Anniversary concert

This concert marks an important anniversary. Thirty years ago, the Federal State of Brandenburg officially named us its state orchestra. We see this distinction as a mandate to enrich cultural life with high-quality performances and new formats. Our former chief conductor and current honorary conductor Howard Griffiths is an important partner in this endeavour. He will conduct this anniversary concert.

Together with him, we will perform works from the first half of the 20th century that captivate with their timeless beauty and enchanting melodies. Arnold Schoenberg arranged Johannes Brahms’ beloved Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor for the orchestral sound of his time. Victor Klemperer raved about this version: “The arrangement is so beautiful that one no longer wants to hear the original quartet.”

Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music is equally full of graceful sounds, finely woven, a dance of mist and light.

The third piece of the evening is inspired by Knut Hamsun’s novel Mysteries. It tells the story of an eccentric stranger unsettling the inhabitants of a Norwegian port town. Paul Juon uses a virtuoso variety of sounds to describe this in his symphonic poem for cello and orchestra. Mediterranean lightness meets Nordic melancholy and echoes of Slavic and Hungarian dances.

The solo part is performed by OPUS KLASSIK award winner Benedict Kloeckner. He has guested at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, among others.