Some orchestras are so good that they really deserve to be heard live. The Bamberg Symphony—one of Germany’s most prestigious orchestras—brought four outstanding online performances to the 2022 Hong Kong Arts Festival. Shortly afterwards it received an International Classical Music Award for its work with chief conductor Jakub Hrůša—who has been described by Gramophone as “on the verge of greatness”—reaffirming their status as one of the world’s most dynamic symphonic partnerships. Hrůša and the Bamberg Symphony are now set to make a highly anticipated live appearance at the upcoming Festival in 2023.

Over two in-venue concerts, they will explore very different perspectives from three uniquely individual composers. Each concert contains symphonies by Johannes Brahms and Antonín Dvořák—masterworks that deal with powerful and tender personal emotions, including the epic tragedy of Brahms’ Fourth Symphony, the deep poetry of Brahms’ Third and the soaring melody of Dvořák’s beloved “New World Symphony”. Each concert also features major 20th-century works by the Hungarian modernist and free spirit György Ligeti: Lontano builds a powerful atmosphere out of vast, shimmering vistas of orchestral sound, while the extraordinary Poème Symphonique features 100 metronomes almost (but not quite) in unison. The effect is provocative, playful and like nothing you have ever heard!

Time

(Sunday) 8:00 pm

Location

Hong Kong Cultural Centre

L5, Auditoria Building, 10 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

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18mar8:00 pmHong Kong - Bamberg Symphony Tour - Dvořák, Ligeti, Brahms8:00 pm Hong Kong Cultural Centre

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Event Details

Programme
Dvořák: Symphony No 9 in E minor, Op 95, “From the New World”
Ligeti: Poème Symphonique for 100 Metronomes
Brahms: Symphony No 4 in E minor, Op 98

Jakub Hrůša, conductor
Bamberg Symphony

Tradition and renewal, with an orchestra from the heart of Europe

Some orchestras are so good that they really deserve to be heard live. The Bamberg Symphony—one of Germany’s most prestigious orchestras—brought four outstanding online performances to the 2022 Hong Kong Arts Festival. Shortly afterwards it received an International Classical Music Award for its work with chief conductor Jakub Hrůša—who has been described by Gramophone as “on the verge of greatness”—reaffirming their status as one of the world’s most dynamic symphonic partnerships. Hrůša and the Bamberg Symphony are now set to make a highly anticipated live appearance at the upcoming Festival in 2023.

Over two in-venue concerts, they will explore very different perspectives from three uniquely individual composers. Each concert contains symphonies by Johannes Brahms and Antonín Dvořák—masterworks that deal with powerful and tender personal emotions, including the epic tragedy of Brahms’ Fourth Symphony, the deep poetry of Brahms’ Third and the soaring melody of Dvořák’s beloved “New World Symphony”. Each concert also features major 20th-century works by the Hungarian modernist and free spirit György Ligeti: Lontano builds a powerful atmosphere out of vast, shimmering vistas of orchestral sound, while the extraordinary Poème Symphonique features 100 metronomes almost (but not quite) in unison. The effect is provocative, playful and like nothing you have ever heard!

Time

(Saturday) 8:00 pm

Location

Hong Kong Cultural Centre

L5, Auditoria Building, 10 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Learn More

Hans-Preißinger-Straße 8, 81379 München, Germany

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Calendar GoogleCal

16dec7:30 pmPrague, Czech Republic - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra - Krček, Martinů, Janáček7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

15dec7:30 pmPrague, Czech Republic - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra - Krček, Martinů, Janáček7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

14dec7:30 pmPrague, Czech Republic - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra - Krček, Martinů, Janáček7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

09dec8:00 pmLucerne, Switzerland - Bamberg Symphony Orchestra - Elgar, Brahms8:00 pm KKL Luzern, Concert Hall

08dec5:00 pmLucerne, Switzerland - Bamberg Symphony Orchestra - Elgar, Brahms5:00 pm KKL Luzern, Concert Hall

30nov7:30 pmWien, Austria - Vienna Philharmonic - Rachmaninov, Lutosławski7:30 pm Musikverein Wien

27nov11:00 amWien, Austria - Vienna Philharmonic - Rachmaninov, Lutosławski11:00 am Musikverein Wien

26nov3:30 pmWien, Austria - Vienna Philharmonic - Rachmaninov, Lutosławski3:30 pm Musikverein Wien

20nov8:00 pmMunich, Germany - Bamberg Symphony Orchestra - Bartholdy, Bruckner8:00 pm Isarphilharmonie

12nov9:00 pmRome, Italy - International Festival Of Music And Sacred Art9:00 pm Basilica Papale San Paolo fuori le Mura

06nov7:00 pmBrno, Czech Republic - Janáček Theatre7:00 pm Janáček Theatre

03nov7:00 pmBrno, Czech Republic - Janáček Theatre7:00 pm Janáček Theatre

02nov7:00 pmBrno, Czech Republic - Janáček Theatre7:00 pm Janáček Theatre

20oct7:00 pmZlín, Czech Republic - Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra - Rachmaninov, Fibich7:00 pm Zlín Congress Centre

09oct8:00 pmFrankfurt, Germany - Bamberg Symphony Orchestra - Deutsch, Strauss, Beethoven8:00 pm Alte Oper Frankfurt

07oct8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberg Symphony Orchestra - Deutsch, Strauss, Beethoven8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg Joseph-Keilberth-Saal

06oct8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberg Symphony Orchestra - Deutsch, Strauss, Beethoven8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg Joseph-Keilberth-Saal

30sep8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberg Symphony Orchestra - Strauss, Stravinsky, Wagner8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg Joseph-Keilberth-Saal

22sep8:00 pmGhent, Belgium - Bamberg Symphony Orchestra - Ligeti, Bruckner8:00 pm Saint Bavo's Cathedral

21sep8:00 pmOdenthal, Germany - Bamberg Symphony Orchestra - Ligeti, Bruckner8:00 pm Altenberger Dom

10sep6:30 pmLucerne, Switzerland - Bamberg Symphony Orchestra - Wagner, A Mahler, G Mahler6:30 pm KKL Luzern, Concert Hall

29aug6:30 pmSalzburg, Austria - Salzburg Festival - Janáček: Káťa Kabanová6:30 pm Salzburg Felsenreitschule

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Barrie Kosky Director
Rufus Didwiszus Sets
Victoria Behr Costumes
Franck Evin Lighting
Christian Arseni Dramaturgy

CAST
Jens Larsen Savjol Prokofjevič Dikoj
David Butt Philip Boris Grigorjevič
Evelyn Herlitzius Marfa Ignatěvna Kabanová (Kabanicha)
Jaroslav Březina Tichon Ivanyč Kabanov
Corinne Winters Katěrina (Káťa)
Benjamin Hulett Váňa Kudrjáš
Jarmila Balážová Varvara
Michael Mofidian Kuligin
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Huw Rhys James Chorus Master
Vienna Philharmonic

‘I lived free like a bird’: Káťa Kabanová confides wistfully to her sister-in-law Varvara how different her life used to be. She tells her how during mass at church she experienced celestial visions that moved her to tears, and how she had dreams of soaring high into the sky. The luminous, increasingly ecstatic music to which Janáček sets Káťa’s reminiscences reveals not only the figure’s rich interior life but also an irrepressible urge for freedom. But since her marriage to Tichon the fire within Káťa is at risk of being smothered entirely. The situation she lives in is claustrophobic. Home is ruled despotically by her mother-in-law Kabanicha, the widow of a merchant. Conscious of material dependencies and in the name of tradition and morals, she makes sure that the required subservience is shown by woman to husband and young to old. Ground down by his mother’s constant carping, Tichon lacks the independence to be able to give his wife what she needs and seeks refuge in alcohol. When he departs on a journey for a few days, Varvara, who is aware of the mutual attraction between Káťa and the unmarried Boris, arranges a first night-time tryst for them. This uncaps all Káťa’s pent-up emotions: behind the desperate intensity with which she gives herself to Boris erupt needs that go far beyond a yearning for fulfilled love or shared passion. To Káťa, to go on living now seems more impossible than ever.

Leoš Janáček forged the libretto to Káťa Kabanová from a Czech translation of Alexander Ostrovsky’s play The Storm (1859), which is set in a small-town milieu dominated by wealthy merchants in mid-19th century Russia. Janáček dispensed with many of the specific socio-historical details — and thus also a substantial part of the concrete social criticism that characterizes Ostrovsky’s play. The opera concentrates on the protagonist and the individuals who directly determine her fate. Yet beyond the microcosm of the family, the social environment remains a palpable determining factor.

We are in a village or small town where a traditional value system, as upheld by Kabanicha, has degenerated into repressive convention. An atmosphere of coldness and torpor prevails, colliding with any desire for individual realization or true enjoyment of life. At the same time, the conflict in which Káťa finds herself through her relationship with Boris is an internal one, as she has made the moral yardsticks of her environment so much her own that a crisis of conscience is inevitable. Káťa articulates little of what motivates or oppresses her, or what she yearns for, and is perhaps largely unaware of it — something that makes the figure so true-to-life — but hypocrisy is foreign to her. Unlike Varvara and her lover Kudrjáš, she is unable to blithely disregard internalized moral norms. Even in Act I, the memory of her dreams of flying suddenly turns into panicstricken fear of the ‘sin’ into which desire for another man threatens to plunge her. In Act III, as a storm rages (outdoors as well as inside Káťa), her feelings of guilt impel her to confess to the undiscovered betrayal of her marriage. Káťa is imprisoned in a society in which she cannot exist; she will ultimately choose death over this mental and spiritual violation.

Janáček brings to his portrayal of Káťa the sympathy and subtle sensitivity that he devotes — eschewing all stereotypes — to all his major female figures. First performed in Brno in 1921, Káťa Kabanová marks the beginning of the composer’s final, extraordinarily productive decade. Janáček had now found his unmistakable language as a musical dramatist — a language that conveys the characters and situations, psychology and atmosphere in highly concentrated form, and in its naked immediacy and power gets directly under the listener’s skin.

Christian Arseni
Translation: Sophie Kidd

Time

(Monday) 6:30 pm

Location

Salzburg Felsenreitschule

Felsenreitschule, Hofstallgasse 1, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

Learn More

Calendar GoogleCal

26aug6:00 pmSalzburg, Austria - Salzburg Festival - Janáček: Káťa Kabanová6:00 pm Salzburg Felsenreitschule

more

Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Barrie Kosky Director
Rufus Didwiszus Sets
Victoria Behr Costumes
Franck Evin Lighting
Christian Arseni Dramaturgy

CAST
Jens Larsen Savjol Prokofjevič Dikoj
David Butt Philip Boris Grigorjevič
Evelyn Herlitzius Marfa Ignatěvna Kabanová (Kabanicha)
Jaroslav Březina Tichon Ivanyč Kabanov
Corinne Winters Katěrina (Káťa)
Benjamin Hulett Váňa Kudrjáš
Jarmila Balážová Varvara
Michael Mofidian Kuligin
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Huw Rhys James Chorus Master
Vienna Philharmonic

‘I lived free like a bird’: Káťa Kabanová confides wistfully to her sister-in-law Varvara how different her life used to be. She tells her how during mass at church she experienced celestial visions that moved her to tears, and how she had dreams of soaring high into the sky. The luminous, increasingly ecstatic music to which Janáček sets Káťa’s reminiscences reveals not only the figure’s rich interior life but also an irrepressible urge for freedom. But since her marriage to Tichon the fire within Káťa is at risk of being smothered entirely. The situation she lives in is claustrophobic. Home is ruled despotically by her mother-in-law Kabanicha, the widow of a merchant. Conscious of material dependencies and in the name of tradition and morals, she makes sure that the required subservience is shown by woman to husband and young to old. Ground down by his mother’s constant carping, Tichon lacks the independence to be able to give his wife what she needs and seeks refuge in alcohol. When he departs on a journey for a few days, Varvara, who is aware of the mutual attraction between Káťa and the unmarried Boris, arranges a first night-time tryst for them. This uncaps all Káťa’s pent-up emotions: behind the desperate intensity with which she gives herself to Boris erupt needs that go far beyond a yearning for fulfilled love or shared passion. To Káťa, to go on living now seems more impossible than ever.

Leoš Janáček forged the libretto to Káťa Kabanová from a Czech translation of Alexander Ostrovsky’s play The Storm (1859), which is set in a small-town milieu dominated by wealthy merchants in mid-19th century Russia. Janáček dispensed with many of the specific socio-historical details — and thus also a substantial part of the concrete social criticism that characterizes Ostrovsky’s play. The opera concentrates on the protagonist and the individuals who directly determine her fate. Yet beyond the microcosm of the family, the social environment remains a palpable determining factor.

We are in a village or small town where a traditional value system, as upheld by Kabanicha, has degenerated into repressive convention. An atmosphere of coldness and torpor prevails, colliding with any desire for individual realization or true enjoyment of life. At the same time, the conflict in which Káťa finds herself through her relationship with Boris is an internal one, as she has made the moral yardsticks of her environment so much her own that a crisis of conscience is inevitable. Káťa articulates little of what motivates or oppresses her, or what she yearns for, and is perhaps largely unaware of it — something that makes the figure so true-to-life — but hypocrisy is foreign to her. Unlike Varvara and her lover Kudrjáš, she is unable to blithely disregard internalized moral norms. Even in Act I, the memory of her dreams of flying suddenly turns into panicstricken fear of the ‘sin’ into which desire for another man threatens to plunge her. In Act III, as a storm rages (outdoors as well as inside Káťa), her feelings of guilt impel her to confess to the undiscovered betrayal of her marriage. Káťa is imprisoned in a society in which she cannot exist; she will ultimately choose death over this mental and spiritual violation.

Janáček brings to his portrayal of Káťa the sympathy and subtle sensitivity that he devotes — eschewing all stereotypes — to all his major female figures. First performed in Brno in 1921, Káťa Kabanová marks the beginning of the composer’s final, extraordinarily productive decade. Janáček had now found his unmistakable language as a musical dramatist — a language that conveys the characters and situations, psychology and atmosphere in highly concentrated form, and in its naked immediacy and power gets directly under the listener’s skin.

Christian Arseni
Translation: Sophie Kidd

Time

(Friday) 6:00 pm

Location

Salzburg Felsenreitschule

Felsenreitschule, Hofstallgasse 1, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

Learn More

Calendar GoogleCal

21aug3:00 pmSalzburg, Austria - Salzburg Festival - Janáček: Káťa Kabanová3:00 pm Salzburg Felsenreitschule

more

Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Barrie Kosky Director
Rufus Didwiszus Sets
Victoria Behr Costumes
Franck Evin Lighting
Christian Arseni Dramaturgy

CAST
Jens Larsen Savjol Prokofjevič Dikoj
David Butt Philip Boris Grigorjevič
Evelyn Herlitzius Marfa Ignatěvna Kabanová (Kabanicha)
Jaroslav Březina Tichon Ivanyč Kabanov
Corinne Winters Katěrina (Káťa)
Benjamin Hulett Váňa Kudrjáš
Jarmila Balážová Varvara
Michael Mofidian Kuligin
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Huw Rhys James Chorus Master
Vienna Philharmonic

‘I lived free like a bird’: Káťa Kabanová confides wistfully to her sister-in-law Varvara how different her life used to be. She tells her how during mass at church she experienced celestial visions that moved her to tears, and how she had dreams of soaring high into the sky. The luminous, increasingly ecstatic music to which Janáček sets Káťa’s reminiscences reveals not only the figure’s rich interior life but also an irrepressible urge for freedom. But since her marriage to Tichon the fire within Káťa is at risk of being smothered entirely. The situation she lives in is claustrophobic. Home is ruled despotically by her mother-in-law Kabanicha, the widow of a merchant. Conscious of material dependencies and in the name of tradition and morals, she makes sure that the required subservience is shown by woman to husband and young to old. Ground down by his mother’s constant carping, Tichon lacks the independence to be able to give his wife what she needs and seeks refuge in alcohol. When he departs on a journey for a few days, Varvara, who is aware of the mutual attraction between Káťa and the unmarried Boris, arranges a first night-time tryst for them. This uncaps all Káťa’s pent-up emotions: behind the desperate intensity with which she gives herself to Boris erupt needs that go far beyond a yearning for fulfilled love or shared passion. To Káťa, to go on living now seems more impossible than ever.

