Conductor

Rachmaninoff’s breathtakingly beautiful Second Piano Concerto and Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony – From the New World – are two of the most beloved works in the classical repertoire. Rachmaninoff’s concerto is filled with passion, longing and romance, but also serenity and peace. For the first time at Konserthuset Stockholm, we welcome the extraordinary Armenian-American pianist Sergei Babayan – a giant among giants.

Rachmaninov and Dvorák

Stockholm City Hall

Alma Mahler's Seven Songs immediately lead us into the world of the turn of the century: emotions between melancholy and hope, set to music with a deep, almost intimate expressiveness. In the arrangement for medium voice and orchestra, they unfold a sonic dimension that both touches and inspires. On the other hand, Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, known as "From the New World," is quite different. It bridges the gap between two continents and pours the impressions of a life in foreign America into grand symphonic arches. Longing sounds here like a distant memory, pulsating yet full of vastness. Dvořák's famous English horn theme, often referred to as the "Song of the Lonely Wanderer," captivates as much as the dynamic contrasts between drama and delicate lyricism. An evening that explores completely different soundscapes – and shows how diverse musical longing can sound.

EPSG:4326

From the New World

Palace of Culture

Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 – also known as the New World Symphony – is one of the most popular works of classical music. Why? Because it goes straight to the heart! Dvořák wrote it in the USA, when he heard the sounds of spirituals and music of the indigenous population for the first time. He mixed these influences with his unmistakable style full of melodies that you can't get out of your head. The symphony takes you on a journey: from the longing English horn solo in the second movement, which sounds like a memory of home, to the thrilling finale that exudes pure spirit of adventure. And if you listen closely, you may even discover the film music that was later inspired by this symphony – from "Jaws" to "Star Wars"!

 Short & Casual The Curious One abgeFRACKt: New World

Such a powerful piano concerto had not been heard before. When Johannes Brahms premiered his First Piano Concerto in 1859, the audience was thrilled. Few knew how many years he had struggled to complete it. Initially, he wanted to write a sonata for two pianos, but that failed. Then he reworked his ideas for an orchestra, but he was still not satisfied. Finally, the saving idea came to him: to combine the orchestra and piano. Today, the piece is considered one of the most beautiful offerings of romantic music. Prokofiev's suites for Shakespeare's famous love story are also the result of a reworking, transforming the music from a complete ballet to pure orchestral music. He personally selected the most beautiful passages for this purpose. The result is like dramatic cinema for the ears...

Brahms Piano Concerto

"Romeo and Juliet" is known by almost everyone. It's no wonder, as the famous love drama by Shakespeare has been "translated" into various art forms over the centuries: from musicals to operas to purely orchestral music. The Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev succeeded in this with his ballet music in an outstanding way. After a short initial failure, it is now considered one of the best musical adaptations of the story. This is clearly due to its quality! Not only ballet enthusiasts, but also the concert audience couldn't get enough of it - on one hand, the melting melodies, and on the other hand, the dynamic dances, sometimes outrageously virtuosic, sometimes thrilling with their powerful rhythms. At the beginning of the concert, Malte Arkona briefly introduces the piece, and afterwards, he speaks in the After Concert Talk with the artists of the evening about what makes "Romeo and Juliet" so exciting for them.

Best of Classics: Romeo and Juliet

Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano

Teatro alla Scala

After the summer break, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra returns to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with a dynamic programme. Austrian conductor Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, previously admired as a talented violinist, takes the stage alongside the extraordinary pianist Yoav Levanon. Together, they present Grieg’s beloved Piano Concerto, a masterpiece filled with passion, playful contrasts, and echoes of Norwegian folk traditions. Its dramatic opening bars, introduced by timpani rolls, set the tone for an emotional journey inspired by Grieg’s personal joys and sorrows. The concert concludes with Brahms’ majestic Fourth Symphony, a profound work reflecting his lifelong fascination with classical forms and styles. In its final movement, Brahms masterfully incorporates a passacaglia and an excerpt from a Bach cantata.

Antwerp Symphony & Yoav Levanon at the Concertgebouw

The Concertgebouw

At the end and climax of the birthday weekend, the festival prize winners have one more surprise in store: Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, who was still performing as a violinist the day before, is now at the podium, with congenial partners such as the ensemble reflektor and especially his "instrumental colleague" Veronika Eberle.

With Mozart and Beethoven

Schloss und Gut Ulrichshusen

This anniversary year, the now traditional theme weekend at Ulrichshusen Castle is dedicated to the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival itself: the musicians who have shaped and continue to shape it, the adventures that the artists, team, and audience experience together, and, of course, the music itself. We look forward to two fantastic days with many award winners. They'll be saying "Happy Birthday" in chamber and orchestral music, in talk shows, and in late-night shows.

Pretty much best friends

Guerst performance Brussels

BOZAR

eye and ear

Museum Ludwig

On a single whiplash, the door opens to a world of colours and light: Maurice Ravel’s piano concerto in G Major is fascinating from the very first note. Basque folklore, sounds from Spain and southern France, crystalline sparkle, and elegant jazz – musical notes become images, some tender and fluffy, others rich and bright. Ravel’s compatriot, French pianist Bertrand Chamayou, seems completely in his element in this dazzling bravura piece. The other two works are equally sensual to the eye and the ear: In his Ballet Gayaneh, Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian lets the sparks fly, including a fiery sabre dance. Modest Mussorgsky invites us to a vernissage where he paces from painting to painting, creatively turning each of them into sounds.

