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For a long time, the composer Fanny Hensel was overshadowed by the work of her famous brother Felix Mendelssohn - her work received the recognition it deserved far too late. Schumann's violin concerto suffered a similar fate: the virtuosos filed it away as an allegedly unsuccessful contribution to the concerto genre by a composer in the last phase of his life. The heirs even banned its publication for 100 years. Today it has finally found its place in the repertoire. Brahms's pathetic, monumental first symphony concludes the evening.

Attend an orchestra rehearsal of the WDR Symphony Orchestra in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall on Thursday afternoon from 12:00 to 12:30 with free admission and whet your appetite for an evening of concerts.

This year, the WDR Symphony Orchestra is organizing the Federal President's benefit concert. The concert series, the proceeds of which support social and cultural organizations, has been held annually since 1988 - from 1988 to 2005 in Berlin and since 2006 in rotation in the federal states. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst have decided to use the proceeds from the 2025 concert to support the Elly Heuss-Knapp Foundation - German Mothers' Recovery Foundation. The foundation aims to strengthen the health of mothers, fathers and caring relatives through preventive and rehabilitation measures. All tickets for the Federal President's benefit concert include a donation to the Elly Heuss-Knapp Foundation.

I long for the Alps / This is how the lakes are created (2022/2025) for soprano, speaker, electronics and large orchestra based on a text by Händl Klaus

Beethoven's Trio op. 11 was called the "Gassenhauer Trio" because of the variation theme, which was very popular at the time. With Max Bruch's virtuoso pieces for clarinet trio and Poulenc's duo, the program draws a connection to the sound worlds of saxophonist Daniel Schnyder, who has found his own way in "Worlds Beyond" on a fine line between classical, avant-garde and jazz. Four bassoons "speak" in the composition by Wynton Marsalis, who is at home between classical and jazz, bringing an instrument that is rarely heard as a soloist from the back rows of the orchestra to the podium ramp.

Performances are rare in Germany, but in England Edward Elgar's oratorio "The Dream of Gerontius" ranks just behind Handel's "Messiah" or Mendelssohn's "Elijah". This masterpiece in particular shows the true side of the English romantic, who is known here above all as the creator of the "Pomp and Circumstance" marches. The existential theme of the monumental composition is the journey of a soul to heaven - from the moment of death through encounters at the side of a guardian angel to the climax: it reaches the afterlife and sees the glory of God.

Performances are rare in Germany, but in England Edward Elgar's oratorio "The Dream of Gerontius" ranks just behind Handel's "Messiah" or Mendelssohn's "Elijah". This masterpiece in particular shows the true side of the English romantic, who is known here above all as the creator of the "Pomp and Circumstance" marches. The existential theme of the monumental composition is the journey of a soul to heaven - from the moment of death through encounters at the side of a guardian angel to the climax: it reaches the afterlife and sees the glory of God.

When you have your music college diploma in your pocket, learning is not over. On the contrary: at the first rehearsal in a professional orchestra, it starts all over again! Since 2013, young instrumentalists have been able to gain practical experience in the WDR Symphony Orchestra's Orchestra Academy - with experienced mentors from the orchestra at their side, they take part in symphonic performances for two years, work on chamber music and learn the special traditions that have grown over the orchestra's 75 years of history. In the academy's matinee, the stage belongs to these young musicians.

In 1995, the music press was shaken up: Thomas Adès, just 24 years old, had brought the opera "Powder her Face" to the stage, which satirically describes the extravagant, dissolute life of an upper-class lady. Adès established a musical style that effortlessly alternates between avant-garde and ironically broken quotations from older works, while at the same time combining catchiness with great imagination. Sergei Rachmaninov's "Symphonic Dances", on the other hand, are a farewell work: behind the harmless title lies an entire symphony, an impressive statement that musically recalls moments from a rich composer and virtuoso's life.