Name: NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / NDR Vocal Ensemble / Philip Mayers / Paavo Järvi
Start: 2026-03-01T16:00:00
Location: Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

In the vast landscape of cultural events, some stand out with their unique blend of creativity and profound thematic depth. The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg serves as the perfect backdrop for an array of musical spectacles ranging from jubilant choral performances to intense operatic dramas. With events featuring works by Bach, Strauss, and Brahms, conducted by maestros like Alan Gilbert and Paavo Järvi, attendees are invited to immerse themselves in a world where music narrates the tales of myths, heroism, and existential reflections.

Exploring the Depths of Music: A Journey Through Choirs, Myths, and Heroic Tales

The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Cologne Philharmonie will host a series of captivating musical events in 2026 that delve into timeless themes of myth, tragedy, and consolation. From heroic myths and operatic shockers to the musical reflections on human suffering and end of the world visions, these events promise to provide profound insight into the human condition through the powerful medium of music. Join us as we explore the works of Strauss, Schumann, Brahms, and others, brought to life by world-renowned conductors and performers.

Exploring the Depths of Myth, Tragedy, and Consolation in Music

Embark on a captivating musical journey with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra as they present a series of riveting performances from February to May 2026. With a repertoire that spans heroic myths, operatic shocks, and Scandinavian influences, this series promises an immersive experience through the masterful interpretations of renowned conductors and performers. Discover the narratives that challenge notions of heroism, delve into Strauss's dramatic 'Elektra,' and explore the rich cultural tapestry of the Baltic Sea region. Each event offers a unique blend of classical compositions and innovative renditions, creating an unforgettable celebration of music and storytelling.

Exploring Epic Narratives: The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra Series

Paavo Järvi

Philip Mayers

Kaspars Putniņš

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra

NDR Vocal Ensemble

Elbphilharmonie

Anyone who wins the junior section of the legendary International Tchaikovsky Competition at the age of 13 is under special scrutiny. Even ten years later, Alexander Malofeev continues to fulfill the associated expectations with flying colors. Since then, the Russian, dubbed a "world revolution on the piano" by the Wiener Standard, has collected numerous other prizes and performed with the world's greatest orchestras. In 2022, he stood in for Yevgeny Kissin with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. "The audience went wild with enthusiasm," wrote the Frankfurter Rundschau. At the Elbphilharmonie, the still only 23-year-old now devotes himself to both the grand masters of Russian piano music and darkly shimmering works from Northern Europe.

Alexander Malofeev, Piano

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

"You feel almost embraced by the transparent harp sounds. There's no question that Brandee Younger has captured the hearts of the Hamburg audience with her music and charisma," enthused the Hamburger Abendblatt when the charismatic jazz harpist Brandee Younger made her debut in the Recital Hall of the Elbphilharmonie in October 2023. And even then, it prophesied: "The next time she comes, her path will probably lead not to the Recital Hall, but to the Grand Hall." How true!

Brandee Younger Trio

Almost exactly nine years ago, the Elbphilharmonie organ was played for the first time in a solo concert. Since then, titular organist Iveta Apkalna, who was also at the console back then, has presented ever-expanding organ repertoire with exciting programs—this time including minimal music by Philip Glass and music by organ favorites Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt, and Pēteris Vasks.

Iveta Apkalna, Orgel

What should drive an artist? Curiosity, says cellist Kian Soltani. There's room for it everywhere – especially in classical music. The fact that the Austrian with Persian roots is full of thirst for knowledge and a love of experimentation is evident in every one of his concerts. This evening he takes on Tchaikovsky's cello cosmos and presents a piece of Russian late Romanticism with the Nocturne in D minor, originally written for piano and later reworked for cello and orchestra, as well as the famous Rococo Variations. Gustav Mahler, on the other hand, walks the border between Romanticism and Modernism. His Fifth Symphony symbolizes a turning point. From the somber opening funeral march to the radiant final chorale, this masterpiece offers a journey through melancholy, passion, and triumph and is in the best hands of the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne and Cristian Măcelaru.

