In this dazzling open-air concert, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra plays beloved classics and pleasant surprises. The season opening of the Concertgebouworkest will take place at the NDSM wharf in Amsterdam. Gianandrea Noseda conducts a festive program full of dance and rhythm, with famous pieces such as Ravel‘s Bolero and the Moldau by Smetana and some special surprises, including a world premiere.
Joe Hisaishi in Concert
Is it a coincidence that so many of the top grossing Japanese films have a score written by Joe Hisaishi? He was a long-term collaborator of legendary Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, as well as Takeshi Kitano. During the concert evening, he presents highlights of his works, such as the symphonic suite for the anime film “Princess Mononoke”, the film compositions for the Kitano films “Kikujiro’s Summer”, “HA-NA-BI” and “Kids Return” as well as his “Symphony No. 2”. This concert in the sold-out Golden Hall of Vienna’s legendary Musikverein is a chance to dive into the fascinating world of a multi-faceted artist, at once composer, conductor, pianist, and lyricist – an unmissable event!
RCO: Rouvali conducts Shostakovich and Morricone
Finnish conducting sensation Santtu-Matias Rouvali takes the helm of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for a marvelously program: the Dutch premieres of works by Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Ennio Morricone, plus Shostakovich’s philosophical, allusive 15th Symphony! The charismatic Rouvali, known for championing new and unique repertoire is the perfect choice for these two Dutch premieres: Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s “Metacosmos”, a fascinating “balance between beauty and chaos,” and the late, great Ennio Morricone’s “UT”, a concerto for trumpet performed by the excellent Omar Tomasoni, the RCO’s principal trumpeter. Rounding off the program is Shostakovich’s final completed symphony, No. 15 in A, the product of a burst of creativity in the early 1970s. Tonally expansive and delightfully referential, the symphony seemed to Shostakovich to “[appear] in my mind with total clarity from first note to last. There was nothing left for me to do but write it down.” PROGRAM Shostakovich: Symphony No 15; Thorvaldsdottir: Metacosmos; Morricone: UT
RCO: Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla conducts Tchaikovsky and Weinberg
Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla conducts two works packed with folk tunes: Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, with Gabriela Montero, and Weinberg’s Third Symphony. The concert starts with music by Raminta Šerkšnyte. PRGRAM Raminta Šerkšnyte: De Profundis; Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Weinberg: Symphony No. 3
Music ex machina – AI in Classical Music
Music created with the assistance of artificial intelligence is a well-established secret in the world of pop. Today, AI is also making serious inroads in the classical domain, bringing us to the threshold of a new era in classical music. From the recording of the first samples to the premiere performance at the Semperoper in Dresden, the film accompanies the creation of the opera “Chasing Waterfalls”, which was co-composed by artificial intelligence. We follow the AI as it reconstructs Beethoven’s 10th symphony and watch it perform with Robbie Williams, and we see how pianist Dirk Maassen at the Sony Science Lab in Paris and saxophonist Asya Fateyeva at the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg interact with AI in real time, and how Spanish professor Eduardo Miranda in Plymouth is using quantum computers to create music entirely from scratch. Experts Kenza Ait Si Abbou and Christian Mio Loclair comment on these fascinating developments as well as the currently highly topical Chat GPT platform.
Le Concert de Paris 2023
The Concert de Paris celebrates its 10th edition: like every year on July 14, the Orchestre National de France welcomes the warm season with a large musical gathering at the foot of the Eiffel Tower! Conducted by Cristian Macelaru, and accompanied by the Chorus of Radio France, the orchestra invites the audience around the world and thousands of people on the spot, to experience great arias and famous concert pieces in the company of prestigious soloists like Ermonela Jaho, Daniil Trifonov, Vilde Frang, Pretty Yende, Franceso Demuro, Ludovic Tezier and Stephanie d’Oustrac.
RCO: Gardiner conducts Brahms Symphony No. 4
Who was Johannes Brahms? In a new cycle of four concerts, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, is investigating Brahms’s œuvre through the lens of the four symphonies performed over two seasons and accompanied by other works by the composer. The Fourth Symphony is juxtaposed with the Second Piano Concerto with soloist Stephen Hough. Under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Brahms is instilled with a new radiance and vitality. PROGRAM Brahms: Symphony No. 4, Piano Concerto No. 2
Dona Nobis Pacem – A ballet by John Neumeier
„Dona Nobis Pacem“ – give us peace. This title is important to me, even at the risk of seeming naïve, pathetic or even pretentious to some. In light of the rampant irreconcilability in our world, this thought provided an important stimulus for me to engage with Johann Sebastian Bach‘s multi-layered composition. In my 50th season as artistic director, I see this creation as a great opportunity. It would be inconceivable for me to create a ballet with the Mass in B minor with another company. Something like this is only possible with a familiar ensemble, which the dancers of my company are in a unique way. (John Neumeier)
John Neumeier – A Life for the Dance
On different levels, the film approaches one of the greatest choreographers of our time: John Neumeier. The film is about his work and about Neumeier personally. Friends and companions share their views and Neumeier’s husband also gives private insights. The joint trip with Neumeier to Chicago and Milwaukee is a journey to his very beginnings and shows the roots and the source of his work up to today. We learn about the path and career of John Neumeier and draw a portrait of a great dancer, a wonderful teacher and a person deeply rooted in art and religion. Complementing the floating camera in the recording of Neumeier’s ballet choreographies during rehearsals, we show current artistic work that captures movement and dance, aesthetics and expression, humanity and commitment to others in an authentic and aesthetic way.
Hope on the Road – Hollywood
World famous violinist Daniel Hope follows the westward journey made to Los Angeles by Jewish artists, many fleeing the Nazis following the outbreak of World War II. Its consequences are seen as seismic for the development of Hollywood, while also defining the musical language of cinema. Erich Korngold (The Adventures of Robin Hood), Franz Waxman (Sunset Boulevard), Miklos Rozsa (Ben Hur) amongst others, had travelled to the west coast of America with little choice – they were avoiding Jewish persecution – but they would go on to shape cinematic music as an art form. Hollywood of that time was newly invigorated by the birth of talking picture, and music moved from something used to distract audience from the silences of the movies, to becoming a key creative element that worked around dialogue. It began to be used to shape and charge emotion, the blueprint of this was created during this turbulent time. In addition to meeting composers of today influenced by the early emigre artists, it is also a chance for Daniel Hope to perform some of this music during his travels, which takes him to the house of writer Thomas Mann, the exile archives of the University of California and the old MGM soundstage where classics like Ben Hur and Gone with the Wind were recorded.