Leoš Janáček forged the libretto to Káťa Kabanová from a Czech translation of Alexander Ostrovsky’s play The Storm (1859), which is set in a small-town milieu dominated by wealthy merchants in mid-19th century Russia. Janáček dispensed with many of the specific socio-historical details — and thus also a substantial part of the concrete social criticism that characterizes Ostrovsky’s play. The opera concentrates on the protagonist and the individuals who directly determine her fate. Yet beyond the microcosm of the family, the social environment remains a palpable determining factor.

We are in a village or small town where a traditional value system, as upheld by Kabanicha, has degenerated into repressive convention. An atmosphere of coldness and torpor prevails, colliding with any desire for individual realization or true enjoyment of life. At the same time, the conflict in which Káťa finds herself through her relationship with Boris is an internal one, as she has made the moral yardsticks of her environment so much her own that a crisis of conscience is inevitable. Káťa articulates little of what motivates or oppresses her, or what she yearns for, and is perhaps largely unaware of it — something that makes the figure so true-to-life — but hypocrisy is foreign to her. Unlike Varvara and her lover Kudrjáš, she is unable to blithely disregard internalized moral norms. Even in Act I, the memory of her dreams of flying suddenly turns into panicstricken fear of the ‘sin’ into which desire for another man threatens to plunge her. In Act III, as a storm rages (outdoors as well as inside Káťa), her feelings of guilt impel her to confess to the undiscovered betrayal of her marriage. Káťa is imprisoned in a society in which she cannot exist; she will ultimately choose death over this mental and spiritual violation.

Janáček brings to his portrayal of Káťa the sympathy and subtle sensitivity that he devotes — eschewing all stereotypes — to all his major female figures. First performed in Brno in 1921, Káťa Kabanová marks the beginning of the composer’s final, extraordinarily productive decade. Janáček had now found his unmistakable language as a musical dramatist — a language that conveys the characters and situations, psychology and atmosphere in highly concentrated form, and in its naked immediacy and power gets directly under the listener’s skin.

Christian Arseni
Translation: Sophie Kidd

Time

(Sunday) 3:00 pm

Location

Salzburg Felsenreitschule

Felsenreitschule, Hofstallgasse 1, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

Learn More

Calendar GoogleCal

19aug7:30 pmLucerne, Switzerland - Lucerne Festival - Suk, Dvořák7:30 pm KKL Luzern, Concert Hall

14aug8:00 pmSalzburg, Austria - Salzburg Festival - Janáček: Káťa Kabanová8:00 pm Salzburg Felsenreitschule

more

Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Barrie Kosky Director
Rufus Didwiszus Sets
Victoria Behr Costumes
Franck Evin Lighting
Christian Arseni Dramaturgy

CAST
Jens Larsen Savjol Prokofjevič Dikoj
David Butt Philip Boris Grigorjevič
Evelyn Herlitzius Marfa Ignatěvna Kabanová (Kabanicha)
Jaroslav Březina Tichon Ivanyč Kabanov
Corinne Winters Katěrina (Káťa)
Benjamin Hulett Váňa Kudrjáš
Jarmila Balážová Varvara
Michael Mofidian Kuligin
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Huw Rhys James Chorus Master
Vienna Philharmonic

‘I lived free like a bird’: Káťa Kabanová confides wistfully to her sister-in-law Varvara how different her life used to be. She tells her how during mass at church she experienced celestial visions that moved her to tears, and how she had dreams of soaring high into the sky. The luminous, increasingly ecstatic music to which Janáček sets Káťa’s reminiscences reveals not only the figure’s rich interior life but also an irrepressible urge for freedom. But since her marriage to Tichon the fire within Káťa is at risk of being smothered entirely. The situation she lives in is claustrophobic. Home is ruled despotically by her mother-in-law Kabanicha, the widow of a merchant. Conscious of material dependencies and in the name of tradition and morals, she makes sure that the required subservience is shown by woman to husband and young to old. Ground down by his mother’s constant carping, Tichon lacks the independence to be able to give his wife what she needs and seeks refuge in alcohol. When he departs on a journey for a few days, Varvara, who is aware of the mutual attraction between Káťa and the unmarried Boris, arranges a first night-time tryst for them. This uncaps all Káťa’s pent-up emotions: behind the desperate intensity with which she gives herself to Boris erupt needs that go far beyond a yearning for fulfilled love or shared passion. To Káťa, to go on living now seems more impossible than ever.

Leoš Janáček forged the libretto to Káťa Kabanová from a Czech translation of Alexander Ostrovsky’s play The Storm (1859), which is set in a small-town milieu dominated by wealthy merchants in mid-19th century Russia. Janáček dispensed with many of the specific socio-historical details — and thus also a substantial part of the concrete social criticism that characterizes Ostrovsky’s play. The opera concentrates on the protagonist and the individuals who directly determine her fate. Yet beyond the microcosm of the family, the social environment remains a palpable determining factor.

We are in a village or small town where a traditional value system, as upheld by Kabanicha, has degenerated into repressive convention. An atmosphere of coldness and torpor prevails, colliding with any desire for individual realization or true enjoyment of life. At the same time, the conflict in which Káťa finds herself through her relationship with Boris is an internal one, as she has made the moral yardsticks of her environment so much her own that a crisis of conscience is inevitable. Káťa articulates little of what motivates or oppresses her, or what she yearns for, and is perhaps largely unaware of it — something that makes the figure so true-to-life — but hypocrisy is foreign to her. Unlike Varvara and her lover Kudrjáš, she is unable to blithely disregard internalized moral norms. Even in Act I, the memory of her dreams of flying suddenly turns into panicstricken fear of the ‘sin’ into which desire for another man threatens to plunge her. In Act III, as a storm rages (outdoors as well as inside Káťa), her feelings of guilt impel her to confess to the undiscovered betrayal of her marriage. Káťa is imprisoned in a society in which she cannot exist; she will ultimately choose death over this mental and spiritual violation.

Janáček brings to his portrayal of Káťa the sympathy and subtle sensitivity that he devotes — eschewing all stereotypes — to all his major female figures. First performed in Brno in 1921, Káťa Kabanová marks the beginning of the composer’s final, extraordinarily productive decade. Janáček had now found his unmistakable language as a musical dramatist — a language that conveys the characters and situations, psychology and atmosphere in highly concentrated form, and in its naked immediacy and power gets directly under the listener’s skin.

Christian Arseni
Translation: Sophie Kidd

Time

(Sunday) 8:00 pm

Location

Salzburg Felsenreitschule

Felsenreitschule, Hofstallgasse 1, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

Learn More

Calendar GoogleCal

11aug8:00 pmSalzburg, Austria - Salzburg Festival - Janáček: Káťa Kabanová8:00 pm Salzburg Felsenreitschule

more

Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Barrie Kosky Director
Rufus Didwiszus Sets
Victoria Behr Costumes
Franck Evin Lighting
Christian Arseni Dramaturgy

CAST
Jens Larsen Savjol Prokofjevič Dikoj
David Butt Philip Boris Grigorjevič
Evelyn Herlitzius Marfa Ignatěvna Kabanová (Kabanicha)
Jaroslav Březina Tichon Ivanyč Kabanov
Corinne Winters Katěrina (Káťa)
Benjamin Hulett Váňa Kudrjáš
Jarmila Balážová Varvara
Michael Mofidian Kuligin
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Huw Rhys James Chorus Master
Vienna Philharmonic

‘I lived free like a bird’: Káťa Kabanová confides wistfully to her sister-in-law Varvara how different her life used to be. She tells her how during mass at church she experienced celestial visions that moved her to tears, and how she had dreams of soaring high into the sky. The luminous, increasingly ecstatic music to which Janáček sets Káťa’s reminiscences reveals not only the figure’s rich interior life but also an irrepressible urge for freedom. But since her marriage to Tichon the fire within Káťa is at risk of being smothered entirely. The situation she lives in is claustrophobic. Home is ruled despotically by her mother-in-law Kabanicha, the widow of a merchant. Conscious of material dependencies and in the name of tradition and morals, she makes sure that the required subservience is shown by woman to husband and young to old. Ground down by his mother’s constant carping, Tichon lacks the independence to be able to give his wife what she needs and seeks refuge in alcohol. When he departs on a journey for a few days, Varvara, who is aware of the mutual attraction between Káťa and the unmarried Boris, arranges a first night-time tryst for them. This uncaps all Káťa’s pent-up emotions: behind the desperate intensity with which she gives herself to Boris erupt needs that go far beyond a yearning for fulfilled love or shared passion. To Káťa, to go on living now seems more impossible than ever.

Leoš Janáček forged the libretto to Káťa Kabanová from a Czech translation of Alexander Ostrovsky’s play The Storm (1859), which is set in a small-town milieu dominated by wealthy merchants in mid-19th century Russia. Janáček dispensed with many of the specific socio-historical details — and thus also a substantial part of the concrete social criticism that characterizes Ostrovsky’s play. The opera concentrates on the protagonist and the individuals who directly determine her fate. Yet beyond the microcosm of the family, the social environment remains a palpable determining factor.

We are in a village or small town where a traditional value system, as upheld by Kabanicha, has degenerated into repressive convention. An atmosphere of coldness and torpor prevails, colliding with any desire for individual realization or true enjoyment of life. At the same time, the conflict in which Káťa finds herself through her relationship with Boris is an internal one, as she has made the moral yardsticks of her environment so much her own that a crisis of conscience is inevitable. Káťa articulates little of what motivates or oppresses her, or what she yearns for, and is perhaps largely unaware of it — something that makes the figure so true-to-life — but hypocrisy is foreign to her. Unlike Varvara and her lover Kudrjáš, she is unable to blithely disregard internalized moral norms. Even in Act I, the memory of her dreams of flying suddenly turns into panicstricken fear of the ‘sin’ into which desire for another man threatens to plunge her. In Act III, as a storm rages (outdoors as well as inside Káťa), her feelings of guilt impel her to confess to the undiscovered betrayal of her marriage. Káťa is imprisoned in a society in which she cannot exist; she will ultimately choose death over this mental and spiritual violation.

Janáček brings to his portrayal of Káťa the sympathy and subtle sensitivity that he devotes — eschewing all stereotypes — to all his major female figures. First performed in Brno in 1921, Káťa Kabanová marks the beginning of the composer’s final, extraordinarily productive decade. Janáček had now found his unmistakable language as a musical dramatist — a language that conveys the characters and situations, psychology and atmosphere in highly concentrated form, and in its naked immediacy and power gets directly under the listener’s skin.

Christian Arseni
Translation: Sophie Kidd

Time

(Thursday) 8:00 pm

Location

Salzburg Felsenreitschule

Felsenreitschule, Hofstallgasse 1, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

Learn More

Calendar GoogleCal

07aug8:00 pmSalzburg, Austria - Salzburg Festival - Janáček: Káťa Kabanová8:00 pm Salzburg Felsenreitschule

more

Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Barrie Kosky Director
Rufus Didwiszus Sets
Victoria Behr Costumes
Franck Evin Lighting
Christian Arseni Dramaturgy

CAST
Jens Larsen Savjol Prokofjevič Dikoj
David Butt Philip Boris Grigorjevič
Evelyn Herlitzius Marfa Ignatěvna Kabanová (Kabanicha)
Jaroslav Březina Tichon Ivanyč Kabanov
Corinne Winters Katěrina (Káťa)
Benjamin Hulett Váňa Kudrjáš
Jarmila Balážová Varvara
Michael Mofidian Kuligin
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Huw Rhys James Chorus Master
Vienna Philharmonic

‘I lived free like a bird’: Káťa Kabanová confides wistfully to her sister-in-law Varvara how different her life used to be. She tells her how during mass at church she experienced celestial visions that moved her to tears, and how she had dreams of soaring high into the sky. The luminous, increasingly ecstatic music to which Janáček sets Káťa’s reminiscences reveals not only the figure’s rich interior life but also an irrepressible urge for freedom. But since her marriage to Tichon the fire within Káťa is at risk of being smothered entirely. The situation she lives in is claustrophobic. Home is ruled despotically by her mother-in-law Kabanicha, the widow of a merchant. Conscious of material dependencies and in the name of tradition and morals, she makes sure that the required subservience is shown by woman to husband and young to old. Ground down by his mother’s constant carping, Tichon lacks the independence to be able to give his wife what she needs and seeks refuge in alcohol. When he departs on a journey for a few days, Varvara, who is aware of the mutual attraction between Káťa and the unmarried Boris, arranges a first night-time tryst for them. This uncaps all Káťa’s pent-up emotions: behind the desperate intensity with which she gives herself to Boris erupt needs that go far beyond a yearning for fulfilled love or shared passion. To Káťa, to go on living now seems more impossible than ever.

Leoš Janáček forged the libretto to Káťa Kabanová from a Czech translation of Alexander Ostrovsky’s play The Storm (1859), which is set in a small-town milieu dominated by wealthy merchants in mid-19th century Russia. Janáček dispensed with many of the specific socio-historical details — and thus also a substantial part of the concrete social criticism that characterizes Ostrovsky’s play. The opera concentrates on the protagonist and the individuals who directly determine her fate. Yet beyond the microcosm of the family, the social environment remains a palpable determining factor.

We are in a village or small town where a traditional value system, as upheld by Kabanicha, has degenerated into repressive convention. An atmosphere of coldness and torpor prevails, colliding with any desire for individual realization or true enjoyment of life. At the same time, the conflict in which Káťa finds herself through her relationship with Boris is an internal one, as she has made the moral yardsticks of her environment so much her own that a crisis of conscience is inevitable. Káťa articulates little of what motivates or oppresses her, or what she yearns for, and is perhaps largely unaware of it — something that makes the figure so true-to-life — but hypocrisy is foreign to her. Unlike Varvara and her lover Kudrjáš, she is unable to blithely disregard internalized moral norms. Even in Act I, the memory of her dreams of flying suddenly turns into panicstricken fear of the ‘sin’ into which desire for another man threatens to plunge her. In Act III, as a storm rages (outdoors as well as inside Káťa), her feelings of guilt impel her to confess to the undiscovered betrayal of her marriage. Káťa is imprisoned in a society in which she cannot exist; she will ultimately choose death over this mental and spiritual violation.

Janáček brings to his portrayal of Káťa the sympathy and subtle sensitivity that he devotes — eschewing all stereotypes — to all his major female figures. First performed in Brno in 1921, Káťa Kabanová marks the beginning of the composer’s final, extraordinarily productive decade. Janáček had now found his unmistakable language as a musical dramatist — a language that conveys the characters and situations, psychology and atmosphere in highly concentrated form, and in its naked immediacy and power gets directly under the listener’s skin.

Christian Arseni
Translation: Sophie Kidd

Time

(Sunday) 8:00 pm

Location

Salzburg Felsenreitschule

Felsenreitschule, Hofstallgasse 1, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

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02jul7:00 pmLitomyšl, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic - Kabeláč, Shostakovich7:00 pm Litomyšl Castle

01jul7:00 pmLitomyšl, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic - Smetana, Suk, Brahms7:00 pm Litomyšl Castle

17jun8:15 pmAmsterdam, Netherlands - Janácek, Firsova, Smirnov, Lutoslawski8:15 pm Concertgebouw

16jun8:15 pmAmsterdam, Netherlands - Janácek, Firsova, Smirnov, Lutoslawski8:15 pm Concertgebouw

11jun6:00 pmRome, Italy - Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Dvořák, Janáček6:00 pm Academia Nazionale die Santa Cecilia

10jun8:30 pmRome, Italy - Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Dvořák, Janáček8:30 pm Academia Nazionale die Santa Cecilia

09jun7:30 pmRome, Italy - Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Dvořák, Janáček7:30 pm Academia Nazionale die Santa Cecilia

31may8:00 pmMunich, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - "Ring without words"8:00 pm Isarphilharmonie

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Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Bamberger Symphoniker

SONDERKONZERT »Der Ring ohne Worte«

»The Ring Without Words« – the title alone is enough to trigger one’s curiosity! This programme revolves around Wagner’s timeless parable of power and love, the monumental drama of the »Ring of the Nibelung«. Loriot once commented: »The perpetrators in the most powerful drama in the history of music are actually quite nice people – it is just that a common passion becomes their undoing. In the blind, callous pursuit of profit, they destroy themselves and their world.« We will perform a fascinating fast-forward through the four operas of this opus magnum, entirely without sets, singers or costumes, that was created in 1987 by the famous conductor Lorin Maazel, who said, »The orchestral score itself is the ‘Ring’, encoded in sound. When you decipher this code, it turns out to be a story, a legend, a song, a philosophy – in countless cosmic overtones and human undertones.« Maazel’s »symphonic synthesis« aims to bring this »sound code« closer to the audience. And indeed, the orchestral decoction has no need of words: prominent vocal parts are taken over by the instruments, which present the many catchy melodies and leitmotifs that Wagner called »emotional signposts« for the listeners. The music follows the operatic chronology of the »festival for the stage« exactly, from the first note of »Rheingold« to the final chord of »Götterdämmerung«. The performance of this great symphony of music theatre is truly something to look forward to – a concert of just under 75 minutes, both for curious newcomers to Wagner’s world and for die-hard fans who simply don’t have the time for a 15-hour »Ring« marathon!

