In the 2023/2024 season, the Duisburg Philharmonic, in their exploration of transcultural processes, already explored the Indian Nobel Prize-winning poet-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore. The program for the second chamber concert, compiled by Kamalini Mukherji, now also follows the Europe-India axis, always looking in both directions. The Indian singer, who will also curate the "Eigenzeit – Music of Now" festival in the 2025/2026 season, is considered one of the leading exponents of the music of the Bengali-Indian polymath Rabindranath Tagore, who reshaped the culture and language of Bengal. In this unique concert, Tagore's music will be reinterpreted through various musical traditions. The performance begins with a traditional Indian ensemble – esraj, tabla/khol, and Indian flute. This is followed by bridge instruments such as the lavta and the bağlama from the Middle East, followed by a Western soundscape featuring flamenco guitar, saxophone, and other instruments. The concert culminates in a fusion of these musical worlds, reflecting Tagore's embrace of global influences.

When a traveler on an autumn night…

CityPalais

Apparently familiar, in an unusual form – that is the motto of the 7th Chamber Concert. It was put together by violinist Alissa Margulis, who has a close relationship with the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra and is co-curating the “Eigenzeit” festival this season. Together with her siblings, she plays classics of literature, which she dresses up in unusual sounds in different ensembles, thus enabling new listening experiences in actually familiar works. Johann Sebastian Bach's famous “Chaconne”, for example, a lonely high point of literature for solo violin, but here with the piano part supplemented by Robert Schumann. Or Arnold Schönberg's romantic-expressive “Verklärte Nacht” – here in Eduard Steuermann's version for piano trio instead of the original version for string sextet. Camille Saint-Saëns' diabolical “Danse macabre” was originally intended for orchestra, but now sounds on the piano solo. Modest Mussorgsky composed the original version of his famous “Pictures at an Exhibition” for this purpose; however, they became even more popular in the brilliant orchestration of Maurice Ravel. The Margulis Trio is now exploring the tone-painting cycle using chamber music techniques.

Margulis Trio

Philharmonie Mercatorhalle

The horror is unimaginable: On October 7, 2023, the radical Islamic Hamas attacked Israel. In the south of the country, its members carried out a massacre, torturing and kidnapping defenseless civilians. As a result of the barbaric terrorist attack, a war broke out in the Gaza Strip, bringing immeasurable suffering to people on both sides. In memory of the day of the terrible attack, the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra is organizing a concert with Jewish music and Jewish artists - as a sign of solidarity and as a signal of hope. Because music can achieve what often seems unattainable in real life: people of different backgrounds and religions find each other in the intimate dialogue of chamber music, united in their devotion to a common cause: music.

Memorial concert

The program includes two pieces involving 13 students and wants to give a moment of serenity in these difficult times.

EPSG:4326

Concerto - Real Collegio - Schumann, Shostakovich and Walton

Real Collegio

The second performance in this magnificent place unites some of the Festival’s guest musicians in a program dedicated to a Sonata for two violins by the great Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe and the great Quintet for piano and strings by Antonin Dvorak.

Alissa Margulis

Events

Past events

Oct 10, 2025

When a traveler on an autumn night… · Duisburger Philharmoniker

May 4, 2025

Margulis Trio · Duisburger Philharmoniker

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