Jakub Hrůša

Bamberger Symphoniker

To round off the year, we're treating our audience to a fun and colorful puzzle: They can create their own New Year's Eve concert – and we'll play whatever they request. Until then, however, they'll be spoiled for choice, as there's a wide selection of works in different categories to vote on: 5 sparkling overtures, 10 enchanting orchestral and violin pieces each – and even 5 lively encores. The "conductor" has already been chosen: The young and versatile conductor Aurel Dawidiuk, who is also a successful pianist and organist, was recently appointed Associate Conductor of the renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

New Year's Eve À La Carte

The Greek philosopher Plato already stated: »Music and rhythm find their way to the soul‘s most secret places.« Under the baton of our Chief Conductor, we present two exceptionally pulsating works in this concert. Already at the premiere of Beethoven»s Seventh Symphony in 1813, the spark from the dancing, trumpeting sounds immediately ignited the Vienna audience – and the composer, who was standing at the conductor‘s podium at the time despite his advanced deafness, said afterwards »with the most heartfelt emotion« that the performance had been »the non-plus-ultra of art«. The symphony is a very life-affirming work: indeed, there are a few subdued parts, but otherwise an optimistic sonority spreads with a boisterous tone and some occasionally embedded humour. Romain Rolland described the energised musical stream of Beethoven‘s Seventh as an »orgy of rhythm« – a characterisation that also fits perfectly with the orchestral frenzy in Stravinsky‘s eruptive piece »Le Sacre du printemps«. This was first performed exactly a century later than Beethoven‘s symphony – as ballet music on 29 May 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Even more elemental forces are unleashed here and magical moments are created with ingenious orchestration: The idea for this breathtaking work came to Stravinsky when he was »dreaming of a pagan ritual« that involved invocations to re-awaken nature and would ultimately lead to an ecstatic sacrificial dance. To this end, he composed music whose fascinating vortex and pounding rhythms are perfectly suited to permeate the depths of the soul.

Beethoven's Seventh and "Le sacre du printemps"