»Der Ring ohne Worte« – allein der Titel macht schon neugierig auf das, was in diesem Konzert zu erwarten ist. Alles dreht sich um Wagners zeitlose Parabel der Macht und der Liebe – das monumentale Weltendrama vom »Ring des Nibelungen«, das Loriot einmal mit den Worten kommentierte: »Die Täter im gewaltigsten Drama der Musikgeschichte sind eigentlich ganz nette Leute. Nur eine gemeinsame Leidenschaft wird ihnen zum Verhängnis. In blindem, lieblosem Gewinnstreben vernichten sie sich selbst und ihre Welt.« Wir spielen einen faszinierenden Schnelldurchlauf durch die vier Opern des Opus Magnum, ganz ohne Bühnenbilder, Sänger und Kostüme – 1987 erstellt vom berühmten Dirigenten Lorin Maazel, der meinte: »Die Orchesterpartitur selbst ist der ›Ring‹, verschlüsselt in einen Klang-Code. Entziffert man diesen Code, so entpuppt er sich als eine Geschichte, eine Sage, ein Lied, eine Philosophie – in zahllosen kosmischen Obertönen und menschlichen Untertönen.« Diesen »Klang-Code« wollte er in seiner »symphonischen Synthese« dem Publikum näher bringen. Und das orchestrale Destillat kommt auch gut ohne Worte aus: Dort, wo man eine der prominenten Gesangspartien vermis-sen könnte, übernimmt ein Instrument die Rolle und präsentiert eine der vielen eingängigen Melodien und Leitmotive – welche Wagner als »Gefühlswegweiser« für die Hörer bezeichnete. Die Musik folgt genau der Opern-Chronologie des »Bühnenfestspiels«, vom ersten »Rheingold«-Ton bis zum Schlussakkord der »Götterdämmerung«. Die Aufführung dieser großartigen Musiktheater-Symphonie kann wahrlich mit Spannung erwartet werden – ein knapp 75-minütiges Konzert für alle neugierigen Einsteiger in Wagners Welt und eben- so für eingefleischte Liebhaber, die gerade keine Zeit für einen 15 Stunden langen »Ring«-Marathon haben!

Time

(Tuesday) 8:00 pm

Location

Isarphilharmonie

Hans-Preißinger-Straße 8, 81379 München, Germany

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30may8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - "Ring without words"8:00 pm

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Bamberger Symphoniker

SONDERKONZERT »Der Ring ohne Worte«

»The Ring Without Words« – the title alone is enough to trigger one’s curiosity! This programme revolves around Wagner’s timeless parable of power and love, the monumental drama of the »Ring of the Nibelung«. Loriot once commented: »The perpetrators in the most powerful drama in the history of music are actually quite nice people – it is just that a common passion becomes their undoing. In the blind, callous pursuit of profit, they destroy themselves and their world.« We will perform a fascinating fast-forward through the four operas of this opus magnum, entirely without sets, singers or costumes, that was created in 1987 by the famous conductor Lorin Maazel, who said, »The orchestral score itself is the ‘Ring’, encoded in sound. When you decipher this code, it turns out to be a story, a legend, a song, a philosophy – in countless cosmic overtones and human undertones.« Maazel’s »symphonic synthesis« aims to bring this »sound code« closer to the audience. And indeed, the orchestral decoction has no need of words: prominent vocal parts are taken over by the instruments, which present the many catchy melodies and leitmotifs that Wagner called »emotional signposts« for the listeners. The music follows the operatic chronology of the »festival for the stage« exactly, from the first note of »Rheingold« to the final chord of »Götterdämmerung«. The performance of this great symphony of music theatre is truly something to look forward to – a concert of just under 75 minutes, both for curious newcomers to Wagner’s world and for die-hard fans who simply don’t have the time for a 15-hour »Ring« marathon!

»Der Ring ohne Worte« – allein der Titel macht schon neugierig auf das, was in diesem Konzert zu erwarten ist. Alles dreht sich um Wagners zeitlose Parabel der Macht und der Liebe – das monumentale Weltendrama vom »Ring des Nibelungen«, das Loriot einmal mit den Worten kommentierte: »Die Täter im gewaltigsten Drama der Musikgeschichte sind eigentlich ganz nette Leute. Nur eine gemeinsame Leidenschaft wird ihnen zum Verhängnis. In blindem, lieblosem Gewinnstreben vernichten sie sich selbst und ihre Welt.« Wir spielen einen faszinierenden Schnelldurchlauf durch die vier Opern des Opus Magnum, ganz ohne Bühnenbilder, Sänger und Kostüme – 1987 erstellt vom berühmten Dirigenten Lorin Maazel, der meinte: »Die Orchesterpartitur selbst ist der ›Ring‹, verschlüsselt in einen Klang-Code. Entziffert man diesen Code, so entpuppt er sich als eine Geschichte, eine Sage, ein Lied, eine Philosophie – in zahllosen kosmischen Obertönen und menschlichen Untertönen.« Diesen »Klang-Code« wollte er in seiner »symphonischen Synthese« dem Publikum näher bringen. Und das orchestrale Destillat kommt auch gut ohne Worte aus: Dort, wo man eine der prominenten Gesangspartien vermis-sen könnte, übernimmt ein Instrument die Rolle und präsentiert eine der vielen eingängigen Melodien und Leitmotive – welche Wagner als »Gefühlswegweiser« für die Hörer bezeichnete. Die Musik folgt genau der Opern-Chronologie des »Bühnenfestspiels«, vom ersten »Rheingold«-Ton bis zum Schlussakkord der »Götterdämmerung«. Die Aufführung dieser großartigen Musiktheater-Symphonie kann wahrlich mit Spannung erwartet werden – ein knapp 75-minütiges Konzert für alle neugierigen Einsteiger in Wagners Welt und eben- so für eingefleischte Liebhaber, die gerade keine Zeit für einen 15 Stunden langen »Ring«-Marathon haben!

Time

(Monday) 8:00 pm

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25may8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - The World After Wagner8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Bamberger Symphoniker

AN INTERDISCIPLINARY WAGNER LABORATORY

Richard Wagner’s music has long been a fixture in the concerts of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Under Jonathan Nott, we gave concert performances of almost all of Wagner’s operas. In 2013 we were guests at the Lucerne Festival, performing the entire »Ring des Nibelungen«. The orchestra’s history likewise repeatedly reveals points of contact, from a »Walküre« under Joseph Keilberth, which we performed in Barcelona in 1955 as a Bayreuth Festival guest performance, to our predecessor orchestra at the German Opera House in Prague, which on 1 January 1914 gave the first performance of »Parsifal« outside Bayreuth, following the expiry of the copyright restricting performances of the work to the Festspielhaus.

This year we would like to give our curiosity full rein in exploring the effects of Wagner’s music. In a concert series inspired by the recent book by New York music critic and author Alex Ross, »The World After Wagner« will be brought to life in a kind of musical laboratory. Music, texts and images dealing with the Wagner phenomenon will be interwoven in an interdisciplinary fashion – a kind of tribute to Wagner’s concept of the »Gesamtkunstwerk«. In addition, we will perform the »Ring Without Words« in Lorin Maazel’s popular version and show Fritz Lang’s legendary 1924 silent film about »Siegfried« – accompanied live by the original film music.

We hope to (re)awaken your curiosity about Wagner and look forward to embarking on this journey of discovery together!

Jakub Hrůša Conductor

SONDERKONZERT »Die Welt nach Wagner«

Seit langem ist die Musik Richard Wagners ein Fixpunkt in der Konzerttätigkeit der Bamberger Symphoniker: In der Ära Jonathan Nott führten wir in Bamberg fast alle Wagner-Opern in konzertanter Form auf. 2013 waren wir mit dem gesamten »Ring des Nibelungen« beim Lucerne Festival zu Gast. Auch die Orchester-geschichte zeigt immer wieder Anknüpfungspunkte auf, von einer »Walküre« unter Joseph Keilberth, die wir 1955 als Gastspiel der Bayreuther Festspiele in Barcelona aufführten, bis hin zu unserem Vorgänger-Orchester im Deutschen Opernhaus in Prag, das am 1. Januar 1914 die erste Aufführung des »Parsifal« außerhalb Bayreuths nach Ablauf der Schutzfrist spielte.

Dieses Jahr möchten wir mit großer Neugier der Wirkung der Wagnerschen Musik nachspüren. In einer Konzertreihe, die durch das aktuelle Buch des New Yorker Musikkritikers und Autors Alex Ross inspiriert ist, soll die »Die Welt nach Wagner« in einer Art Labor zum Klingen gebracht werden. Musik, Texte und Bilder zum Phänomen Wagner werden interdisziplinär verwoben – im Grunde also auch eine Art Hommage an das »Gesamtkunstwerk«. Dazu führen wir den »Ring ohne Worte« in der beliebten Fassung von Lorin Maazel auf und zeigen den legendären Stummfilm von Fritz Lang über »Siegfried« aus dem Jahr 1924 – live von der originalen Filmmusik begleitet.

Wir hoffen, auch Ihre Neugier auf Wagner (neu) zu wecken und sind gespannt auf die gemeinsame Entdeckungsreise.

Time

(Wednesday) 8:00 pm

Location

Konzerthalle Bamberg

Mußstraße 1, 96047 Bamberg, Germany

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20may7:30 pmZürich, Switzerland - Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich - Dvořák, Nikolaevič Smirnov, Lutosławski7:30 pm Tonhalle Zurich

19may7:30 pmZürich, Switzerland - Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich - Dvořák, Nikolaevič Smirnov, Lutosławski7:30 pm Tonhalle Zurich

19may12:15 pmZürich, Switzerland - Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich - Dvořák, Nikolaevič Smirnov, Lutosławski12:15 pm Tonhalle Zurich

18may7:30 pmZürich, Switzerland - Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich - Dvořák, Nikolaevič Smirnov, Lutosławski7:30 pm Tonhalle Zurich

14may6:00 pmLondon, UK - Royal Opera House - Wagner: Lohengrin6:00 pm Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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Event Details

Wagner: Lohengrin

Conducted by Jakub Hruša

Cast
Lohengrin: Brandon Jovanovich
Elsa von Brabant: Jennifer Davis
Ortrud: Anna Smirnova
Telramund: Craig Colclough
King Heinrich: Gábor Bretz
Herald: Derek Welton
Chorus: Royal Opera Chorus

Creative
Company – The Royal Opera
Music – Richard Wagner
Libretto – Richard Wagner
Director – David Alden
Set designer – Paul Steinberg
Costume designer – Gideon Davey
Lighting designer – Adam Silverman
Video designer – Tal Rosner
Movement director – Maxine Braham

David Alden’s acclaimed staging of Wagner’s early masterpiece, first seen in 2018, places the opera in the timeless setting of a bombed-out city – a dystopian world threatened from outside, where the people are looking for both a sense of direction and a new leader.

American heldentenor Brandon Jovanovich leads the cast as the mysterious ‘swan knight’ Lohengrin, sent to defend the accused Elsa von Brabant, under the condition that she must never ask his true identity. Former Jette Parker Young Artists Jennifer Davis and Kostas Smoriginas return to Covent Garden as Elsa and the wicked Friedrich von Telramund, while Anna Smirnova and Maida Hundeling share the role of Telramund’s evil wife Ortrud. Jakub Hrůša conducts.

Time

(Saturday) 6:00 pm

Location

Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Bow St, London WC2E 9DD

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11may6:00 pmLondon, UK - Royal Opera House - Wagner: Lohengrin6:00 pm Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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Event Details

Wagner: Lohengrin

Conducted by Jakub Hruša

Cast
Lohengrin: Brandon Jovanovich
Elsa von Brabant: Jennifer Davis
Ortrud: Anna Smirnova
Telramund: Craig Colclough
King Heinrich: Gábor Bretz
Herald: Derek Welton
Chorus: Royal Opera Chorus

Creative
Company – The Royal Opera
Music – Richard Wagner
Libretto – Richard Wagner
Director – David Alden
Set designer – Paul Steinberg
Costume designer – Gideon Davey
Lighting designer – Adam Silverman
Video designer – Tal Rosner
Movement director – Maxine Braham

David Alden’s acclaimed staging of Wagner’s early masterpiece, first seen in 2018, places the opera in the timeless setting of a bombed-out city – a dystopian world threatened from outside, where the people are looking for both a sense of direction and a new leader.

American heldentenor Brandon Jovanovich leads the cast as the mysterious ‘swan knight’ Lohengrin, sent to defend the accused Elsa von Brabant, under the condition that she must never ask his true identity. Former Jette Parker Young Artists Jennifer Davis and Kostas Smoriginas return to Covent Garden as Elsa and the wicked Friedrich von Telramund, while Anna Smirnova and Maida Hundeling share the role of Telramund’s evil wife Ortrud. Jakub Hrůša conducts.

Time

(Wednesday) 6:00 pm

Location

Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Bow St, London WC2E 9DD

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07may3:00 pmLondon, UK - Royal Opera House - Wagner: Lohengrin3:00 pm Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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Event Details

Wagner: Lohengrin

Conducted by Jakub Hruša

Cast
Lohengrin: Brandon Jovanovich
Elsa von Brabant: Jennifer Davis
Ortrud: Anna Smirnova
Telramund: Craig Colclough
King Heinrich: Gábor Bretz
Herald: Derek Welton
Chorus: Royal Opera Chorus

Creative
Company – The Royal Opera
Music – Richard Wagner
Libretto – Richard Wagner
Director – David Alden
Set designer – Paul Steinberg
Costume designer – Gideon Davey
Lighting designer – Adam Silverman
Video designer – Tal Rosner
Movement director – Maxine Braham

David Alden’s acclaimed staging of Wagner’s early masterpiece, first seen in 2018, places the opera in the timeless setting of a bombed-out city – a dystopian world threatened from outside, where the people are looking for both a sense of direction and a new leader.

American heldentenor Brandon Jovanovich leads the cast as the mysterious ‘swan knight’ Lohengrin, sent to defend the accused Elsa von Brabant, under the condition that she must never ask his true identity. Former Jette Parker Young Artists Jennifer Davis and Kostas Smoriginas return to Covent Garden as Elsa and the wicked Friedrich von Telramund, while Anna Smirnova and Maida Hundeling share the role of Telramund’s evil wife Ortrud. Jakub Hrůša conducts.

Time

(Saturday) 3:00 pm

Location

Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Bow St, London WC2E 9DD

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01may3:00 pmLondon, UK - Royal Opera House - Wagner: Lohengrin3:00 pm Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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Event Details

Wagner: Lohengrin

Conducted by Jakub Hruša

Cast
Lohengrin: Brandon Jovanovich
Elsa von Brabant: Jennifer Davis
Ortrud: Anna Smirnova
Telramund: Craig Colclough
King Heinrich: Gábor Bretz
Herald: Derek Welton
Chorus: Royal Opera Chorus

Creative
Company – The Royal Opera
Music – Richard Wagner
Libretto – Richard Wagner
Director – David Alden
Set designer – Paul Steinberg
Costume designer – Gideon Davey
Lighting designer – Adam Silverman
Video designer – Tal Rosner
Movement director – Maxine Braham

David Alden’s acclaimed staging of Wagner’s early masterpiece, first seen in 2018, places the opera in the timeless setting of a bombed-out city – a dystopian world threatened from outside, where the people are looking for both a sense of direction and a new leader.

American heldentenor Brandon Jovanovich leads the cast as the mysterious ‘swan knight’ Lohengrin, sent to defend the accused Elsa von Brabant, under the condition that she must never ask his true identity. Former Jette Parker Young Artists Jennifer Davis and Kostas Smoriginas return to Covent Garden as Elsa and the wicked Friedrich von Telramund, while Anna Smirnova and Maida Hundeling share the role of Telramund’s evil wife Ortrud. Jakub Hrůša conducts.

