In 1852, Robert Schumann composed the Missa sacra for church services – a work that expresses not a denominational but a universal religious sentiment. The motet "Do Not Despair," initially described by Schumann as a "religious hymn," was first performed on July 4, 1850, for a secular occasion – the 25th anniversary of the St. Pauli University Choir in Leipzig. Haydn's Fifth London Symphony demonstrates the composer's independence from courtly taste and circumstances: He presents this work with pathos, earnestness, passion – and, unusually, in a minor key – thus forging a programmatic link back to Schumann.

Verzweifle nicht!

Gewandhaus

Beethoven's "Symphony of Destiny" breathes the spirit of revolution, both artistic and political, and has become a musical symbol of humanity's liberation from darkness into light. Isang Yun's fanfare resounds like a warning cry, followed in the memorial by memories and visions of the future. In this composition, Yun also creates a symbiosis of Western European and Korean musical traditions, which is what makes his work unique. Karl Amadeus Hartmann composed a warning with his Concerto funèbre, written after the annexation of the Sudetenland in 1939: He sensed that even darker times lay ahead.

Fate

American conductor Dennis Russell Davies is the point of connection in this vibrant concert, which crosses continents and musical genres. The Principal Conductor of the Brno Philharmonic also has deep roots in jazz, having worked with luminaries such as Keith Jarrett and Dave Brubeck. The latter’s 1963 concerto for jazz quartet and orchestra, Brandenburg Gate Revisited, receives its first live UK performance with leading British pianist Freddy Kempf and a Czech jazz trio spinning sepia melodies around a subtly noir orchestral accompaniment. Freddy also takes the lead in Gershwin’s Variations on I Got Rhythm, a sprightly showpiece exploring similar terrain to his famous Rhapsody in Blue.

Brno Philharmonic

Usher Hall

We welcome back this great orchestra for what is sure to be a memorable concert.

Brno Philharmonic Orchestra

The Anvil

Kempf, a former BBC Young Musician of the Year, will be on double duty for two American classics: Gershwin’s electrifying ‘I Got Rhythm’ variations and Dave Brubeck’s Brandenburg Gate, joined by a trio of leading Czech jazz musicians.

EPSG:4326

The Bridgewater Hall

His era's enthusiasm for the oratorio genre also inspired Antonín Dvořák, who significantly advanced the national tone poem in this genre. The plot of The Ghost Bride is taken from a popular ballad by the Czech poet Karel Jaromír Erben: A pious girl longs to be reunited with her lover, who was lost in the war. Having fallen in battle, the latter seeks her out as an undead bridegroom and attempts to lead the bride to eternal damnation. Seemingly on her way to him, she is gradually forced to discard all signs of her faith. But in the end, her faith prevails and saves her from the realm of the dead.

Love & Damnation

ARS ELECTRONICA FESTIVAL / LINZ, Austria

Ars Electronica

Rákos Rákoczy

Park of the Špilberk Castle

We conclude the concert season with Bernstein, Gershwin, and Glass, three icons of American music. Bernstein's first musical from 1944 is brimming with edgy rhythms, jazzy harmonies, and blues-tinged melancholy—the dances are the musical essence. Before Bernstein, Gershwin had not only chosen a revolutionary theme in his opera "Porgy and Bess"—it's about love and survival in a Black neighborhood—but also incorporated the music of his protagonists, such as spirituals, blues, and jazz, into the composition. Morton Gould arranged this "American Folk Opera" for the concert hall. In 2023, the MDR Symphony Orchestra and Maki Namekawa premiered Philip Glass's new piano concerto with great success—it can now also be heard in Suhl and Leipzig.

America

Congress Centrum Suhl

In his 6th Symphony, Tchaikovsky breaks with tradition: no triumphant final movement relieves the oppression of the preceding outbursts and distorted waltzes. The beautiful facade crumbles, mercilessly revealing the discouraging reality that repeatedly assails Tchaikovsky's inner world. Bernstein, on the other hand, makes his theme clear right from the title. In the face of two world wars, the Cold War, and the nuclear threat, the literary source for the symphony, the essay of the same name by HD Auden, depicts people's anxiety and restlessness, but also their fearful search for identities and ideals—a theme of depressing topicality.

