How is the house built? When are the roof, walls and floors added? And will the structure be able to support itself? These are the questions of an architect – but they can also be the questions of conductors when they approach musical structures with their very own style and passion. It is therefore hardly surprising that Bertrand de Billy, who was already fantasising about becoming a conductor at the age of four, once said: »If it hadn’t worked out with music, I would probably have been an architect.« From an early age, he carefully observed the movements of conductors – whether from the choirboy's perspective or as an orchestral musician. Today, he conducts numerous renowned orchestras himself. His specialities include classics and key works of the 20th century and, as a native of Paris, time and again declarations of love for French music. With us, he combines Gershwin and Ravel, two composers who knew each other well and both absorbed the other’s idiom. Ravel’s dazzling piece »Daphnis et Chloé« is a fairytale story about two foundlings, which premiered in the French metropolis in 1912. Gershwin’s pulsating piano concerto also has something to do with the city of love: although it was composed in 1925 in the jazzy melting pot that is New York, large parts of it were later woven into the film »An American in Paris«. As a congenial sound designer, Bertrand de Billy will work with us and the pianist Kit Armstrong to delicately emphasise the different currents and similarities of the compositions like a musical architect: Because he never wants to be an overbearing chef d'orchestre, but simply to be an artist among artists: »The fulfilment of creating something together is indescribably beautiful.«

Guest in Erlangen

Heinrich-Lades-Halle

Bertrand de Billy, Kit Armstrong

Bamberg Concert Hall

“It is the best thing I have written in my life”, declared Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1784 of his piano quintet. Many of his most famous works had not yet been written, but the quintet remains a Mozartian jewel, with its melodic beauty and charming dialogues between the instruments. It is no wonder that the young Ludwig van Beethoven was inspired by Mozart’s example to write an equally enchanting quintet. Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker play both works with pianist Kit Armstrong. Contemporary counterpoints are provided in the form of wind quintets by Hans Werner Henze and Wolfgang Rihm.

EPSG:4326

Philharmonic chamber music Piano quintets by Mozart and Beethoven with Kit Armstrong

Berliner Philharmonie

"In the melodies of the natives I find everything that a great and national musical art needs. They are touching, tender, passionate, melancholic, bold and happy", said Antonin Dvorák about his inspiring journey to the 'New World' - the USA, which he visited in 1893. The inspiration became Dvorák's Symphony No. 9, which Tivoli Copenhagen Phil playing at full blast.

Kit Armstrong

Events

Upcoming events

2 - 3 Aug, 2025

Enchanting · Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival

Past events

Feb 16, 2025

Guest in Erlangen · Bamberger Symphoniker

Feb 15, 2025

Bertrand de Billy, Kit Armstrong · Bamberger Symphoniker

Future and recently performed repertoire

Piano in Concerto in F by Gershwin

Bamberger Symphoniker

Piano in Quintet for Piano and Winds by Beethoven

Berliner Philharmoniker

Piano in Daphnis et Chloé by Ravel

Bamberger Symphoniker

Piano in Wind Quintet by Rihm

Berliner Philharmoniker

About

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