Time

(Sunday) 3:00 pm

Location

Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Bow St, London WC2E 9DD

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27apr6:00 pmLondon, UK - Royal Opera House - Wagner: Lohengrin6:00 pm Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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Event Details

Wagner: Lohengrin

Conducted by Jakub Hruša

Cast
Lohengrin: Brandon Jovanovich
Elsa von Brabant: Jennifer Davis
Ortrud: Anna Smirnova
Telramund: Craig Colclough
King Heinrich: Gábor Bretz
Herald: Derek Welton
Chorus: Royal Opera Chorus

Creative
Company – The Royal Opera
Music – Richard Wagner
Libretto – Richard Wagner
Director – David Alden
Set designer – Paul Steinberg
Costume designer – Gideon Davey
Lighting designer – Adam Silverman
Video designer – Tal Rosner
Movement director – Maxine Braham

David Alden’s acclaimed staging of Wagner’s early masterpiece, first seen in 2018, places the opera in the timeless setting of a bombed-out city – a dystopian world threatened from outside, where the people are looking for both a sense of direction and a new leader.

American heldentenor Brandon Jovanovich leads the cast as the mysterious ‘swan knight’ Lohengrin, sent to defend the accused Elsa von Brabant, under the condition that she must never ask his true identity. Former Jette Parker Young Artists Jennifer Davis and Kostas Smoriginas return to Covent Garden as Elsa and the wicked Friedrich von Telramund, while Anna Smirnova and Maida Hundeling share the role of Telramund’s evil wife Ortrud. Jakub Hrůša conducts.

Time

(Wednesday) 6:00 pm

Location

Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Bow St, London WC2E 9DD

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24apr3:00 pmLondon, UK - Royal Opera House - Wagner: Lohengrin3:00 pm Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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Event Details

Wagner: Lohengrin

Conducted by Jakub Hruša

Cast
Lohengrin: Brandon Jovanovich
Elsa von Brabant: Jennifer Davis
Ortrud: Anna Smirnova
Telramund: Craig Colclough
King Heinrich: Gábor Bretz
Herald: Derek Welton
Chorus: Royal Opera Chorus

Creative
Company – The Royal Opera
Music – Richard Wagner
Libretto – Richard Wagner
Director – David Alden
Set designer – Paul Steinberg
Costume designer – Gideon Davey
Lighting designer – Adam Silverman
Video designer – Tal Rosner
Movement director – Maxine Braham

David Alden’s acclaimed staging of Wagner’s early masterpiece, first seen in 2018, places the opera in the timeless setting of a bombed-out city – a dystopian world threatened from outside, where the people are looking for both a sense of direction and a new leader.

American heldentenor Brandon Jovanovich leads the cast as the mysterious ‘swan knight’ Lohengrin, sent to defend the accused Elsa von Brabant, under the condition that she must never ask his true identity. Former Jette Parker Young Artists Jennifer Davis and Kostas Smoriginas return to Covent Garden as Elsa and the wicked Friedrich von Telramund, while Anna Smirnova and Maida Hundeling share the role of Telramund’s evil wife Ortrud. Jakub Hrůša conducts.

Time

(Sunday) 3:00 pm

Location

Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Bow St, London WC2E 9DD

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19apr5:30 pmLondon, UK - Royal Opera House - Wagner: Lohengrin5:30 pm Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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Event Details

Wagner: Lohengrin

Conducted by Jakub Hruša

Cast
Lohengrin: Brandon Jovanovich
Elsa von Brabant: Jennifer Davis
Ortrud: Anna Smirnova
Telramund: Craig Colclough replaces Kostas Smoriginas
King Heinrich: Gábor Bretz
Herald: Derek Welton
Chorus: Royal Opera Chorus

Creative
Company – The Royal Opera
Music – Richard Wagner
Libretto – Richard Wagner
Director – David Alden
Set designer – Paul Steinberg
Costume designer – Gideon Davey
Lighting designer – Adam Silverman
Video designer – Tal Rosner
Movement director – Maxine Braham

David Alden’s acclaimed staging of Wagner’s early masterpiece, first seen in 2018, places the opera in the timeless setting of a bombed-out city – a dystopian world threatened from outside, where the people are looking for both a sense of direction and a new leader.

American heldentenor Brandon Jovanovich leads the cast as the mysterious ‘swan knight’ Lohengrin, sent to defend the accused Elsa von Brabant, under the condition that she must never ask his true identity. Former Jette Parker Young Artists Jennifer Davis and Kostas Smoriginas return to Covent Garden as Elsa and the wicked Friedrich von Telramund, while Anna Smirnova and Maida Hundeling share the role of Telramund’s evil wife Ortrud. Jakub Hrůša conducts.

Time

(Tuesday) 5:30 pm

Location

Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Bow St, London WC2E 9DD

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03apr7:30 pmLondon, UK - Philharmonia - Vorísek, Beethoven7:30 pm Royal Festival Hall

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša conductor
Johanni van Oostrum soprano
Hanna Hipp mezzo-soprano
Nicky Spence tenor
Solomon Howard bass
Philharmonia Orchestra

Programme
Vorísek: Symphony in D
Beethoven: Symphony No.9 (Choral)

Beethoven stretches the scale and structure of the symphonic form further than anyone had dared before him.

And in the final movement he breaks the boundaries of the orchestra itself, invoking the human voice to share his message of brotherhood.

His setting of Schiller’s Ode to Joy has become an anthem for freedom and fellowship around the world.

Hearing it live is still an exhilarating experience, almost 200 years after its triumphant premiere.

To pave the way for this musical icon, Jakub Hruša has chosen a symphony composed by his compatriot Voríšek just a few years before Beethoven’s.

Voríšek moved to Vienna from his Bohemian home (now in the Czech Republic) with the express hope of meeting Beethoven and establishing himself as a composer.

He succeeded in both, and became firm friends with Schubert, too.

His only symphony is full of melodic invention and contrasts of mood.

Time

(Sunday) 7:30 pm

Location

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17feb8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - R. Schumann, Smetana8:00 pm

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Hélène Grimaud Piano
Bamberger Symphoniker

Robert Schumann: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester a-Moll op. 54
Bedřich Smetana: »Má vlast« (»Mein Vaterland«, Auszüge)

Scintillating fusion of nations! A contemporary raved about Smetana: »Richly knowledgeable, he had seen much, suffered much, and was a skilled and exciting storyteller.« The great Czech composer was fascinated by his homeland’s wonderful landscapes and wealth of legends. His magnificent national epic »Má vlast«, written between 1874 and 1879, creates a portrait of some of these scenes and myths. Our musical journey starts at the »Vyšehrad«, where it seems a medieval bard is evoking the royal castle’s glorious past. This is followed by the deathless »earworm« of the Vltava theme: Smetana’s music atmospherically traces the course of the river from its source to its mouth. The next tone poem revolves around the legendary warrior maiden »Šárka«, who leads a bloodthirsty campaign of revenge against unfaithful lovers – after first arousing the curiosity of men through her wiles. Finally, there is the atmospheric »From Bohemia’s Woods and Fields«, a light-hearted foray into scenes of pastoral beauty. Hélène Grimaud, too, believes nature to be the »humanity’s most important muse« – and her performances are also always driven by »curiosity and a sense of adventure«. Together with our orchestra, this exceptional artist will interpret the last piano concerto by Bartók, who, as an avid researcher of folk music, spent decades travelling across his native Hungary and to other countries with a phonograph. He completed his Third Piano Concerto in 1945 shortly before his death in exile in the USA – and it is imbued with his longing for his homeland and his love of nature: we hear a Hungarian children’s song, as well as the »music of a night filled with birds and insects«, which Bartók had noted down in North Carolina.

Time

(Thursday) 8:00 pm

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12feb8:00 pmNew York, NY USA - New York Philharmonic - Kodály, Liszt, Martinů8:00 pm New York Philharmonic - Alice Tully Hall

11feb8:00 pmNew York, NY USA - New York Philharmonic - Kodály, Liszt, Martinů8:00 pm New York Philharmonic - Alice Tully Hall

10feb7:30 pmNew York, NY USA - New York Philharmonic - Kodály, Liszt, Martinů7:30 pm New York Philharmonic - Alice Tully Hall

05feb8:00 pmBoston, MA USA - Boston Symphony Orchestra - Dvořák, Janáček8:00 pm Boston Symphony Hall

04feb1:30 pmBoston, MA USA - Boston Symphony Orchestra - Dvořák, Janáček1:30 pm Boston Symphony Hall

03feb8:00 pmBoston, MA USA - Boston Symphony Orchestra - Dvořák, Janáček8:00 pm Boston Symphony Hall

29jan6:00 pmBaden Baden, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - Mahler6:00 pm Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

27jan8:00 pmVienna, Austria - Bamberger Symphoniker - Mahler8:00 pm Wiener Konzerthaus

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Wiener Singakademie (choir director: Heinz Ferlesch)
Christina Landshamer Soprano
Wiebke Lehmkuhl Alto

Programme
Gustav Mahler Symphonie Nr. 2 c-Moll

This concert ventures into the thrilling spheres of an epic work by the symphonic philosopher Gustav Mahler, who once confessed: »When I listen to music – even while conducting – I often hear very specific answers to all my questions, and am completely clear and certain.« Mahler was always interested in the intellectual currents of his time, and had a thirst for knowledge that naturally was reflected in his music. The musicologist Constantin Floros has referred to this attitude as »Mahler’s intellectual curiosity«. Mahler’s thinking and composing usually centred on philosophical, religious, and existential questions. His Second Symphony, premiered in 1895 and nicknamed the »Resurrection Symphony«, is one of the symphonies that explores his worldview. The eternal human questions of death and resurrection are evoked in a massive symphonic fresco – incorporating the human voice as the »ultima ratio« of musical annunciation. Mahler called the poignant opening movement »Totenfeier« (funeral ceremony); in the second movement, the light-hearted melodies of the Ländler, a country dance, are heard; and the Scherzo presents a transformation of the song from »Des Knaben Wunderhorn« about St. Anthony’s futile sermon to the fish – until finally the chant of the »Urlicht« (primal light) rises up, intensifying into fervent pleading: »Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott« (»I am of God and want to return to God«). The Finale, which Mahler says represents a »Great Summons«, at first is characterised by highly agitated outbursts, including an offstage orchestra. But then, as if from another world, a lonely birdcall from the piccolo is heard, and Klopstock’s »Resurrection Ode« rises as if by magic – very cautiously at first, but Mahler gradually increases the tension as the music progresses, coming to a gripping climax in the words: »Sterben werd’ ich, um zu leben! Auferstehen, ja auferstehen wirst du!« – »I will die in order to live! You will be resurrected, yes, resurrected!«

Time

(Thursday) 8:00 pm

Location

Wiener Konzerthaus

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25jan8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - Mahler8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Wiener Singakademie (choir director: Heinz Ferlesch)
Christina Landshamer Soprano
Wiebke Lehmkuhl Alto

Programme
Gustav Mahler Symphonie Nr. 2 c-Moll

This concert ventures into the thrilling spheres of an epic work by the symphonic philosopher Gustav Mahler, who once confessed: »When I listen to music – even while conducting – I often hear very specific answers to all my questions, and am completely clear and certain.« Mahler was always interested in the intellectual currents of his time, and had a thirst for knowledge that naturally was reflected in his music. The musicologist Constantin Floros has referred to this attitude as »Mahler’s intellectual curiosity«. Mahler’s thinking and composing usually centred on philosophical, religious, and existential questions. His Second Symphony, premiered in 1895 and nicknamed the »Resurrection Symphony«, is one of the symphonies that explores his worldview. The eternal human questions of death and resurrection are evoked in a massive symphonic fresco – incorporating the human voice as the »ultima ratio« of musical annunciation. Mahler called the poignant opening movement »Totenfeier« (funeral ceremony); in the second movement, the light-hearted melodies of the Ländler, a country dance, are heard; and the Scherzo presents a transformation of the song from »Des Knaben Wunderhorn« about St. Anthony’s futile sermon to the fish – until finally the chant of the »Urlicht« (primal light) rises up, intensifying into fervent pleading: »Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott« (»I am of God and want to return to God«). The Finale, which Mahler says represents a »Great Summons«, at first is characterised by highly agitated outbursts, including an offstage orchestra. But then, as if from another world, a lonely birdcall from the piccolo is heard, and Klopstock’s »Resurrection Ode« rises as if by magic – very cautiously at first, but Mahler gradually increases the tension as the music progresses, coming to a gripping climax in the words: »Sterben werd’ ich, um zu leben! Auferstehen, ja auferstehen wirst du!« – »I will die in order to live! You will be resurrected, yes, resurrected!«

Time

(Tuesday) 8:00 pm

Location

Konzerthalle Bamberg

(Thursday) 8:00 pm

Location

Liederhalle

Berliner Platz 1-3 D - 70174 Stuttgart

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03dec7:30 pmPrague, Czech Republic - Czech Philharmonic - Hořínka (world premiere), Martinů, Suk7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

02dec7:30 pmPrague, Czech Republic - Czech Philharmonic - Hořínka (world premiere), Martinů, Suk7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

01dec7:30 pmPrague, Czech Republic - Czech Philharmonic - Hořínka (world premiere), Martinů, Suk7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

27nov8:00 pmBad Kissingen, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - Shchedrin, Bruckner8:00 pm Regentenbau

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša, Dirigent
Anika Vavić, Klavier
Bamberger Symphoniker

Programme
Rodion Shchedrin: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 4

Anton Bruckner: Symphonie Nr. 9 d-Moll

»The piano concerto was always the testing ground for my experiments.« This concert presents Rodion Shchedrin, a composer born in Moscow in 1932 who now also lives in Munich, and who has long piqued our curiosity. His extensive oeuvre has always drawn on previous generations while being equally open to new influences at the same time. Steinway commissioned his fourth piano concerto in 1991 – and it is truly an emotional ode to the instrument. The work bears the subtitle »Sharp Keys«, captivating listeners with its fascinating tonal colour and sound effects. We welcome the celebrated pianist Anika Vavić as an expert performer of Shchedrin’s works: she performed the Russian as well as the Austrian and German premieres of the concerto and worked closely with the composer to develop the refined solo part – which still piques her curiosity: »The more I play the work, the more exciting it becomes for me.« Then, to mark the 125th anniversary of his death, we will dive into a »divine« confessional work by Anton Bruckner that our principal conductor has studied intensely. For many decades, the symphonic genre was Bruckner’s preferred field of endeavour. But like many other composers, he had a problem with the number nine, which, according to Beethoven’s symphonic legacy, was seen as a magical and indeed oppressive boundary. Fearfully, Bruckner said: »I don’t want to begin the Ninth at all, I daren’t.« But obviously his urge to create was too great, and in 1896 he completed a torso of only three movements dedicated »to dear God«, dying the same year. The symphony is a masterly swansong, with a heartfelt Adagio that Bruckner tellingly wanted to be understood as a »farewell to life«.

Time

(Saturday) 8:00 pm

Location

Regentenbau

Ludwigstraße 2, 97688 Bad Kissingen, Germany

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26nov8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - Shchedrin, Bruckner8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša, Dirigent
Anika Vavić, Klavier
Bamberger Symphoniker

Programme
Rodion Shchedrin: Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 4

Anton Bruckner: Symphonie Nr. 9 d-Moll

»The piano concerto was always the testing ground for my experiments.« This concert presents Rodion Shchedrin, a composer born in Moscow in 1932 who now also lives in Munich, and who has long piqued our curiosity. His extensive oeuvre has always drawn on previous generations while being equally open to new influences at the same time. Steinway commissioned his fourth piano concerto in 1991 – and it is truly an emotional ode to the instrument. The work bears the subtitle »Sharp Keys«, captivating listeners with its fascinating tonal colour and sound effects. We welcome the celebrated pianist Anika Vavić as an expert performer of Shchedrin’s works: she performed the Russian as well as the Austrian and German premieres of the concerto and worked closely with the composer to develop the refined solo part – which still piques her curiosity: »The more I play the work, the more exciting it becomes for me.« Then, to mark the 125th anniversary of his death, we will dive into a »divine« confessional work by Anton Bruckner that our principal conductor has studied intensely. For many decades, the symphonic genre was Bruckner’s preferred field of endeavour. But like many other composers, he had a problem with the number nine, which, according to Beethoven’s symphonic legacy, was seen as a magical and indeed oppressive boundary. Fearfully, Bruckner said: »I don’t want to begin the Ninth at all, I daren’t.« But obviously his urge to create was too great, and in 1896 he completed a torso of only three movements dedicated »to dear God«, dying the same year. The symphony is a masterly swansong, with a heartfelt Adagio that Bruckner tellingly wanted to be understood as a »farewell to life«.

