash and carving out every piece of scale with iron precision. […] It’s all about conciseness, about attitude, a kind of highly energetic music-making that knows no limits of expression.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) “Klassik am Odeonsplatz” is a summer highlight in the musical life of the Bavarian capital. This concert from the 2022 edition features famous masterpieces as Dvorák “New World” Symphony and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto played by Leonidas Kavakos together with Daniel Harding on the podium of the Münchner Philharmoniker. PROGRAM: Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto; Dvorák: Symphony No. 9; Johann Strauss: Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka
Oksana Lyniv conducts Mozart & Mahler
After debuts in Europe and abroad, Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv is now one of the best-known female maestros in the world. In 2021, after 145 years of Bayreuth Festival history, she was the first female conductor in the Festspielhaus with her debut production of The Flying Dutchman as the opening of the festival. In 2022, Oksana Lyniv became chief conductor of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. From 2017-2020 she was chief conductor of the Graz Opera and the Graz Philharmonic (Austria). Since the beginning of the escalation of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Oksana Lyniv has become a symbol of a fighter in the international music world against the war that broke out in her country. The Opening Concert of the 2022 anniversary season of the Ludwigsburg Festival 2022 is an explicit concert for peace. Together with the Israeli pianist Iddo Bar-Shaï, Oksana Lyniv takes the stage, leading an emotional programme offering the audience a world of consolation and hope while acknowledging the darker side of our existence, its pain and suffering. PROGRAM Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23, K.488; Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2022
Two world-renowned singing stars are this edition’s guests at the “Festive Advent Concert”, German TV’s most successful concert series: soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Mauro Peter. The young French conductor Marie Jacquot leads the Staatskapelle Dresden for the first time. With the 2024/25 season, Marie Jacquot will take over as Musical Director of the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen. In addition to the Staatskapelle Dresden, two choirs complete the cast of the 2022 “Advent Concert”: the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden and the Kammerchor der Frauenkirche. The choir’s director, the cantor of the Dresden Frauenkirche, Matthias Grünert, also appears as organist. “The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sächsischer Staatsoperchor once again proved their quality.“ (Online Merker)
Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the Münchner Philharmoniker
“Nathalie Stutzmann triumphed on her debut with the Münchner Philharmoniker as unpretentiously as precisely.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) French conductor Nathalie Stutzmann, newly appointed music director in Atlanta, makes her debut with the Münchner Philharmoniker with a “fateful” program: Johannes Brahms’ Schicksalslied (Song of Fate), which was written close in time to his Requiem, is based on a poem by Hölderlin. In contrast to the poem, Brahms lets his musical Schicksalslied end in hopeful tones. Max Reger’s Requiem is a haunting lament in view of the senseless victims of the First World War. Wiebke Lehmkuhl through her singing underlines the appeal against indifference and forgetfulness. Tchaikovsky’s “Fifth” with its omnipresent “fate motif” concludes this concert. Programme: J. Brahms: “Schicksalslied” (Song of Destiny) for choir and orchestra, Op. 54; M. Reger: Requiem for alto, choir and orchestra, Op. 144/B; P. I. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
Vladimir Jurowski conducts The Seven Last Words of Christ
“Essentially all thinking” consisted of “relating things to each other”, Arnold Schönberg once said. Conductor Vladimir Jurowski, born in Moscow, with Russian-Ukrainian roots, who emigrated to Berlin at the age of 18, has now curated and conducted a concert that is a “thinking” concert in this sense: it sets musical present and history in vibration, 1787 and 2023, but at the same time also feelings and thoughts, sounds and words. The main work of the evening is Joseph Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross. But Haydn’s passion music isn’t performed as a complete whole. The seven movements are performed in alternation with six short orchestral pieces commissioned for this concert from composers based in countries where war or serious political crises are currently raging: Ukraine, Iran, but also Belarus and Russia. “Powerful, speaking music throughout” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
The Odeonsplatz Concert 2023 – Lang Lang & Orozco-Estrada
Classical music in a unique atmosphere, with top-class ensembles, conductors and soloists on one of the most magnificent squares in Europe are the ingredients for the success story of “Klassik am Odeonsplatz”. Since its founding in 2000, the open-air has become a firmly established highlight of Munich’s cultural life, attracting 16,000 music fans every year. This edition features piano superstar Lang Lang and charismatic Colombian conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Their can’t-miss program is made up exclusively of high Romantic classics, from Wagner’s famous Tannhäuser Overture and Grieg’s Piano Concerto to Richard Strauss’s exquisite tone poem Don Juan and, finally, Tchaikovsky’s sweeping Romeo and Juliet, whose rapturous main theme instantly calls to mind the greatest love stories ever told. An evening to revel in, to dream about and to thrill. “Everything is just right. A fabulous open-air feast.” (Münchner Merkur) “You can’t wish for more, you can’t do better.” (Abendzeitung)