Name: 8th Symphony Concert
Start: 2025-03-25T19:00:00
Location: Semperoper Dresden

The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden invites audiences to a series of enthralling events in 2025, celebrating orchestral and chamber music's rich tapestry. From Petr Popelka's return to the Dresden stage with a riveting Russian program, to André Caplet’s haunting compositions inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, and captivating recitals focusing on the harmony between art and nature, these events promise an unforgettable concert season. Experience globally renowned conductors and virtuosos as they perform iconic works, bringing to life the diverse narratives embedded in classical music’s legacy.

A Symphony of Culture: The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden's 2025 Musical Journey

The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden is set to present a series of captivating concerts that beautifully intertwine nature, tradition, and innovation. From Mahler and Beethoven’s enchanting portrayals of the natural world to Verdi’s dramatic requiem and Sibelius’s modern symphonic masterpiece, each event promises to transport audiences on a unique cultural voyage. With performances spanning from intimate chamber music to grand orchestral symphonies, led by acclaimed conductors like Daniele Gatti and Herbert Blomstedt, these concerts promise to leave a lasting impression on all who attend.

Nature, Heritage, and Innovation: A Journey Through the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden's Spectacular Concert Series

This spring, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden invites audiences to experience an array of captivating musical events at the Semperoper Dresden, Germany. From the vibrant works of Mahler to the evocative compositions of Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, the series promises a rich tapestry of sound. Highlights include Daniele Gatti's Mahler cycle, Herbert Blomstedt's interpretations of Beethoven and Sibelius, and Anna Rakitina's exploration of Sibelius's revolutionary symphonic style. Join us in celebrating these outstanding performances, where historical and contemporary musical frontiers converge.

Exploring the Symphony: Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden's 2025 Concert Series

Emanuel Ax

Joshua Weilerstein

Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden

This year’s Remembrance Concert commemorating the destruction of Dresden on 13 February 1945 features Igor Stravinsky’s »Mass«, a deliberately sober, liturgically reduced Mass setting. The composer did not produce a bombastic celebration of Christ’s sacrifice but rather a piece of quiet contemplation. Anton Bruckner’s Ninth feels rather like a testimonial. The composer dedicated the symphony to »our dear Lord« as an act of the deepest devotion. The three completed movements take us on an emotional journey from loss and devastation to hope before the unfinished work fades into silence. Daniele Gatti unites these two compositions to create a poignant tapestry of mourning, remembrance and contemporary spirituality.

Symphony Concert N° 6

Semperoper Dresden

Chamber Music Concert of the Giuseppe-Sinopoli-Academy

Semper Zwei

Gustav Mahler’s »Kindertotenlieder« were written, as he said, »in one breath«. This is music of harrowing intimacy, in which the focus is not on pain but rather the depiction of suffering through images of quiet consolation. Composed between 1901 and 1904, the cycle explores a theme that, tragically, would affect Mahler only a few years later. In his Seventh Symphony, however, the composer strikes a very different tone: enigmatic, fragmented, often unearthly. Two so-called Nachtmusiken (Night Musics) frame a ghostly scherzo that oscillates between darkness and demonic mockery. But then comes the turning point: the Finale shocks with the glaring light of day, almost as if from another world – triumphant yet at the same time ambiguous.

Symphony Concert N° 7

Robert Lis, born in Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland, began playing the violin at the age of 6. He is one of the most talented Polish violinists of his generation and has won numerous national and international violin competitions. In 2011, he graduated with honours from the Ignacy Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan as a student of Prof. Dr Marcin Baranowski. In 2012 he obtained his second master's degree at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam as a student of Ilya Grubert.

Chamber Music Evening N° 5

Semper Opera Dresden

Lukas Stepp has been concertmaster of the 2nd violins of the Staatskapelle Dresden since the beginning of 2019.

Chamber Music Evening N° 6

Through his thrilling concerts and highly acclaimed recordings, Gautier Capuçon has already established a solid reputation as one of the leading cellists of his generation. Born in the French city of Chambéry in 1981, Capuçon first took cello lessons at age five. He went on to study at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris under Philippe Muller and Annie Cochet-Zakine, later attending a masterclass of Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. A prize-winner at numerous international competitions, Capuçon was named »Young Artist of the Year« at the Victoires de la Musique ceremony in 2001. In 2004 he was awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award and has also received several ECHO Classical Music Awards. In addition to his work as a soloist, Gautier Capuçon is an enthusiastic chamber musician, performing with Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim and, naturally, his brother, Renaud.

Recital of the Capell virtuoso

The traditional Palm Sunday Concert was established in 1827 to gather money for the widows and orphans of the Royal Kapelle (today’s Staatskapelle). For decades, this was the only concert programme to feature choral symphonic music. Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Kapellmeister Felix Mendelssohn was also once a guest here, conducting his oratorio »St. Paul« on Palm Sunday in 1843. Five years later, in memory of Mendelssohn’s death a few months earlier, Carl Gottlieb Reißiger conducted the Dresden premiere of »Elijah«. The oratorio tells the story of the prophet in a series of dramatic scenes depicting a life of destiny, doubt, faith and consolation.

Symphony Concert N° 8

Born in Sibiu, Romania, in 1989 into a Hungarian-Romanian family of musicians, Tibor Gyenge received his first violin lessons from his father.

Chamber Music Evening N° 7

»Wien pur!« A concert with Viennese charm

Palace of Culture

In this program, you can experience a rather unusual combination of three unique and very special instruments. And all of them are absolutely record-breaking: the piccolo as the smallest and highest-pitched woodwind instrument, the tuba as by far the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument, and the harp as the orchestral instrument with the most strings! In a large orchestra, the three are often very far apart – and they have very different functions. But of course, the Olympic spirit is at the forefront of "Higher, Lower, Cheerful": "Taking part is everything," or, more accurately, making music together. We will get to know the different characteristic traits of the instruments and experience how, through the power of music, the piccolo, tuba, and harp, despite their great differences, can come together to form a wonderful whole!

Band for Kids: "Higher, deeper, merrier!"

Evening Recital N° 3

A romantic programme with a close connection to Dresden. As royal Kapellmeister from 1817, Carl Maria von Weber had a long-lasting impact on the city’s musical life. His »Oberon« overture is a late vision of romantic opera that is both radiant and dramatically charged. Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto was premiered on 4 December 1845 at the local Hotel de Saxe with Clara Schumann as soloist and Ferdinand Hiller conducting. Clara noted in her diary: »The concerto is quite rich in invention. All the movements are particularly beautiful, all of a piece, fresh and not too long.« Johannes Brahms was also closely associated with Dresden, frequently performing here as a pianist and conductor of his own works.

8th Symphony Concert

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