Time

(Friday) 8:00 pm

Location

Konzerthalle Bamberg

Mußstraße 1, 96047 Bamberg, Germany

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20nov6:00 pmKarlovy Vary, Czech Republic - Czech Philharmonic - Dvořák6:00 pm Municipal Theater Karlovy Vary

18nov7:30 pmPrague, Czech Republic - Czech Philharmonic - Rachmaninoff, Janáček, Lutosławski7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

17nov7:30 pmPrague, Czech Republic - Czech Philharmonic - Rachmaninoff, Janáček, Lutosławski7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

13nov8:00 pmChicago, IL USA - Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Coleridge-Taylor, Barber, Dvořák8:00 pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra

12nov1:30 pmChicago, IL USA - Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Coleridge-Taylor, Barber, Dvořák1:30 pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra

11nov7:30 pmChicago, IL USA - Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Coleridge-Taylor, Barber, Dvořák7:30 pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra

07nov3:00 pmCleveland, OH USA - Cleveland Orchestra - Coleridge-Taylor, Elgar, Dvořák3:00 pm Severance Hall

06nov8:00 pmCleveland, OH USA - Cleveland Orchestra - Coleridge-Taylor, Elgar, Dvořák8:00 pm Severance Hall

05nov7:30 pmCleveland, OH USA - Cleveland Orchestra - Coleridge-Taylor, Elgar, Dvořák7:30 pm Severance Hall

04nov7:30 pmCleveland, OH USA - Cleveland Orchestra - Coleridge-Taylor, Elgar, Dvořák7:30 pm Severance Hall

29oct8:00 pmMunich, Germany - Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks - Kabeláč, Britten, Shostakovich8:00 pm Isarphilharmonie

28oct8:00 pmMunich, Germany - Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks - Kabeláč, Britten, Shostakovich8:00 pm Isarphilharmonie

09oct6:00 pmRome, Italy - Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Mahler6:00 pm Academia Nazionale die Santa Cecilia

08oct8:30 pmRome, Italy - Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Mahler8:30 pm Academia Nazionale die Santa Cecilia

07oct7:30 pmRome, Italy - Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Mahler7:30 pm Academia Nazionale die Santa Cecilia

29sep11:00 amLinz, Austria - Bamberger Symphoniker - Rott Rediscovered (Education Programme)11:00 am Brucknerhaus

28sep7:30 pmLinz, Austria - Bamberger Symphoniker - Wolf, Mahler, Rott7:30 pm Brucknerhaus

27sep8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - Wolf, Mahler, Rott8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

21sep8:00 pmPrague, Czech Republic - Bamberger Symphoniker - Novák, Korngold, Dvořák8:00 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

19sep8:00 pmPrague, Czech Republic - Bamberger Symphoniker - Mahler, R. Strauss, Bohuslav Foerster8:00 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

17sep8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - Novák, Korngold, Dvořák8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

16sep8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - Mahler, R. Strauss, Bohuslav Foerster8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

12sep7:00 pmBerlin, Germany - Berliner Philharmoniker - Bruckner; Neuwirth: Keyframes for a Hippogriff (World Premiere)7:00 pm Berliner Philharmonie

11sep7:00 pmBerlin, Germany - Berliner Philharmoniker - Bruckner; Neuwirth: Keyframes for a Hippogriff (World Premiere)7:00 pm Berliner Philharmonie

06sep7:30 pmLuzern, Switzerland - Bamberger Symphoniker - Szeghy, Furrer, Srnka7:30 pm KKL Luzern, Concert Hall

31jul7:30 pmKlosters, Switzerland - Opening Concert - Kammerorchester Basel - Mozart7:30 pm Concert Hall, Arena Klosters

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša, Conductor

Performing with
Lucas Debargue, Piano
Giulia Semenzato, Soprano
Hanno Müller-Brachmann, Baritone
Kammerorchester Basel

Programme
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Symphony no. 38 in D major, “Prague Symphony”, KV 504
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, KV 488
Overture from “The Marriage of Figaro”, KV 492
Aria “Giunse al fin il momento – deh vieni non tardar” from “The Marriage of Figaro”, KV 492
Aria “Tutto è disposto”
from “The Marriage of Figaro”, KV 492
Aria “Crudele? Non mi dir”
from “Don Giovanni”, KV 527
Aria “Madamina, il catalago è questo”
from “Don Giovanni”, KV 527
Duettino “Crudel! Perché finora farmi languir così?” from “The Marriage of Figaro”, KV 492
Duet “Cinque… dieci… venti… trenta…”
from “The Marriage of Figaro”, KV 492

Klosters Music 2021 dedicates the opening concert to the great composer Mozart and his love for the Bohemian city of Prague.

It is hardly surprising that Prague, one of the musical capitals of 18th Century Europe, was home to many fine ensembles and had a vibrant operatic tradition. It attracted Mozart and his contemporaries who were impressed by its charisma and charm. Mozart (1756-1791) visited Prague at least 4 times and was idolised by its public. Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni were performed to great acclaim and La clemenza di Tito was commissioned for the coronation of the King of Bohemia in 1791.

Mozart’s Symphony no 38 was premiered in Prague in 1787. Straining the limits of what his orchestra can do, Mozart creates a tumult of symphonic imagination and riotous creativity. A lifetime of listening will not exhaust its richness. We are delighted to welcome the leading Czech conductor, Jakub Hrůša and The Basel Chamber Orchestra to Klosters for what promises to be a definitive performance of this work. The A major piano concerto of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a work of lyricism and serenity, elegant and flowing. It is recognised as one of Mozart’s greatest achievements. The French pianist Lucas Debargue, a Laureate of the XV Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow where he was awarded the critics’ prize for his incredible gifts, artistic vision and creative freedom, will perform this sublime work. A selection of Arias from Don Giovanni and La nozze di Figaro complete the program.

Time

(Saturday) 7:30 pm

Location

Concert Hall, Arena Klosters

Doggilochstrasse 51, 7250 Klosters-Serneus, Switzerland

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24jul8:00 pmBamberg, Germany - Bamberger Symphoniker - Open-Air-Concert - 75th Birthday from the orchestra8:00 pm

14jun7:30 pmVienna, Austria - Vienna Philharmonic - Smetana7:30 pm Wien Konzerthaus

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Platz der Deutschen Einheit 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany

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10dec7:00 pmTokyo, Japan - Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra - Dvořák7:00 pm Suntory Hall

05dec2:00 pmTokyo, Japan - Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra - Janáček, Britten, Tchaikovsky2:00 pm

11nov11:30 pmVienna, Austria - Wiener Symphoniker - Janáček, Dvořák11:30 pm Wiener Musikverein

07nov5:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Beethoven5:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša, onductor
Lars Vogt, piano
Karen Gomyo, violin
Julian Steckel, cello
Bamberger Symphoniker

Programme:
Ludwig van Beethoven: Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C major, Op. 56 (Triple Concerto)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, “Pastoral”

Bamberger Symphoniker Note:
»True art remains everlasting, and the true artist takes heartfelt pleasure in great works of the mind.« (Ludwig van Beethoven) 2020 marks this composer’s 250th birthday, and thus this concert will once again pay tribute to Beethoven’s »true art«. Our first offering is a work heard less frequently than his other solo concertos, because it requires not one, but three instrumental soloists! Beethoven presented the Triple Concerto, first performed in 1808, to his publisher with the remark that »a concertante with three concertante voices is something new, after all«. But it is precisely this extraordinary »ménage-à-trois« that creates the charm of this playful work with its »lavishly indulgent imagination« and majestic finale in a dance-like polonaise rhythm. We are delighted to present this important composition together with the internationally renowned soloists Lars Vogt, Karen Gomyo and Julian Steckel. After this, we will dive into the yearningly imagined natural world of Beethoven’s »Pastoral Symphony«. This atmospheric work describes life in the country, including bird calls, hunting and a thunderstorm – and its third movement also depicts a cheerful dance scene, although Beethoven parodies the playing of the village band, with a few instruments always lagging a little behind. A contemporary critic described this »Merry gathering of country folk«: »We see the poet rise from his lyrical tranquillity beside the brook to be merry with the merry. The shepherds cheerfully go on ahead, making music. The lads spin their pretty lasses around in a sprightly dance. We can hear them cheering and believe that we ourselves are witnessing their lively capers.«

»Wahre Kunst bleibt unvergänglich und der wahre Künstler hat inniges Vergnügen an großen Geistes-Produkten.« (Ludwig van Beethoven) Im Jubiläumsjahr 2020 anlässlich seines 250. Geburtstages würdigen wir in diesem Konzert noch einmal Beethovens »wahre Kunst«, zunächst mit einem Werk, welches im Vergleich zu anderen Solokonzerten eher selten zu hören ist. Der Grund: Es erfordert gleich drei Instrumentalsolisten – Beethoven bot das 1808 uraufgeführte Tripelkonzert seinem Verlag mit dem Hinweis an, dass »ein Konzertant mit solchen drei konzertierenden Stimmen doch auch etwas Neues« sei. Aber gerade diese außergewöhnliche »Ménage-à-trois« macht den Reiz des spielfreudigen Werkes mit seiner »üppig schwelgenden Phantasie« und dem majestätischen Finale im tänzerischen Polonaisen-Rhythmus aus. Wir freuen uns, diese bedeutende Komposition zusammen mit den international renommierten Solisten Lars Vogt, Karen Gomyo und Julian Steckel zu präsentieren. Danach tauchen wir in die sehnsuchtsvoll imaginierte Naturwelt von Beethovens »Pastoral-Symphonie« ein. Das atmosphärische Werk beschreibt das Leben auf dem Land, mitsamt Vogelrufen, Jagdgeschehen und einem Gewitter – und stellt im dritten Satz auch eine fröhliche Tanzszene dar, wobei Beethoven allerdings die aufspielende Dorfkapelle parodiert, indem ein paar Instrumente mit ihren Tönen immer etwas hinterherhinken. Ein zeitgenössischer Kritiker beschrieb dieses »lustige Zusammensein der Landleute« mit den Worten: »Wir sehen den Dichter sich erheben aus seiner lyrischen Ruhe am Bach, um nun fröhlich zu sein mit den Fröhlichen. Die Hirten ziehen munter und musizierend voraus. Die Burschen drehen ihre Schönen im flinken Tanze. Man hört sie jauchzen und glaubt selbst Zeuge des munteren Tanzes zu sein.«

Time

(Saturday) 5:00 pm

Location

Konzerthalle Bamberg

Mußstraße 1, 96047 Bamberg, Germany

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28oct8:00 pm12:01 pmBerlin, Germany - DSO Berlin - Smetana, Martinů, Dvořák8:00 pm - 12:01 pm Berliner Philharmonie

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14oct8:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Janáček, R. Strauss8:00 pm

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Bamberger Symphoniker

Programme:
Leoš Janáček Grand Suite from The Cunning Little Vixen, arranged by Jakub Hrůša
Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensymphonie op. 64

Bamberger Symphoniker Note:

Janáček’s late romantic opera »The Cunning Little Vixen« is a wonderful tale about life’s secret yearnings. It is based upon a picture story published in the Brno daily newspaper, in which a forester catches the fox cub Sharp-Ears in the woods and takes her back to his home. However, the fox, the farm dachshund and the forester’s children end up in constant conflict. The vixen manages to escape back to the forest, where she falls in love with a dog fox, marries him and has lots of cubs herself – and all the while, the forester misses her terribly. Janáček used folk songs, animal calls and the melody of human language to develop the musical matter of this »Moravian midsummer night’s dream«, from which Jakub Hrůša has compiled a brand-new suite. The suite’s intoxicating musical colours will also feature on the programme of our trip to the Janáček festival in Brno, where our principal conductor was born. There too, as in Bamberg, the suite will be followed by Richard Strauss’s »Alpine Symphony« – another great description of nature. Strauss chose the beloved mountains of his Bavarian homeland as his subject, creating an alpine »Tour d’orchestre« for an enormous orchestral apparatus including an organ, thunder and wind machine, and even cow bells! He said nonchalantly: »I wanted to compose a cow giving milk.« More than sixty motifs describe a nature experience that is easy to follow step by step when listening, thanks to the headings the composer noted meticulously in the score – an adventurous mountain hike starting at dawn and ending with an evening thunderstorm and the setting of the sun.

Konzerteinführung um 19.00 Uhr

Leoš Janáčeks spätromantische Oper »Das schlaue Füchslein« ist eine wunderbare Erzählung über die Geheimnisse und Sehnsüchte des Lebens. Sie basiert auf einer Bildergeschichte aus der Brünner Tageszeitung: Der Förster fängt im Wald eine junge Füchsin namens Schlaukopf und nimmt sie mit nach Hause. Doch mit seinem Hofdackel und den Kindern gibt es ständig Streit. Der Füchsin gelingt die Flucht zurück in den Wald, wo sie sich in einen Fuchs verliebt, ihn heiratet und viele Kinder bekommt – während der Förster sie schmerzlich vermisst. Aus Volksliedern, den Naturlauten der Tiere und der Melodik der menschlichen Sprache gewann Janáček die musikalische Substanz dieses »mährischen Sommernachtstraums« – aus dem Jakub Hrůša eine faszinierende Suite zusammengestellt hat. Mit dieser berauschenden Klangfarbenmusik fahren wir auch zwei Tage später zum Janáček-Festival in Brno, dem Geburtsort unseres Chefdirigenten. Auch dort, wie zuvor in Bamberg, folgt mit der »Alpensymphonie« von Richard Strauss eine weitere großartige Naturschilderung. Er wählte dafür die geliebten Berge seiner bayerischen Heimat als Sujet und schuf eine Komposition für einen enormen Orchesterapparat mitsamt Orgel, Donner- und Windmaschine – und auch Kuhglocken, schließlich sagte er nonchalant: »Ich hab’ einmal komponieren wollen, wie die Kuh die Milch gibt.« Mit mehr als sechzig Motiven wird das Naturerlebnis geschildert, das sich dank der vom Komponisten minutiös in die Partitur eingetragenen Überschriften beim Hören dieser alpinen »Tour d’orchestre« Schritt für Schritt unschwer verfolgen lässt – eine abenteuerliche Bergwanderung von der Morgendämmerung bis zum Abendgewitter und dem Untergang der Sonne.

Time

(Wednesday) 8:00 pm

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08oct8:30 pmParis, France - Orchestre de Paris - Kaprálová, Elgar, Dvořák8:30 pm Pierre Boulez Hall, Philharmonie Paris

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša, conductor
Gautier Capuçon, cello
Orchestre de Paris

Programme:
Vítězslava Kaprálová: Sinfonietta military
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”

Orchestre de Paris Note:
Next concert

© Felix Broede
Dominated by Czech music, this program confronts Dvořák’s imposing Ninth with the little-known genius of Vítězslava Kaprálová. As a counterpoint, Elgar’s Cello Concerto, whose name alone evokes British music.

Concise score, composed as a graduation work at the Prague Conservatory, the Military Sinfonietta, which the composer and conductor herself conducted in London in 1937, testifies to the art and maturity of the meteor of the music that was Kaprálová, who would certainly have become, without his tragic death at the age of 25, one of the major figures of twentieth century music. There she shows herself the worthy heir to the great Dvořák, whose Symphony “ Du Nouveau Monde ”, over the course of his movements composes a masterful heroic-legendary painting, based on the“ recreation ”of American melodies. Testamentary work, Gautier Capuçon’s Cello Concerto under the Bow, delivers the quintessence of the art of the English cantor in a subtle and condensed work, where the solo instrument, thanks to numerous recitatives, seems to speak to our ears.

Time

(Thursday) 8:30 pm

Location

Pierre Boulez Hall, Philharmonie Paris

221 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019

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07oct8:30 pmParis, France - Orchestre de Paris - Kaprálová, Elgar, Dvořák8:30 pm Pierre Boulez Hall, Philharmonie Paris

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša, conductor
Gautier Capuçon, cello
Orchestre de Paris

Programme:
Vítězslava Kaprálová: Sinfonietta military
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”

Orchestre de Paris Note:
Next concert

© Felix Broede
Dominated by Czech music, this program confronts Dvořák’s imposing Ninth with the little-known genius of Vítězslava Kaprálová. As a counterpoint, Elgar’s Cello Concerto, whose name alone evokes British music.

