2. Philharmonic Concert »American«

Featuring a large orchestra, this »American« concert evening blends jazz, blues, Broadway sounds, Latin American rhythms and classical symphonic music. You will hear the high-energy dance numbers from Leonard Bernstein’s hit musical West Side Story. Experience the explosive energy and passion of the musical’s famous dance duels. Brilliant tempos and a powerful percussion section give this dance suite its distinctive character. Pure entertainment or modern classical music? This music is both. The great inspiration for this synthesis is George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Here, Gershwin combines blues and jazz harmonies with the structure of a classical piano concerto for the first time. Vibrant 1920s New York blends wild, energetic segments with wonderfully melodic ones and a virtuoso piano part.

Alongside this well-known masterpiece, we are also presenting a lesser known yet equally captivating and stylistically diverse American piano piece: Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in D Minor, which premiered in 1934. It had long been forgotten and was only rediscovered in 2009. Price impressively weaves romantic harmonies, reminiscent of Grieg or Tchaikovsky, with elements of her African American heritage. She brings the piano concerto to a close with an African American juba dance and ragtime-style passages. The piano parts are performed by American pianist Claire Huangci, who has been living in Germany for several years. She is a prize-winner at the Chopin Competitions in Europe and the USA, the ARD Music Competition and the Mozart Prize at the Concours Géza Anda. The concert will be conducted by Clemens Schuldt. Winner of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, he is one of the rising international stars among German conductors. Since 2023, he has served as Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and has appeared as a guest conductor with renowned orchestras in Europe, the USA and Japan.