Violinist

The Thuringia Philharmonic's Christmas concert is a true classic of the December concert program and has become a Philharmonic tradition. For many years, it has exuded a festive atmosphere and set the tone for the upcoming Christmas season. In addition to classical festive music,
this year's surprise program also promises rousing and exhilarating Christmas rhythms. As a special guest, we welcome our Artist in Residence, Alexey Stadler, on solo cello. We cordially invite you to join us for an enjoyable concert in a festive atmosphere and be enchanted!

Philharmonic Christmas

State Theatre Eisenach

B2 Philharmonic Christmas

Gotha Cultural Center

Johann Strauss II, the legendary Viennese Waltz King, was born in Vienna 200 years ago in 1825. However, he died a German, namely a citizen of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Out of love for Adele, the Imperial and Royal Court Ball music director renounced his Austrian citizenship and converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism – and this only because the Pope did not annul the Catholic marriage between Strauss and his second wife, Lilli. As an art connoisseur, Duke Ernst II gladly opened the doors to celebrity and was willing to make Strauss "his" citizen. Following naturalization, the Strauss couple were married in the court chapel of Ehrenburg Palace. In gratitude, Strauss dedicated the polka française "Neues Leben" (New Life) to the Duke. The anniversary concert "Straussiana" will feature works by Strauss's contemporaries, admirers, and the master himself. Of course, his non-blood-related namesake, Richard Strauss, who was himself a master of the late Romantic waltz, will also be featured. Star cellist Alexey Stadler will open his residency with "Don Quixote," a tone poem on a theme of chivalric character.

Straussiana

Johann Strauss II, the legendary Viennese Waltz King, was born in Vienna 200 years ago in 1825. However, he died a German, namely a citizen of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Out of love for Adele, the Imperial and Royal Court Ball music director renounced his Austrian citizenship and converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism – and this only because the Pope did not annul the Catholic marriage between Strauss and his second wife, Lilli. As an art connoisseur, Duke Ernst II gladly opened the doors to celebrity and was willing to make Strauss "his" citizen. Following naturalization, the Strauss couple were married in the court chapel of Ehrenburg Palace. In gratitude, Strauss dedicated the polka française "Neues Leben" (New Life) to the Duke.

A2 Straussiana

Gotha City Hall

This concert commemorating the end of World War II 80 years ago will feature Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad" under the direction of Chief Conductor Stanislav Kochanovsky, as well as Ernest Bloch's Hebrew Rhapsody "Schelomo" for cello and orchestra. The soloist for the evening is the internationally acclaimed cellist Alexey Stadler.

Pain. Shostakovich's "Leningrad" and Bloch's "Schelomo"

Hanover Congress Centre

A cello concerto cloaked in a symphonic cloak: At the very end, after many revisions and shortly before his death, Sergei Prokofiev called his Opus 125 "Symphonic Concerto." Quite appropriate, for it is so versatile, so humorous, and so powerful that it successfully combines the two genres. Alexey Stadler follows in the footsteps of none other than Mstislav Rostropovich, who played the solo part at the premiere in 1952. In the second half of the concert, the Stuttgart conductor Johannes Klumpp interprets a symphony by Antonín Dvořák, not from the new world, but still from the old: The Fifth, already in a style all its own and at least as valuable as its famous younger sister, premiered in Prague in 1879.

Violinist

Alexey Stadler

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 27, 2026

In contrast · Göttinger Symphonieorchester

Past events

Dec 19, 2025

Philharmonic Christmas · Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach

Dec 18, 2025

B2 Philharmonic Christmas · Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach

Future and recently performed repertoire

Cello in Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque by Bloch

NDR Radiophilharmonie

Cello in Sinfonia concertante by Prokofiev

Göttinger Symphonieorchester

About

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