Concise score, composed as a graduation work at the Prague Conservatory, the Military Sinfonietta, which the composer and conductor herself conducted in London in 1937, testifies to the art and maturity of the meteor of the music that was Kaprálová, who would certainly have become, without his tragic death at the age of 25, one of the major figures of twentieth century music. There she shows herself the worthy heir to the great Dvořák, whose Symphony “ Du Nouveau Monde ”, over the course of his movements composes a masterful heroic-legendary painting, based on the“ recreation ”of American melodies. Testamentary work, Gautier Capuçon’s Cello Concerto under the Bow, delivers the quintessence of the art of the English cantor in a subtle and condensed work, where the solo instrument, thanks to numerous recitatives, seems to speak to our ears.

Time

(Wednesday) 8:30 pm

Location

Pierre Boulez Hall, Philharmonie Paris

221 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019

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18sep8:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Mendelssohn, R. Schumann, Brahms8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Piotr Anderszewski Piano
Bamberger Symphoniker

Programme:
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Overture The Hebrides op. 26
Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98

Bamberger Symphoniker Note:
Mendelssohn Bartholdy was inspired by a wide variety of ideas and experiences. During his 1829 trip to Scotland, the 20-year-old Mendelssohn embarked upon an adventurous steamboat trip, reporting: »The ladies keeled over like flies, as did one or two gentlemen.« He was particularly impressed by the Hebridean island of Staffa, with its famous cave of the mythic Gaelic king Fingal. Fingal’s Cave inspired Mendelssohn’s ingenious concert overture op. 26, which he said he wanted to »taste of salt air, cod-liver oil and gulls.« Besides naturalistic sound painting, including elements of Scottish folk music, the overture’s more profound concern is the loneliness experienced on this »legendary archipelago«.

Next, our former featured artist Piotr Anderszewski will dive into the pianistic wonder world of Schumann’s romantic A minor Concerto of 1845. Schumann immortalized his beloved wife in its music – in an anagram representing the letters of the name »Chiara«, Clara’s name in the popular »Davidsbündlertänze«, in musical notes. Clara raved about the concerto: »How richly inventive it is, how interesting from beginning to end, how fresh, and what a beautiful coherent whole!«

Brahms’ Fourth Symphony is equally exciting. Clara described it as a »servant of beauty and nobility«. Brahms wrote this symphony during the summer months of 1884 and 1885 while on holiday in Styria, but wondered whether it would »gain an audience«, commenting ironically: »I fear it tastes like the local climate – the cherries here don’t get sweet!« But this splendid symphony is certainly no bitter cherry: its use of motifs and themes is nothing short of remarkable, its movements interlock subtly, taking us on a wonderfully twisting voyage of discovery!

Konzerteinführung um 19.00 Uhr

Vielfältig waren die Anregungen, von denen sich Mendelssohn Bartholdy inspirieren ließ. 1829 unternahm der damals 20-Jährige in Schottland eine abenteuerliche Dampfschifffahrt und berichtete: »Die Ladies fielen um wie die Fliegen, und der ein oder andere Gentleman tat es ihnen gleich.« Besonders beeindruckte ihn die Hebriden-Insel Staffa mit der berühmten Höhle des mythischen Königs Fingal – und ließ ihn seine raffinierte Konzertouvertüre op. 26 schreiben, über die er sagte, sie solle »nach Salzluft, Lebertran und Möwen schmecken«. Doch neben naturalistischer Klangmalerei mitsamt schottischer Folklore ist das tiefgründigere Thema die Einsamkeit, die ein Mensch auf dieser »sagenumwobenen Inselgruppe« erlebt. Danach taucht unser ehemaliger Porträtkünstler Piotr Anderszewski in die pianistische Wunderwelt von Schumanns romantischem a-Moll-Konzert ein. In der Musik hat er 1845 seine geliebte Frau verewigt: in einem Anagramm, das die Tonbuchstaben des Namens Chiara darstellt – Claras Name in den beliebten »Davidsbündlertänzen«. Sie schwärmte über das Konzert: »Wie reich an Erfindung, wie interessant vom Anfang bis zum Ende ist es, wie frisch und welch ein schönes zusammenhängendes Ganzes!«

Ebenso spannend ist die vierte Symphonie von Brahms – die Clara als »Dienerin von Schönem und Noblem« charakterisierte. Brahms schrieb sie 1884 und 1885 in den Sommermonaten im Urlaub in der Steiermark – fragte sich aber ironisch, ob sie wohl »Publikum kriegen wird«: »Ich fürchte nämlich, sie schmeckt nach dem hiesigen Klima – die Kirschen hier werden nicht süß!« Doch um bittere Kirschen handelt es sich bei der grandiosen Symphonie keineswegs: Sie lebt von bemerkenswerter motivisch-thematischer Arbeit und subtiler Verklammerung der Sätze – eine wunderbar verschlungene Entdeckungsreise!

Time

(Friday) 8:00 pm

Location

Konzerthalle Bamberg

Mußstraße 1, 96047 Bamberg, Germany

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17sep8:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Opening Night Gala - Weber, Beethoven, Bruckner8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Piotr Anderszewski Piano
Bamberger Symphoniker

Carl Maria von Weber: Aufforderung zum Tanz Op. 65
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major

Bamberger Symphoniker Note:

We are launching our anniversary season by dancing – for, as Plato already said, »Dance is the art that moves the human soul the most.« Carl Maria von Weber created a truly rapturous waltz in his popular 1819 composition »Invitation to the Dance«. The work presents a humorous episode: a gentleman asks a lady to dance, but she refuses him. He keeps on trying persistently, and finally she gives in. The couple whirl across the dance floor, sometimes swaying gently, sometimes stomping wildly – and when the dance is over, the gentleman courteously takes his lady back to her seat. We are delighted that Piotr Anderszewski, our featured artist of 2014 / 15, will return as our guest and interpret a work by this year’s jubilarian: Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 of 1795 / 96 is actually his second, but was published first. A rhythmic main motif, festive virtuosity and brilliance, rapturous lyricism and the high-spirited dance-like finale characterise this fresh and youthful music.

This season’s opening concert with our principal conductor will conclude with a »river of sensations« – the Fourth Symphony by Bruckner, whose oeuvre was described as »actively agile, an ever-shifting spiritual radiance. What we love about Bruckner is his joy in being a traveller, a joy that had become lost.« In this concert, we will perform the symphony in the revised version of 1878 to 1880. Bruckner inscribed the name day of St. Cecilia, patron saint of music, at the end of the score. The final result is a romantic masterpiece with horn calls, birdsong, a funeral march, the sounds of country dances and a hunting scene. Bruckner said while composing the symphony: »Because the world in its present state is spiritually weak, I take flight to that which is strong, writing powerful music.«

Konzerteinführung um 19.00 Uhr

Tanzend starten wir in die Jubiläums-Saison – denn wie meinte doch bereits Platon: »Tanz ist die Kunst, die die Seele des Menschen am meisten bewegt.« Carl Maria von Weber schuf 1819 mit seiner populären Komposition »Aufforderung zum Tanz« einen wahren Walzerrausch. Dargestellt wird eine witzige Episode: Ein Herr fordert eine Dame zum Tanz auf, doch sie weist ihn zurück. Hartnäckig versucht er es weiter und endlich gibt sie nach. Auf der Tanzfläche dreht sich das Paar teils sanft wiegend, teils wild stampfend – und am Schluss bringt der Tänzer die Dame brav zu ihrem Platz zurück. Wir freuen uns, dass mit Piotr Anderszewski unser Porträtkünstler der Saison 2014 / 15 wieder zu Gast ist und ein Werk des diesjährigen Jubilars interpretiert: Beethovens erstes Klavierkonzert von 1795 / 96 ist eigentlich sein zweites, wurde aber als erstes veröffentlicht. Ein rhythmischer Grundgedanke, festlich-virtuoser Glanz, schwärmerische Lyrik und der übermütige Tanzgestus im Finale geben der jugendlich-frischen Musik das Gepräge.

Ein »Strom von Empfindungen« beendet den Saisonauftakt mit unserem Chefdirigenten – die vierte Symphonie von Bruckner, über dessen Œuvre es hieß: »Es erscheint tätige Beweglichkeit und sich wandelnde Ausstrahlung geistiger Art. Was wir an ihm lieben, das ist die ganz verloren gewesene Freude am Unterwegs.« Dieses Mal spielen wir die Symphonie in der revidierten Fassung der Jahre 1878 bis 1880. Unter die Partitur setzte Bruckner den Namenstag der heiligen Cäcilie, Schutzpatronin der Musik. Entstanden ist ein romantisches Meisterwerk mit Hornrufen, Vogelgezwitscher, Trauermarsch, Ländlerklängen und Jagdgeschehen – Bruckner sagte während der Komposition: »Weil die gegenwärtige Weltlage geistig gesehen Schwäche ist, flüchte ich zu Stärke und schreibe kraftvolle Musik.«

Time

(Thursday) 8:00 pm

Location

Konzerthalle Bamberg

Mußstraße 1, 96047 Bamberg, Germany

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14sep8:00 pmCzech Philharmonic - Beethoven, Suk8:00 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša conductor
Jan Mráček violin
Czech Philharmonic

Programme:
Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
Josef Suk: Asrael, Symphony in C minor, Op. 27

Czech Philharmonic Note:
Josef Suk began composing his funeral symphony Asrael while grieving over the death of his father-in-law Antonín Dvořák, then as he was working on the piece, Suk’s wife, Dvořák’s daughter Otilka, died as well. To this great work full of immense human suffering he gave the name of the Islamic and Hebrew angel of death. Gustav Mahler is, as it were, the unspoken godfather of Asrael. Suk’s symphonic masterpiece is both intoxicating and philosophical; it does not drive listeners to despair, but instead exhorts them to contemplate the inexorable nature of fate and to meditate on the eternal. Asrael is a symphony in which Suk recasts great personal sorrow into a masterpiece, a true milestone of Czech symphonic music, and a work worthy of standing alongside the world’s greatest compositions of the early twentieth century. The conductor Jakub Hrůša and the Czech Philharmonic will perform Asrael using the critical edition published in 2018 by Bärenreiter, which is based on not only Suk’s manuscript, but also corrections made later at the initiative of Václav Talich. On the first part of the programme will be the Violin Concerto in D Major by Ludwig van Beethoven with the outstanding violinist Jan Mráček playing the solo part.

Smuteční symfonii Asrael začal Josef Suk tvořit pod dojmem úmrtí svého tchána Antonína Dvořáka, v průběhu práce však zemřela i Sukova manželka a Dvořákova dcera Otilka. Velkému dílu plnému mužného a rozlehlého smutku dal jméno islámský či hebrejský anděl smrti, nevysloveným kmotrem Asraela jako by byl Gustav Mahler. Sukovo vrcholné symfonické dílo je stejně omamné a filozofující, nevnucuje posluchačům zoufalství, ale pobízí je k přemýšlení o nezvratnosti osudu a také o věčnosti. Asrael je symfonie, ve které se obrovský osobní smutek přetavil do mistrovského díla, opravdového milníku v české symfonické tvorbě a rovnocenné součásti špičkové světové tvorby začátku dvacátého století. Dirigent Jakub Hrůša a Česká filharmonie provedou Asraela z kritické edice, kterou v roce 2018 vydalo nakladatelství Bärenreiter. Ta vychází nejen ze Sukova rukopisu, ale také z jeho korektur, které později inicioval Václav Talich. V první části programu zazní Houslový koncert D dur Ludwiga van Beethovena, jehož sólový part provede vynikající houslista Jan Mráček.

Time

(Monday) 8:00 pm

Location

Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

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10aug7:30 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Gershwin, Bernstein, Grofé7:30 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

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Event Details

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Kirill Gerstein Piano
Bamberger Symphoniker

Programme:
George Gershwin: Cuban Ouverture
Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story Suite for Orchestra
Ferde Grofé: Huckleberry Finn and Mississippi suites
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue for Piano and Orchestra
Leonard Bernstein: Candide Overture

Bamberger Symphoniker Note:
This concert will light a musical firework display to mark the end of the year. According to Gershwin, his »Cuban Overture« of 1932 was the fruit of »two hysterical weeks in Cuba«. This spirited work combines dances such as the rumba, new percussion instruments and folk songs such as the famous »Échale Salsita«. In his »Rhapsody in Blue«, first performed in 1924, Gershwin wanted to depict the »musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot«. This masterpiece features a loose arrangement of swing themes, sparkling rhythms and blues elements. Kirill Gerstein will be our soloist. Music composed by Ferde Grofé in 1926 will take us on a journey to the »father of waters«: We will conjure up the adventures of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn as he travels down the Mississippi River in search of a better life. Bernstein created a smash hit with his »West Side Story«, a modern version of Shakespeare’s »Romeo and Juliet« that tells the story of the struggle between two street gangs and a love affair across the divide between them. His »Symphonic Dances« contain famous melodies such as the hopeful song »Somewhere« as well as lush sound effects with numerous Latin rhythms. Bernstein’s comic operetta »Candide«, based on Voltaire’s social satire, was written in 1956 and is a fast-paced musical journey through various European countries and South America. Loriot described the work humorously: »Candide loves Cunigunde, and we accompany the couple – usually separately – on a kind of adventure holiday. On this trip, the likeable lovers take in everything that makes contemporary tourism so entertaining.«

Zum beschwingten Jahresausklang zünden wir ein rhythmisches Feuerwerk. Laut Gershwins Aussage ist seine »Cuban Overture« von 1932 die Frucht »zweier wahnsinniger Wochen in Kuba«. Tänze wie Rumba, neuartige Schlaginstrumente und Volkslieder wie das damals berühmte »Échale Salsita« hat er in dem temperamentvollen Werk vereint. Mit seiner 1924 uraufgeführten »Rhapsody in Blue« wollte er ein »musikalisches Kaleidoskop Amerikas – unseres ungeheuren Schmelztiegels« zeichnen. Swingthemen, zündende Rhythmen und Blueselemente erscheinen in dem Meisterwerk in einer lockeren Fügung. Prominenter Solist dafür ist Kirill Gerstein. Mit der 1926 komponierten Musik von Ferde Grofé gibt es einen Ausflug zum »Vater der Gewässer«: Wir beschwören die Abenteuer von Huckleberry Finn herauf, der auf der Suche nach einem besseren Leben in Mark Twains Geschichte den Mississippi hinabzieht. Bernstein schuf einen Gassenhauer mit seiner »West Side Story«, der modernen Version von Shakespeares »Romeo und Julia«: ein Kampf zweier Straßenbanden und die Geschichte einer Liebesbeziehung, die über die Fronten hinweg existiert. Die »Symphonischen Tänze« enthalten berühmte Melodien wie die des hoffnungsvollen Liedes »Somewhere«, außerdem üppige Klangwirkungen mit zahlreichen Latin-Rhythmen. Bernsteins komische Operette »Candide« nach Voltaires Gesellschaftssatire entstand 1956 und ist ein rasanter musikalischer Streifzug durch verschiedene europäische Länder bis nach Südamerika. Loriot umschrieb das Werk mit den humorvollen Worten: »Candide liebt Cunigunde, und wir begleiten das Paar – meist getrennt – auf einer Art Abenteuerurlaub, wobei die sympathischen Liebesleute sich nichts entgehen lassen, was den zeitgemäßen Tourismus so kurzweilig gestaltet.«

Time

(Monday) 7:30 pm

Location

Konzerthalle Bamberg

Mußstraße 1, 96047 Bamberg, Germany

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28jun2:00 pmNetherlands Opera - Rusalka2:00 pm Dutch National Opera

26jun7:00 pmNetherlands Opera - Rusalka7:00 pm Dutch National Opera

23jun7:00 pmNetherlands Opera - Rusalka7:00 pm Dutch National Opera

20jun7:00 pmNetherlands Opera - Rusalka7:00 pm Dutch National Opera

19jun8:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - ETTAL8:00 pm Ettal Abbey

16jun7:00 pmNetherlands Opera - Rusalka7:00 pm Dutch National Opera

14jun2:00 pmNetherlands Opera - Rusalka2:00 pm Dutch National Opera

09jun7:00 pmNetherlands Opera - Rusalka7:00 pm Dutch National Opera

06jun7:00 pmNetherlands Opera - Rusalka7:00 pm Dutch National Opera

26apr3:00 pmPhilharmonia Orchestra - FANTASY AND FAIRYTALES3:00 pm Royal Festival Hall

21apr8:00 pmCZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - HAMBURG8:00 pm Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

20apr8:00 pmCZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - HAMBURG8:00 pm Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

17apr7:30 pmCzech Philharmonic - Káťa Kabanová7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

15apr7:30 pmCzech Philharmonic - Káťa Kabanová7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

09apr7:30 pmCzech Philharmonic - Káťa Kabanová7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

04apr8:00 pmChicago Symphony Orchestra - BRAHMS 48:00 pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra

