This will be a great joy for everyone involved: In keeping with the fifth season (Carnival), under the direction of Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, we will slip into different roles, individually or in groups, for the musical stories of this concert, just like at Carnival or a masquerade – and can thus demonstrate our playing skills on the respective instruments. For Berlioz's soul-searching work set in Italy, our solo violist Wen Xiao Zheng will take on the part of the melancholic dreamer Harold.

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Wen Xiao Zheng

Bamberger Symphoniker

Unfortunately, we need to change the first half of the programme on December 7 because of scheduling reasons. Instead of the originally planned programme with works for brass ensemble by Takemitsu, Shostakovich, and Tomasi, we will be offering “Four Black American Dances” by Carlos Simon and the trumpet concerto “Nobody Knows the Trouble I See” by Bernd Alois Zimmermann.

Andris Nelsons & Håkan Hardenberger

Gasteig HP8

EPSG:4326

Munich Residence

“It was actually an opera that I tried to compose, but ultimately couldn’t compose.”
Pascal Dusapin on Waves
At first, Pascal Dusapin considered writing a musical theater work based on Virginia Woolf's novel The Waves . It ultimately evolved into a kind of organ concerto, a "duo for organ and orchestra." Dusapin explains: "Very abstract questions occupied me while working on Waves , questions of tectonics—how different surfaces shift against and into each other." The forces of these tectonic plates, turned into music, initially unfold through the interaction and interaction of "normal" trumpets and signal trumpets. The signal trumpets are positioned to the left and right of the organ. They sound "as if from the organ," in the same boat. The organ itself also begins with these notes, with a characteristic rhythm; everything blends together, magnificently orchestrated. 

First Symphony Concert

Staatstheater Hannover

Following the third concert, the winner of the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award will be announced to the audience.

YCA Award Concert Weekend 3

Mozarteum Foundation

Venzone - Residenzkonzert

Cathedral of Sant'Andrea

A hen, a swan, the nightingale and other birds come together here: Haydn had anything but poultry in mind when he wrote his Symphony No. 83, but because of the "cackling" theme in the second movement, a clever contemporary gave the work its famous nickname - "La poule". Hindemith, on the other hand, used some themes from folk songs in his viola concerto, including in the third movement. "Seid ihr nicht der Schwanendreher" is heard there - and the concerto already had its nickname. Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Un petit rien is also ornithological. The work, which was created as radio play music, consists of seven aphoristic movements that are clearly more than just "Ein kleine Nicht". Igor Stravinsky's symphonic poem Le chant du rossignol was based on his first opera The Nightingale, which is based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. It will not only be incredibly good, but also magical – and with Elena Schwarz at the podium and violist Tabea Zimmermann, it will be another highlight of the anniversary season!

Feather-light flights of fancy

Die Glocke

The three best oboists are looking for victory in the Prague Spring competition, accompanied by the Prague Philharmonia in works by Bohuslav Martinů, Jiří Gemrot and B. A. Zimmermann. Experience the adrenaline rush at a concert which will transform the professional life of one of our young finalists. Witness a thrilling contest between three of the finest oboe players, who made it through to the final round of the Prague Spring competition.

Prague Spring | Competition Finals: Oboe

Dvořák Hall Rudolfinum

Cheeky and witty, rebellious and rousing, this is how we start the year 2025 with our audience, featuring Maurice Ravel with his most stubborn and at the same time most popular stroke of genius and Bernd Alois Zimmermann from the Rhineland, who shows himself from a completely different side to celebrate the day.

New Year`s Concert in Amsterdam

The Concertgebouw

And off we go – New Year's Concert

Museum Ludwig

Bold and witty, rebellious and captivating – a great way to kick off the year 2025, together with our audience. Also joining us: Till Eulenspiegel and his Merry Pranks, compiled and turned into a symphonic poem by the Bavarian magician of sound, Richard Strauss. Indeed, this is a milestone in orchestra literature. It is masterfully orchestrated, and was premiered almost exactly 130 years ago by the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne.

Bernd Alois Zimmermann

Events

Past events

7 - 8 Feb, 2026

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Wen Xiao Zheng · Bamberger Symphoniker

Dec 7, 2025

Andris Nelsons & Håkan Hardenberger · Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

About

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