The beautiful and at the same time ice-cold Princess Turandot, "the Pure", only wants to marry the prince who can solve her three essentially unsolvable riddles. If he fails, the unsuccessful suitor will be executed. Prince Calàf, irretrievably in love with her, wants to face the tests. Everyone tries to dissuade him from his deadly plan: his blind father Timur, the slave Liů, who herself has fallen in unrequited love for Calàf, and even the three imperial ministers. Nevertheless, he takes the risk and, to Turandot's horror, solves all the riddles. Recognizing her resistance, he poses a riddle of his own, but in the end he reveals the solution, thereby surrendering himself to Turandot once again...

Turandot

Sondershausen Palace

With Louis Spohr's Notturno op. 34, a work dedicated to the court of Sondershausen returns to its destination. Here, Spohr continued the great tradition of harmony music in the royal city. By using percussion instruments, which had come to Europe as "Janissary music" during the Turkish wars, he also sets striking rhythmic accents. Then the strings take the floor. Leoš Janáček's seven-movement string suite "Idyla" impressively shows the fascination that the folk music of his homeland exerted on the 24-year-old. Dvořák echoes are no coincidence here, as Janáček had recently gotten to know and appreciate his colleague, who was 13 years older.  

3rd Castle Concert

Blue Hall

Heringer Castle Concert

Banquet Hall

At the 31st Sondershausen Master Class, young course participants from near and far will work intensively with the renowned trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich, professor at the Karlsruhe University of Music and sought-after lecturer. At the end and climax, together with the Loh Orchestra Sondershausen, they will present not only the instrumental and musical skills they have expanded during the course, but also a colorful excerpt from the rich concert repertoire for trumpet.  

2nd Loh concert

Achteckhaus

This time, the oboe is the focus of the Sondershausen master class. Young talents from near and far are being taught by Washington Barella. He has been a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts since 2012, gives concerts internationally and has been principal oboist in the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg since 1992. As usual, the participants will perform the final concert together with the Loh Orchestra Sondershausen, here under the direction of Michael Helmrath, himself a long-time oboist with the Munich Philharmonic. You can expect a highly diverse program, as the oboe is one of the few wind instruments that has been popular in practically all eras from the Baroque to the modern era.

Michael Helmrath

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 26, 2025

2nd Loh concert · Loh-Orchester Sondershausen

Past events

Jun 14 - Jul 14, 2024

Turandot · Theater Nordhausen

5 - 26 May, 2024

3rd Castle Concert · Loh-Orchester Sondershausen

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Turandot by Puccini

Theater Nordhausen

About

Michael Helmrath hasn't added a bio