03apr1:30 pmChicago Symphony Orchestra - BRAHMS 41:30 pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra

02apr8:00 pmChicago Symphony Orchestra - BRAHMS 48:00 pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra

28mar7:30 pmACCADEMIA NAZIONALE DI SANTA CECILIA - ROME7:30 pm Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome

08mar8:00 pmCZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - FREIBURG8:00 pm Freiburg Concert Hall

07mar8:00 pmCZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - Friedrichshafen8:00 pm Graf-Zeppelin-Haus

06mar8:00 pmCZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - STUTTGART8:00 pm Kultur- & Kongresszentrum Liederhalle

04mar8:00 pmCZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - COLOGNE8:00 pm Kölner Philharmonie

03mar8:00 pmCZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA - FRANKFURT8:00 pm Alte Oper Frankfurt

13feb7:30 pmBAMBERG SYMPHONY - MADRID7:30 pm Auditorio Nacional de Musica, Madrid

12feb7:30 pmBAMBERG SYMPHONY - MADRID7:30 pm Auditorio Nacional de Musica, Madrid

11feb7:30 pmBAMBERG SYMPHONY - VALENCIA7:30 pm Palau De La Musica, Valencia

09feb8:00 pmBAMBERG SYMPHONY - DVOŘÁK AND BRAHMS8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg Joseph-Keilberth-Saal

08feb8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Elgar8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

06feb8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Dvořák and Brahms8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

05feb8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Beethoven, Elgar and Dvořák8:00 pm Meistersingerhalle

31jan7:30 pmCzech Philharmonic - Piotr Anderszewski7:30 pm Rudolfinum

30jan7:30 pmCzech Philharmonic - Piotr Anderszewski7:30 pm Rudolfinum

29jan7:30 pmCzech Philharmonic - Piotr Anderszewski7:30 pm Rudolfinum

26jan4:00 pmRUNDFUNK-SINFONIEORCHESTER BERLIN - BERLIN4:00 pm Berliner Philharmonie

19jan8:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - HÉLÈNE GRIMAUD PLAYS RAVEL8:00 pm Alte Oper

18jan8:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel8:00 pm Kölner Philharmonie

17jan8:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - HÉLÈNE GRIMAUD PLAYS RAVEL8:00 pm Theater und Philharmonie Essen GmbH

15jan8:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - HÉLÈNE GRIMAUD PLAYS RAVEL8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg Joseph-Keilberth-Saal

12jan7:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Hélène Grimaud plays Mozart7:00 pm Gasteig, Munich

11jan7:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Hélène Grimaud plays Mozart7:00 pm Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

10jan8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Hélène Grimaud plays Mozart8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

09jan8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Hélène Grimaud plays Mozart8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

01jan8:00 pmCzech Philharmonic New Year’s Concert8:00 pm Rudolfinum

22dec8:00 amBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - TOUR8:00 am Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

21dec7:30 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Tour7:30 pm HCC Hannover Congress Centrum

20dec8:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Tour8:00 pm Tonhalle Düsseldorf

19dec8:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - TOUR8:00 pm Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

14dec7:00 pmBerlin Philharmonic - Kabel, Dvok, Berlioz and Bartók7:00 pm Berliner Philharmonie

13dec8:00 pmBerlin Philharmonic - Kabel, Dvok, Berlioz and Bartók8:00 pm Berliner Philharmonie

12dec8:00 pmBerlin Philharmonic - Kabel, Dvok, Berlioz and Bartók8:00 pm Berliner Philharmonie

08dec3:00 pmPhilharmonia Orchestra - JAKUB HRŮŠA CONDUCTS MOZART AND BEETHOVEN3:00 pm Royal Festival Hall

06dec8:00 pmOrchestre Philharmonique de Radio France - MAHLER, TITAN8:00 pm Grand Auditorium

05dec7:00 pmOrchestre Philharmonique de Radio France - DAPHNIS AND CHLOÉ, EMMANUEL KRIVINE7:00 pm Radio France - Maison de la radio - Foyer F

23nov8:00 pmNew York Philharmonic - Saint-Saëns and Dvořák8:00 pm New York Philharmonic - David Geffen Hall

22nov11:00 amNew York Philharmonic - Saint-Saëns and Dvořák11:00 am New York Philharmonic - David Geffen Hall

21nov7:30 pmNew York Philharmonic - Saint-Saëns and Dvořák7:30 pm New York Philharmonic - David Geffen Hall

17nov3:00 pmTHE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA - CLEVELAND3:00 pm Severance Hall

16nov8:00 pmTHE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA - CLEVELAND8:00 pm Severance Hall

14nov7:30 pmTHE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA - CLEVELAND7:30 pm Severance Hall

10nov3:00 pmTHE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA - CLEVELAND3:00 pm Severance Hall

09nov8:00 pmTHE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA - CLEVELAND8:00 pm Severance Hall

08nov8:00 pmTHE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA - CLEVELAND8:00 pm Severance Hall

07nov7:30 pmTHE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA - CLEVELAND7:30 pm Severance Hall

01nov8:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - BEIJING8:00 pm National Centre for Performing Arts Beijing

29oct8:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - DALIAN8:00 pm Dalian People's Culture Club

27oct8:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - WUXI8:00 pm Wuxi Grand Theatre

26oct8:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - SHANGHAI8:00 pm Shangyin Opera House

25oct8:00 pmBAMBERG SYMPHONIKER - HEFEI8:00 pm Hefei Grand Theatre

22oct7:00 pmZurich Opera new production (dir. Tcherniakov) - Opernhaus7:00 pm Opernhaus, Zürich

20oct5:00 pmBAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER - VILDE FRANG PLAYS BRUCH5:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg Joseph-Keilberth-Saal

19oct8:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Vilde Frang plays Bruch8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg Joseph-Keilberth-Saal

19oct5:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Vilde Frang plays Bruch5:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg Joseph-Keilberth-Saal

17oct7:30 pmZurich Opera new production (dir. Tcherniakov) - Opernhaus7:30 pm Opernhaus, Zürich

13oct2:00 pmZurich Opera new production (dir. Tcherniakov) - Opernhaus2:00 pm Opernhaus, Zürich

09oct7:00 pmZurich Opera new production (dir. Tcherniakov) - Opernhaus7:00 pm Opernhaus, Zürich

06oct8:00 pmZurich Opera new production (dir. Tcherniakov) - Opernhaus8:00 pm Opernhaus, Zürich

02oct8:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Wagner, Martinů and Brahms8:00 pm Kurhaus

30sep8:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Wagner, Martinů and Brahms8:00 pm Heinrich-Lades-Halle

29sep5:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Season Opening5:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

28sep7:00 pmZurich Opera new production (dir. Tcherniakov) - Opernhaus7:00 pm Opernhaus, Zürich

27sep8:00 pmBamberger Symphoniker - Season Opening8:00 pm Konzerthalle Bamberg

25sep7:00 pmZurich Opera new production (dir. Tcherniakov) - Opernhaus7:00 pm Opernhaus, Zürich

22sep7:00 pmZurich Opera new production (dir. Tcherniakov) - Opernhaus7:00 pm Opernhaus, Zürich

27aug7:30 pmMahler Chamber Orchestra / Lucerne Festival7:30 pm KKL Luzern, Concert Hall

03aug8:30 pmMAHLER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - Sala Argenta · Palacio de Festivales8:30 pm Sala Argenta · Palacio de Festivales

02aug8:00 pmMAHLER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - KURSAAL AUDITORIUM8:00 pm Kursaal Auditorium

01aug8:00 pmMAHLER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - KURSAAL AUDITORIUM8:00 pm Kursaal Auditorium

20jul7:30 pm10:00 pmProm 2: Bohemian Rhapsody7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

18jul8:00 pmBAMBERG SYMPHONY - CONCERTGEBOUW, AMSTERDAM8:00 pm Concertgebouw

16jul7:00 pmBAMBERG SYMPHONY - WIESBADEN, GERMANY7:00 pm Kurhaus Wiesbaden

01jul6:30 pmMelbourne Symphony Orchestra - Melbourne, Australia6:30 pm Hamer Hall

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Event Details

Featuring

Jakub Hrůša conductor
Vadim Gluzman violin

Program

Dvořák The Wood Dove
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition

About the performance

Brilliant young Czech maestro Jakub Hrůša returns to the MSO with Dvořák’s subtly scored orchestral ballad, The Wood Dove, based on a Czech legend of infatuation and murder in a rural village. A muted funeral march, a typical Dvořákian wedding dance and the tragic epilogue, relieved by the song of the wood dove. Ukranian-born Vadim Gluzman is a superb violinist of the Russian school and his interpretation of the beloved Tchaikovsky concerto with its fiery virtuosity and wistful poetry is not to be missed.

Mussorgsky’s wrote his famous memorial to his dear friend, the artist Victor Harmann in the form of a suite of piano pieces depicting the composer “roving through the exhibition, now leisurely, now briskly, in order to come closer to a picture that had attracted his attention, and at times sadly, thinking of his departed friend.”

Ravel was on his own mission when he orchestrated the suite in 1922. With a strong experimental impulse he introduces new sounds with the saxophone and celeste, and explores the outermost reaches of instrumental possibilities in his search for new colours and contrasts. Revel in Ravel’s great 20th century orchestral showpiece.

Time

(Monday) 6:30 pm

Location

Hamer Hall

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29jun7:30 pmMelbourne Symphony Orchestra - Melbourne, Australia7:30 pm Hamer Hall

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Event Details

Featuring

Jakub Hrůša conductor
Vadim Gluzman violin

Program

Dvořák The Wood Dove
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition

About the performance

Brilliant young Czech maestro Jakub Hrůša returns to the MSO with Dvořák’s subtly scored orchestral ballad, The Wood Dove, based on a Czech legend of infatuation and murder in a rural village. A muted funeral march, a typical Dvořákian wedding dance and the tragic epilogue, relieved by the song of the wood dove. Ukranian-born Vadim Gluzman is a superb violinist of the Russian school and his interpretation of the beloved Tchaikovsky concerto with its fiery virtuosity and wistful poetry is not to be missed.

Mussorgsky’s wrote his famous memorial to his dear friend, the artist Victor Harmann in the form of a suite of piano pieces depicting the composer “roving through the exhibition, now leisurely, now briskly, in order to come closer to a picture that had attracted his attention, and at times sadly, thinking of his departed friend.”

Ravel was on his own mission when he orchestrated the suite in 1922. With a strong experimental impulse he introduces new sounds with the saxophone and celeste, and explores the outermost reaches of instrumental possibilities in his search for new colours and contrasts. Revel in Ravel’s great 20th century orchestral showpiece.

Time

(Saturday) 7:30 pm

Location

Hamer Hall

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28jun7:30 pmMelbourne Symphony Orchestra - Melbourne, Australia7:30 pm Hamer Hall

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Event Details

Featuring

Jakub Hrůša conductor
Vadim Gluzman violin

Program

Dvořák The Wood Dove
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition

About the performance

Brilliant young Czech maestro Jakub Hrůša returns to the MSO with Dvořák’s subtly scored orchestral ballad, The Wood Dove, based on a Czech legend of infatuation and murder in a rural village. A muted funeral march, a typical Dvořákian wedding dance and the tragic epilogue, relieved by the song of the wood dove. Ukranian-born Vadim Gluzman is a superb violinist of the Russian school and his interpretation of the beloved Tchaikovsky concerto with its fiery virtuosity and wistful poetry is not to be missed.

Mussorgsky’s wrote his famous memorial to his dear friend, the artist Victor Harmann in the form of a suite of piano pieces depicting the composer “roving through the exhibition, now leisurely, now briskly, in order to come closer to a picture that had attracted his attention, and at times sadly, thinking of his departed friend.”

Ravel was on his own mission when he orchestrated the suite in 1922. With a strong experimental impulse he introduces new sounds with the saxophone and celeste, and explores the outermost reaches of instrumental possibilities in his search for new colours and contrasts. Revel in Ravel’s great 20th century orchestral showpiece.

Time

(Friday) 7:30 pm

Location

Hamer Hall

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16may7:30 pmPhilharmonia Orchestra - London, United Kingdom7:30 pm Royal Festival Hall

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Jakub Hrůša conductor

Karen Gomyo violin

SCHUBERT Symphony No. 8, Unfinished

MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto

–interval–

BRAHMS Symphony No. 3

Immerse yourself in a programme of three great works of German Romanticism, conducted by the Philharmonia’s Principal Guest Conductor, Jakub Hrůša.

The two completed movements of Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 are an object lesson in orchestral writing. Opening with a whisper from cellos and double basses, the music bubbles up into what a critic at the first performance described as ‘a sweet stream of melodies… so crystal-clear that you can see every pebble on the bottom’.

Mendelssohn’s much-loved Violin Concerto, too, brims with lyricism. Mendelssohn wrote it for his childhood friend Ferdinand David, leader of the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, and it quickly attained the status it retains today as one of the essential works in the violin repertoire.

Brahms was at the height of his powers when he composed his Third Symphony, no longer assailed by self-doubt as he was with his First (performed on 4 November 2018). He built into each movement the motif F – A flat – F, standing for his personal motto ‘Frei aber Froh’, ‘free but happy’, and created a masterpiece, full of intensity and drama as well as moments of quiet, reflective beauty.

Time

(Thursday) 7:30 pm

Location

Royal Festival Hall

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8XX

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04may8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Bamberg, Germany8:00 pm Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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Jakub Hrůša conducts Dvořák, Lundquist, Brahms and Glanert

Abo D
Bamberg, Konzerthalle, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal
20:00 Uhr

Not every story has a happy ending! For his symphonic poem, Dvořák selected a subject-matter from his fellow countryman Karel Jaromír Erben’s ballad collection »Kytice«: the »Wood Pigeon« is based upon an old Bohemian legend about the feigned sorrow of a woman who murdered her husband to marry her lover. The pigeon’s song becomes the voice of her conscience, accusing her ceaselessly until she kills herself in despair. A funeral march runs through the entire tone poem – although Dvořák brings the piece to a conciliatory conclusion. After this, an instrument only rarely in the spotlight will make a grand appearance: our orchestra’s tuba player, Heiko Triebener, will interpret the multifaceted concerto »Landscape« by Torbjörn Ivan Lundquist. In his works, the Swedish composer was always concerned with »the essence of life; not to escape reality, but to reinstate it.« His tuba concerto is a fascinating and virtuoso exploration of the specific sound of the lowest brass instrument. Lundquist was struck with the idea for this piece on the west coast of Sweden: »The title alludes to the ideal state of nature or a landscape before its ecological balance is disturbed – and this also applies metaphorically to the inner ‘landscape’ of human beings.« Brahms’s Second Symphony was also shaped by the experience of nature: drafted during a summer on the Wörthersee, it is occasionally referred to as his »Pastoral Symphony«. Many of its passages seem to be flooded with sunlight, like the place it was written – but the composer also warned a friend: »You will never have heard anything filled with greater Weltschmerz.« To conclude, we will be performing a brand new work by the musical magician Detlev Glanert, whose music is always moving. We can all look forward to the premiere of his »angry« Allegro!

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Heiko Triebener Tuba

Antonín Dvořák »Die Waldtaube«, Symphonische Dichtung op. 110
Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist »Landscape« für Tuba und Streicher
Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2 D major op. 73
Detlev Glanert encore! Uraufführung einer Zugabe

Tickets

Time

(Saturday) 8:00 pm

Location

Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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03may8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Bamberg, Germany8:00 pm Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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Jakub Hrůša conducts Dvořák, Lundquist, Brahms and Glanert

Abo A / Schüler-Abo
Bamberg, Konzerthalle, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal
20:00 Uhr

Not every story has a happy ending! For his symphonic poem, Dvořák selected a subject-matter from his fellow countryman Karel Jaromír Erben’s ballad collection »Kytice«: the »Wood Pigeon« is based upon an old Bohemian legend about the feigned sorrow of a woman who murdered her husband to marry her lover. The pigeon’s song becomes the voice of her conscience, accusing her ceaselessly until she kills herself in despair. A funeral march runs through the entire tone poem – although Dvořák brings the piece to a conciliatory conclusion. After this, an instrument only rarely in the spotlight will make a grand appearance: our orchestra’s tuba player, Heiko Triebener, will interpret the multifaceted concerto »Landscape« by Torbjörn Ivan Lundquist. In his works, the Swedish composer was always concerned with »the essence of life; not to escape reality, but to reinstate it.« His tuba concerto is a fascinating and virtuoso exploration of the specific sound of the lowest brass instrument. Lundquist was struck with the idea for this piece on the west coast of Sweden: »The title alludes to the ideal state of nature or a landscape before its ecological balance is disturbed – and this also applies metaphorically to the inner ‘landscape’ of human beings.« Brahms’s Second Symphony was also shaped by the experience of nature: drafted during a summer on the Wörthersee, it is occasionally referred to as his »Pastoral Symphony«. Many of its passages seem to be flooded with sunlight, like the place it was written – but the composer also warned a friend: »You will never have heard anything filled with greater Weltschmerz.« To conclude, we will be performing a brand new work by the musical magician Detlev Glanert, whose music is always moving. We can all look forward to the premiere of his »angry« Allegro!