Eye and ear

"He is a true poet. What a sophisticated musician!" wrote the Austrian press about the cellist Jeremias Fliedl, one of the most promising cellists of his generation. Fliedl is the soloist in Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto, which is on the programme of the 7th Philharmonic Concert alongside Jean Sibelius' first symphony. Both composers have had a significant influence on music in their home countries, both have the aura of being a kind of "national composer". And both have given strong impetus to the stylistic development of music in the Czech Republic and Finland: Dvořák by drawing inspiration for his works from Czech folk music, Sibelius by managing to establish something like a "Finnish tone" with his music. This is certainly just as much fun to listen to as seeing Emmanuel Tjeknavorian again.
He has, however, changed sides: two seasons ago he was a guest with the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra as a soloist with his violin, and now he stands at the podium in front of the orchestra. The Austrian musician is multi-talented, which he will prove this evening.

A toast to passion

Die Glocke

In 1857, Verdi was called on to write an opera for the San Carlo Theatre in Naples, and he immediately began his search for the perfect story. His initial idea was King Lear by Shakespeare, but the lack of time available forced him to fall back on a libretto by Scribe, Gustave III ou Le bal masqué, which had already been set to music by Auber and by Mercadante. The story was inspired by actual events from 1792; the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden by one of his officers during a ball. The subject was undoubtedly controversial, the on-stage murder of a monarch would not pass unnoticed by the Neapolitan censors, who in fact imposed numerous cuts and modifications. But the writer was too fond of the 18th-century traits and the lively French-influenced style of his new opera to be able to accept, among the many requests, the moving of the action to the 12th century, where it would have been impossible “to find a princeling, a duke, a devil, even from the North, who had seen a little of the world and experienced the atmosphere of Louis XIV”. With its Neapolitan debut thus grounded, Un ballo in maschera was staged at the Apollo Theatre in Rome, where it was performed on 17 February 1859.

Un ballo in maschera

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Theatre

Le nozze di Figaro

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Houston Symphony Concertmaster Yoonshin Song takes center stage for Prokofiev’s electrifying Violin Concerto No. 2, a staggering musical journey supercharged with brooding drama and fast-and-furious energy.

Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony & Yoonshin Song

Jones Hall

Saint-Saëns transforms the concert hall into a cavernous cathedral in his mighty “Organ Symphony.” A self-portrait in sound that channels the composer’s lifelong love of sacred music, this symphony unleashes the thunderous sound of the Lay Family Concert Organ as it scales the heights of spiritual euphoria. “I gave everything to it,” Saint-Saëns wrote of his final symphony, “What I have here accomplished I will never achieve again.”

Conductor

Emmanuel Tjeknavorian

Events

Upcoming events

12 - 24 May, 2026

Un ballo in maschera · Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

15 - 23 Sep, 2026

Le nozze di Figaro · Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

6 - 8 Nov, 2026

Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony & Yoonshin Song · Houston Symphony

27 - 29 May, 2027

Grieg & Saint-Saëns · Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Past events

15 - 16 Apr, 2026

Rachmaninov and Dvorák · Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Feb 28 - Mar 1, 2026

From the New World · Dresdner Philharmonie

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Symphony No. 4 by Brahms

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Conductor in Piano Concerto No. 1 by Brahms

Dresdner Philharmonie

Conductor in Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) by Dvořák

Dresdner Philharmonie

Conductor in Romeo and Juliet Suite by Prokofiev

Dresdner Philharmonie

Violin in Sonata for Violin and Cello by Ravel

Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Conductor in Symphony No. 9 by Shostakovich

Houston Symphony

Conductor in Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky

Kölner Philharmonie

Conductor in Piano Concerto in A minor by Grieg

Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Conductor in Violin Concerto No. 2 by Prokofiev

Houston Symphony

Violin in Duo for Violin and Cello by Kodály

Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Violin in Violin Concerto No. 3 by Mozart

Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Conductor in Polovtsian Dances by Borodin

Houston Symphony

Conductor in Un ballo in maschera by Verdi

Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Violin in Passacaglia for Violin and Viola by Halvorsen

Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Conductor in Gayane Ballet Suite by Khachaturian

Gürzenich-Orchester Köln

Conductor in Piano Concerto by Grieg

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Conductor in Piano Concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninoff

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor in Cello Concerto in B minor by Dvořák

Bremer Philharmoniker

Conductor in Symphony No. 9 by Dvořák

Dresdner Philharmonie

Conductor in Piano Concerto in G Major by Ravel

Kölner Philharmonie

Conductor in Symphony No. 3 by Saint-Saëns

Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Conductor in Symphony No. 5 in E minor by Tchaikovsky

Teatro alla Scala

Conductor in Overture in D minor by Pejačević

Dresdner Philharmonie

Conductor in Le nozze di Figaro by Mozart

Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Conductor in Gayaneh by Khachaturian

Kölner Philharmonie

Conductor in Symphony No. 1 in E Minor by Sibelius

Bremer Philharmoniker

Conductor in Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor by Brahms

Teatro alla Scala

Conductor in Gayane by Khachaturian

Houston Symphony

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