Soul life

In 1874, Bedřich Smetana had a great idea: he planned a cycle of symphonic poems with which he wanted to pay tribute to his native Czech Republic. No sooner had the decision been made than a devastating fate befell him: within a few months, Smetana lost his hearing. His despair is great – but his will to assert himself as a composer is even greater. And so he set to work writing the symphonic poem Vyšehrad. According to legend, the hill beneath this Prague castle rampart is the seat of Princess Libuše, the progenitor of the Czech nation. Smetana tells this story with two harps – as if the medieval bard Lumír were singing his eternal song. The second piece in the cycle, The Moldau, is one of the most famous works not only by Smetana, but in classical music in general. A portrait of the Bohemian Amazon queen Šárka is heard in the third piece: an audibly cruel creature. From Bohemian Fields and Groves reveals the beauty of the composer’s native landscape. Tábor is dedicated to the turbulent history of the Czech Republic at the time of the Reformation. In Blaník, the sixth symphonic poem, Smetana depicts the mountain of the same name, where an army of knights awaits its heroic deployment. Conductor Dennis Russell Davies, General Music Director of the Stuttgart State Opera in the 1980s, has a special affinity with all the Czech legends and places.

4. Symphony Concert

Beethoven Hall (Beethovensaal)

Ravel's Piano Concerto was written for the pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in the First World War. The paradoxical sonic power with which the soloist performs in this virtuoso concerto is all the more remarkable – with exaggeration, parody, and the constant impression of two hands on the keyboard. Almost ten years earlier, La Valse portrayed the glorious collapse of society dancing to its doom. Pēteris Vasks depicts the opposite path: his response to the loud, garish, and chaotic is silence, to which he ultimately returns – his premonition of eternity.

With Left

George Frideric Handel composed his Messiah, which tells the Christian story of salvation in three parts, between 1741 and 1742. Mozart's version was written for a performance in Vienna in 1789; he adapted Handel's composition to suit contemporary audiences' tastes, ensuring its greater success. He replaced the English text with a German translation and altered the instrumentation to better reflect contemporary sound ideals. He incorporated the latest developments in playing technique and instrument making, and employed the newly invented clarinets. Mozart left the composition untouched—a sign of his respect for the master from Halle/Saale.

Mozarts Messias

Theater Erfurt

It was his involvement with musical theater, music education, and his turn to historical music that led Carl Orff to his "archaic" compositional style. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he looked back and led the audience of Carmina Burana into a world of medieval songs from the 11th to 13th centuries, in which people were not afraid to attack the church and society and to praise sensual and depraved life. The evocative power of the rhythm in the music, the extraordinary use of instruments, and the declamatory vocal style have lost none of their gripping urgency to this day.

Dennis Russell Davies

Events

Upcoming events

22 - 23 Feb, 2026

4. Symphony Concert · Staatsorchester Stuttgart

Mar 29, 2026

With Left · MDR-Sinfonieorchester

24 - 26 Apr, 2026

Mozarts Messias · MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Jun 28, 2026

Carmina burana · MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Past events

Nov 23, 2025

Verzweifle nicht! · MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Nov 16, 2025

Fate · MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Symphony No. 7 by Dvořák

Usher Hall

Conductor in Carmina Burana by Orff

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in La valse by Ravel

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Má vlast by Smetana

Staatsorchester Stuttgart

Conductor in Symphony No. 95 by Haydn

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Three Dance Episodes (From "On the Town") by Bernstein

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Porgy and Bess Suite by Gershwin

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Symphony No. 6 by Tchaikovsky

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Messiah by Handel

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Symphony No. 2 by Bernstein

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Symphony No. 6 by Dvořák

Anvil Arts

Conductor in Symphony No. 5 in C minor by Beethoven

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Variations on 'I Got Rhythm' by Gershwin

Usher Hall

Conductor in Mishima Concerto for piano and orchestra by Glass

Anvil Arts

Conductor in "M" - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Glass

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Svatební košile by Dvořák

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Fanfare & Memorial by Yun

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Concerto funebre by Hartmann

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Mass in C minor by Schumann

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Do not despair in the valley of pain by Schumann

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Symphony No. 2 by Vasks

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Piano Concerto No. 2 by Ravel

MDR-Sinfonieorchester

Conductor in Lašské Tance by Janáček

The Bridgewater Hall

Conductor in Brandenburg Gate by Brubeck

Usher Hall

Conductor in Lachian Dances by Janáček

Usher Hall

About

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