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Heiko Triebener Tuba

Antonín Dvořák »Die Waldtaube«, Symphonische Dichtung op. 110
Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist »Landscape« für Tuba und Streicher
Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2 D major op. 73
Detlev Glanert encore! Uraufführung einer Zugabe

Time

(Friday) 8:00 pm

Location

Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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27apr8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Bamberg, Germany8:00 pm Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

18apr7:00 pmBohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Zlín - Zlín, Czech Republic7:00 pm Zlín Congress Centre

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Leoš Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen, Suite and two opera extracts (arranged by Jakub Hrůša)
Robert Schumann: Symphony no. 2 in C, Op. 61

Soloists:
Vixen: Kateřina Kněžíková, soprano
Fox: Alžběta Poláčková, soprano
Forester: Svatopluk Sem, baritone
BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Conductor: Jakub Hrůša

Leoš Janáček’s three-act opera The Cunning Little Vixen is based on motifs of Rudolf Těsnohlídek’s tale of the same name which came out first in serial form in the newspaper ‘Lidové Noviny’ and subsequently in book form. Janáček wrote the opera, his seventh, from 1921-1923 and over time it has become one of his most frequently performed operas. In addition to its unprecedented melodic inventiveness, striking eloquence and correspondingly dramatic denouement, an interesting feature of the work is the characters’ use of fox dialect and the slang used by woodcutters in the Adamov area. Tonight the Orchestra performs the full suite and two extracts from the opera, with the solo parts sung by the Prague National Theatre’s Opera Company sopranos Kateřina Kněžíková and Alžběta Poláčková, and leading baritone and 2017 Thália Prize winner Svatopluk Sem.

The four symphonies written by Robert Schumann represent a conceptual link between those of Beethoven and Brahms. His third C-major symphony was completed in 1846 but is designated Symphony no. 2 because Schumann revised the original second symphony in D minor a few years after it was written. Opus 61, as performed by the Orchestra tonight, is the result of Schumann’s strong yearning from within to extricate himself from a creative crisis of sorts and redeem some of his earlier less successful compositions.

Both tonight’s works are played by the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic under the baton of Jakub Hrůša, who is justly recognised as one of the world’s top-flight conductors.

Time

(Thursday) 7:00 pm

Location

Zlín Congress Centre

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14apr3:00 pmNHK Symphony Orchestra - Tokyo, Japan3:00 pm NHK Hall

13apr6:00 pmNHK Symphony Orchestra - Tokyo, Japan6:00 pm NHK Hall

06apr8:00 pmChicago Symphony Orchestra - Chicago, USA8:00 pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra

05apr1:30 pmChicago Symphony Orchestra - Chicago, USA1:30 pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra

04apr8:00 pmChicago Symphony Orchestra - Chicago, USA8:00 pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra

31mar3:00 pmSt. Louis Symphony Orchestra - St. Louis, USA3:00 pm Powell Hall

30mar8:00 pmSt. Louis Symphony Orchestra - St. Louis, USA8:00 pm Powell Hall

29mar8:00 pmSt. Louis Symphony Orchestra - St. Louis, USA8:00 pm Powell Hall

22mar8:00 pmLeipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra - Leipzig, Germany8:00 pm Grosser Saal, Gewandhaus

21mar8:00 pmLeipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra - Leipzig, Germany8:00 pm Grosser Saal, Gewandhaus

10mar7:30 pmWiener Symphoniker - Vienna, Austria7:30 pm Wien Konzerthaus

08mar7:30 pmWiener Symphoniker - Vienna, Austria7:30 pm Wien Konzerthaus

23feb6:00 pmOrchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Rome, Italy6:00 pm Sala Santa Cecilia

22feb8:30 pmOrchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Rome, Italy8:30 pm Sala Santa Cecilia

21feb7:30 pmOrchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Rome, Italy7:30 pm Sala Santa Cecilia

17feb7:30 pmPhilharmonia Orchestra - London, United Kingdom7:30 pm Royal Festival Hall

15feb8:30 pmBamberg Symphony - Paris, France8:30 pm Philharmonie

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Jakub Hrůša conducts Mozart and Mendelssohn Bartholdy

Erlangen, Heinrich-Lades-Halle
20:00 Uhr

Wondrous enchantment of the faery realm! While composing his outstanding violin concerto, Mendelssohn said: »I sense that with each piece, I am getting closer to writing precisely what I feel in my heart.« The concerto was soon described as an »evergreen«: it was written in 1844 during a happy summer holiday in Bad Soden in the Taunus. In his letters, Mendelssohn waxed lyrical about the many flowers, the unbelievable pear and apple trees and century-old oaks. He produced a work with numerous magical melodies, full of scintillating drama and elvish romance. Mendelssohn dedicated the concerto to Ferdinand David, who promised that he would »practice it so well that the angels in heaven will rejoice«. Not only the angels will rejoice to hear our soloist Serge Zimmermann’s masterful interpretation! Our concerts will combine Mendelssohn’s concerto with Mozart’s popular last symphonies, which were written in a veritable creative frenzy during a time of great financial difficulty. Despite these obstacles, Mozart created musical milestones and a »divine legacy« for those that followed after him. The symphonies give musical expression to a range of different emotions – including unrest, passion and agitation, lamentation and despair. Under our principal conductor’s baton, we will also be bringing a famous »Punch« character of Russian popular theatre to the concert stage: Stravinsky took the »terrible confusion« of the tragicomic tale of Petrushka as the basis for a ballet with numerous stylised folk melodies, a large dash of irony and a brilliantly sophisticated sound palette – and the suite is likewise a true symphonic »play about the eternal misfortunes of the fairground hero«!

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Serge Zimmermann Violin

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphonie Nr. 40 g-Moll KV 550
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Konzert für Violine und Orchester e-Moll op. 64
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphonie Nr. 41 C-Dur KV 551 »Jupiter«

Time

(Tuesday) 8:00 pm

Location

Heinrich-Lades-Halle

Rathausplatz, 91052 Erlangen, Germany

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04feb8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Wiesbaden, Germany8:00 pm Kurhaus Wiesbaden

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Jakub Hrůša and Serge Zimmermann in Wiesbaden

20:00 Uhr

Wondrous enchantment of the faery realm! While composing his outstanding violin concerto, Mendelssohn said: »I sense that with each piece, I am getting closer to writing precisely what I feel in my heart.« The concerto was soon described as an »evergreen«: it was written in 1844 during a happy summer holiday in Bad Soden in the Taunus. In his letters, Mendelssohn waxed lyrical about the many flowers, the unbelievable pear and apple trees and century-old oaks. He produced a work with numerous magical melodies, full of scintillating drama and elvish romance. Mendelssohn dedicated the concerto to Ferdinand David, who promised that he would »practice it so well that the angels in heaven will rejoice«. Not only the angels will rejoice to hear our soloist Serge Zimmermann’s masterful interpretation! Our concerts will combine Mendelssohn’s concerto with Mozart’s popular last symphonies, which were written in a veritable creative frenzy during a time of great financial difficulty. Despite these obstacles, Mozart created musical milestones and a »divine legacy« for those that followed after him. The symphonies give musical expression to a range of different emotions – including unrest, passion and agitation, lamentation and despair. Under our principal conductor’s baton, we will also be bringing a famous »Punch« character of Russian popular theatre to the concert stage: Stravinsky took the »terrible confusion« of the tragicomic tale of Petrushka as the basis for a ballet with numerous stylised folk melodies, a large dash of irony and a brilliantly sophisticated sound palette – and the suite is likewise a true symphonic »play about the eternal misfortunes of the fairground hero«!

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Serge Zimmermann Violin

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphonie Nr. 40 g-Moll KV 550
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Konzert für Violine und Orchester e-Moll op. 64
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphonie Nr. 41 C-Dur KV 551 »Jupiter«

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Time

(Monday) 8:00 pm

Location

Kurhaus Wiesbaden

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02feb8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Bamberg, Germany8:00 pm Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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Jakub Hrůša conducts Mozart, Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Strawinski

Abo C
Bamberg, Konzerthalle, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal
20:00 Uhr

Wondrous enchantment of the faery realm! While composing his outstanding violin concerto, Mendelssohn said: »I sense that with each piece, I am getting closer to writing precisely what I feel in my heart.« The concerto was soon described as an »evergreen«: it was written in 1844 during a happy summer holiday in Bad Soden in the Taunus. In his letters, Mendelssohn waxed lyrical about the many flowers, the unbelievable pear and apple trees and century-old oaks. He produced a work with numerous magical melodies, full of scintillating drama and elvish romance. Mendelssohn dedicated the concerto to Ferdinand David, who promised that he would »practice it so well that the angels in heaven will rejoice«. Not only the angels will rejoice to hear our soloist Serge Zimmermann’s masterful interpretation! Our concerts will combine Mendelssohn’s concerto with Mozart’s popular last symphonies, which were written in a veritable creative frenzy during a time of great financial difficulty. Despite these obstacles, Mozart created musical milestones and a »divine legacy« for those that followed after him. The symphonies give musical expression to a range of different emotions – including unrest, passion and agitation, lamentation and despair. Under our principal conductor’s baton, we will also be bringing a famous »Punch« character of Russian popular theatre to the concert stage: Stravinsky took the »terrible confusion« of the tragicomic tale of Petrushka as the basis for a ballet with numerous stylised folk melodies, a large dash of irony and a brilliantly sophisticated sound palette – and the suite is likewise a true symphonic »play about the eternal misfortunes of the fairground hero«!

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Serge Zimmermann Violin

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphonie Nr. 40 g-Moll KV 550
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Konzert für Violine und Orchester e-Moll op. 64
Igor Strawinski »Petruschka« (Fassung 1947)

Time

(Saturday) 8:00 pm

Location

Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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24jan7:30 pmCzech Philharmonic - Prague, Czech Republic7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

23jan7:30 pmCzech Philharmonic - Prague, Czech Republic7:30 pm Rudolfinum Dvorak Hall

19jan8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Bamberg, Germany8:00 pm Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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Jakub Hrůša conducts Copland, Martinů and Mozart

Abo C
Bamberg, Konzerthalle, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal
20:00 Uhr

In this concert, we will be welcoming two notable soloists as our virtuoso storytellers! This year’s featured artist, Martin Fröst, will play the Clarinet Concerto by Aaron Copland – a key figure of American music, a music that always »speaks of the universal«. Listening to the luxuriant concerto, one can tell that Copland also wrote the scores for a number of films. This work was written for the legendary clarinettist Benny Goodman – and thus combines jazz elements with symphonic traits in a congenial manner. The Czech composer Martinů said of his Fourth Piano Concerto: »The artist is always searching for the meaning of life, that of his own life and that of humanity, searching for truth.« Martinů wrote this splendidly colourful work, which Ivo Kahánek will interpret for us, in 1956 during his exile in America. It bears the epithet »Incantation«, using magical spells to conjure up far-off worlds in its strikingly dramatic music. Martinů also said the following: »It is absolutely clear to me what our contemporary music is lacking: a Mozart!« We will conclude by paying tribute to Viennese classicism: Mozart wrote his three last symphonies in an incredibly brief period of just under ten weeks – a phase during which he was struggling with considerable financial difficulties. However, none of the works reveals much despair, and the »Jupiter« symphony was even praised as the »greatest triumph of instrumental composition«. Nobody really knows where its later title comes from, however. One biographer wrote: »Perhaps an excellent literary scholar – maybe even a journalist – gave it this name, which did not contain any kind of ‘programme’, of course, but referred to a characteristic. But why should we not be allowed to think of a god of the ancient world when entering this musical landscape?«

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Martin Fröst Clarinet
Ivo Kahánek Piano

Aaron Copland Konzert für Klarinette und Orchester
Bohuslav Martinů Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 4 »Incantation«
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphonie Nr. 41 C-Dur KV 551 »Jupiter«

Time

(Saturday) 8:00 pm

Location

Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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18jan8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Bamberg, Germany8:00 pm Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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Jakub Hrůša conducts Copland, Martinů and Mozart

Abo C
Bamberg, Konzerthalle, Joseph-Keilberth-Saal
20:00 Uhr

In this concert, we will be welcoming two notable soloists as our virtuoso storytellers! This year’s featured artist, Martin Fröst, will play the Clarinet Concerto by Aaron Copland – a key figure of American music, a music that always »speaks of the universal«. Listening to the luxuriant concerto, one can tell that Copland also wrote the scores for a number of films. This work was written for the legendary clarinettist Benny Goodman – and thus combines jazz elements with symphonic traits in a congenial manner. The Czech composer Martinů said of his Fourth Piano Concerto: »The artist is always searching for the meaning of life, that of his own life and that of humanity, searching for truth.« Martinů wrote this splendidly colourful work, which Ivo Kahánek will interpret for us, in 1956 during his exile in America. It bears the epithet »Incantation«, using magical spells to conjure up far-off worlds in its strikingly dramatic music. Martinů also said the following: »It is absolutely clear to me what our contemporary music is lacking: a Mozart!« We will conclude by paying tribute to Viennese classicism: Mozart wrote his three last symphonies in an incredibly brief period of just under ten weeks – a phase during which he was struggling with considerable financial difficulties. However, none of the works reveals much despair, and the »Jupiter« symphony was even praised as the »greatest triumph of instrumental composition«. Nobody really knows where its later title comes from, however. One biographer wrote: »Perhaps an excellent literary scholar – maybe even a journalist – gave it this name, which did not contain any kind of ‘programme’, of course, but referred to a characteristic. But why should we not be allowed to think of a god of the ancient world when entering this musical landscape?«

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Martin Fröst Clarinet
Ivo Kahánek Piano

Aaron Copland Konzert für Klarinette und Orchester
Bohuslav Martinů Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 4 »Incantation«
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphonie Nr. 41 C-Dur KV 551 »Jupiter«

Time

(Friday) 8:00 pm

Location

Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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12jan8:00 pmNew York Philharmonic - New York, USA8:00 pm David Geffen Hall

11jan2:00 pmNew York Philharmonic - New York, USA2:00 pm David Geffen Hall

10jan7:30 pmNew York Philharmonic - New York, USA7:30 pm David Geffen Hall

30dec8:00 pmBamberg Symphony - Bamberg, Germany8:00 pm Konzert- und Kongresshalle Bamberg

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With Jakub Hrůša and Martin Fröst in Berlin

Berlin, Konzerthaus
20:00 Uhr

These concerts will start with a real orchestral hit about »Jupiter«, the Greek father of the gods. Mozart’s last symphony is a radiant work that portrays the entire gamut of emotions in music, from intense introspection and the passionate anguish of grief to the noble, solemn tones of the tremendous final fugue. We will also be staging a symphonic puppet show: Stravinsky’s »Petrushka«! Every Russian child knows the puppet Petrushka, who is brought to life by a magician’s flute: a life in which he loves, suffers and dies as if he were not an inanimate doll, but a flesh-and-blood human being. In between these two »symphonic tales«, Martin Fröst will interpret the outstanding clarinet concerto by Aaron Copland, whose works are always marked by a combination of both instinct and keen intellect, by a sense for musical effect and joy in experiment. Much like Stravinsky, the Brooklyn-born composer was a »young rebel« who went to live in Paris during the 1920s, a sojourn that was source of many important ideas and much inspiration. After returning to America, Copland also worked in film. He wrote his captivating clarinet concerto with its extensive cadenzas for jazz legend Benny Goodman. In it, we hear what Copland was always striving to create: a music »that is instantly recognisable as American in nature«. And thus he created a congenial combination of jazz and the symphonic – including a melody in the expressive first movement originally written for the documentary film »The Cummington Story«, a tale about Eastern European refugees who find a temporary home in a small American town.

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Martin Fröst Clarinet

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphonie Nr. 41 C-Dur KV 551 »Jupiter«
Aaron Copland Konzert für Klarinette und Orchester
Igor Strawinski »Petruschka« (Fassung 1947)