WDR Symphony Orchestra / Kian Soltani / Cristian Măcelaru

Lisa Wulff, a true local hero, is coming to the Elbphilharmonie. For the "Jazz Bass" special, the Hamburg native has expanded her quartet with Philipp Schiepek and Andreas Dombert by two guitarists. With this lineup, the winner of the 2023 German Jazz Prize in the Bass category presents a highly anticipated new album

Lisa Wulff Quartet feat. Philipp Schiepek & Andreas Dombert

Few works convey the human struggle in the face of mortality, between hope and despair, light and shadow, as movingly as Johannes Brahms's "German Requiem." With an individual selection of biblical passages, the composer created a thoroughly personal promise of comfort, which he himself said he would have preferred to call "human" rather than "German." Christian Thielemann, the "sound gilder" (Hamburger Abendblatt), conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin.

Brahms: A German Requiem / Christian Thielemann

Jean Rondeau, the rising star of the harpsichord, returns to the Elbphilharmonie with his latest project. In a marathon concert featuring three one-hour blocks and two intermissions, he will play exclusively works by the composer Louis Couperin, who has accompanied him since childhood: "He made the instrument sing like no one before him—and perhaps no one since."

Jean Rondeau, Cembalo

The Wacken sensation plays their first headlining tour. Metaklapa are already a piece of Wacken history: Their first ever public appearance took them to the »Wacken Open Air« festival in 2022. It was a sensational success. The six singers from Croatia stand for high-class polyphonic a cappella singing with uniquely arranged melodies and the lyrics of one of the greatest metal bands of all time: Iron Maiden. Never before have their songs been interpreted in such an innovative and sophisticated way. The name Metaklapa says it all: Klapa is a form of Dalmatian a cappella singing that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fusion with a true world culture – the heavy metal of Iron Maiden – gives this tradition a new, international guise.

Metaklapa

NDR Chamber Concert / Alan Gilbert

Carolin and Jörg Widmann are among the most outstanding siblings in the international music world. With their extraordinary talents and artistic versatility, they have had a significant influence on musical life for around three decades. In their joint projects, the siblings combine their individual strengths and regularly invite high-calibre musicians from the international chamber music scene. Supported by established string quartets and other renowned guests, they create programmes that span two centuries of music history and include both classical and contemporary works. Their concerts range from dense chamber music quartets to solo concerts with a large string orchestra.

Portrait Concert: Fantastic Siblings – Carolin and Jörg Widmann

A major chapter in string quartet history is coming to a close: After more than 40 years as an ensemble, the Hagen Quartet is entering its final season. They bring a program to the Elbphilharmonie that revives the highlights of recent decades with works by Mozart, Schubert, and Weber.

Hagen Quartet

In the run-up to the performances of Richard Strauss's "Elektra," the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and the NDR Vokalensemble, under their chief conductors Alan Gilbert and Klaas Stok, will devote a joint concert to other heroic myths in music. It becomes clear: the oft-praised heroism itself is a myth. For just as Elektra, in her supposedly self-sacrificing fight against injustice, becomes a possessed murderer herself, so too do the protagonists of this concert program "fail": Orpheus cannot free his wife Eurydice from the underworld because he is looking around for her; Napoleon, to whom Ludwig van Beethoven originally wanted to dedicate his "Eroica," tramples on the human rights he proclaimed; and Prometheus, another hidden "dedicatee" of the symphony that has itself become a myth, also makes several mistakes as the legendary originator of human civilization...

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra & Vocal Ensemble / Klaas Stok / Alan Gilbert

»Schumann’s music opens up a whole world of new musical forms for us, touching strings that his great predecessors have not yet touched.« This is how none other than Piotr Tchaikovsky enthused about his German colleague. In fact, Schumann – alongside Mozart and Mendelssohn – was a great role model for the creator of ‘Pathétique’, »Swan Lake« and co. In the music of the older Romantic composer, Tchaikovsky found »the echo of mysterious processes of our soul life that move the heart of today’s man.« So there are plenty of reasons to juxtapose selected works by the two »brothers in spirit«. In the Elbphilharmonie, the NDR Vokalensemble under Kaspars Putniņš, currently chief conductor of the Swedish and Latvian Radio Choirs, and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under star conductor Paavo Järvi will explore this affinity.

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / NDR Vocal Ensemble / Philip Mayers / Paavo Järvi

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