Name: Franz Schmidt: The Book with the Seven Seals / Manfred Honeck
Start: 2026-05-02T20:00:00
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

Join us on a captivating journey through orchestral and cultural landscapes as we delve into a series of concerts and recitals spanning February to May 2026. With performances featuring renowned conductors like Andris Nelsons, Alain Altinoglu, and Manfred Honeck, these events bring together creative masterpieces from Mendelssohn to Brahms and beyond. Immerse yourself in the expressive power of music as it paints stories of hope, history, and human experience, while celebrating Jewish culture and exploring themes of peace, reconciliation, and the end of the world.

Exploring the Symphony: A Journey Through Time and Culture

Manfred Honeck

Christina Landshamer

Tareq Nazmi

Patrick Grahl

Maximilian Schmitt

Catriona Morison

Gerrit Illenberger

Elbphilharmonie

MDR Radio Choir

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra

NDR Vocal Ensemble

This workshop offers a tour through the classical symphony orchestra. From the violin, cello and double bass to the trumpet and flute: participants can try them all out. And there are instruments in different sizes for youngsters and adults alike. To conclude the workshop, a little music-making session where everyone joins in shows that all the instruments harmonise.

Workshop: Klassiko Orchestra Instruments

With minimal music, a new style of music emerged from the 1960s in the USA with catchy, continually repeating melodies or rhythms, commonly called »Patterns«. Composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass made this style world famous. In this workshop, participants learn something about this musical style, play on xylophones and metallophones and come up with their own minimal music piece at the end.

Workshop: Kosmos Minimal Music

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

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Even today, many in the music world shrug their shoulders at the mention of Arnold Schoenberg's name. Schoenberg's music is often considered overly intellectual and difficult to access. While that may perhaps be true of his revolutionary "twelve-tone music," his late Romantic works are the exact opposite: powerfully sonorous, emotional, and captivating. The symphonic poem "Pelleas and Melisande," for example, tells the story of two unhappily married couples who, because of their complicated pasts, cannot be reunited. The music traverses the entire emotional spectrum of its main characters—from the tenderest strains of love to furious jealousy to the most profound world-weariness.

Munich Philharmonic / Lahav Shani

The staged concert »Where the Wind Blows« transports the audience to a world in which air is the source of music. This is particularly evident in the members of this young, enthusiastic woodwind quintet. They find themselves in a mysterious place where movement and sound form a magical union. Determined, they allow the wind to guide them, first in their encounters with each other, then competing with one another, until they finally achieve harmony together. As a quintet, they play music from different eras, including works by the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla.

Twinkle Concert L / Wo der Wind Weht

Approaching a genius: With his "Journey to Mozart," Daniel Hope embarked on his first musical adventure into the Mozart cosmos in 2018. A world of sound that is always worth exploring and bringing to life anew. "His music has something otherworldly, untouchable, almost unattainable. And yet he was so human," says Hope. In his new version of "Journey to Mozart," the violinist approaches the Salzburg master by once again allowing his contemporaries to have their say: In addition to famous colleagues such as Joseph Haydn and Christoph Willibald Glück, this time the program also includes a violin concerto by arguably the most extraordinary musician of Mozart's time: Joseph Bologne, the son of a French nobleman and a slave from Guadeloupe, made a career during the French Revolution both as a violin virtuoso and composer, as well as an accomplished fencer in the Légion des Américains et du Midi.

Daniel Hope / Zurich Chamber Orchestra

The full blast of orchestral sound: This season, the Royal Concertgebouw's regulars present Anton Bruckner's monumental Eighth Symphony at the Elbphilharmonie under the baton of the young star conductor Klaus Mäkelä. He will take over as Chief Conductor of the Dutch orchestra in 2027. Together, they are already testing the limits of this powerful symphony.

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Klaus Mäkelä

Julius Caesar and Cleopatra are one of the most famous love couples in human history. It's no wonder, then, that artists from all disciplines—from art to theater to film—have been inspired by the passionate relationship between the Roman general and the Egyptian pharaoh. The most impressive musical interpretation was achieved 300 years ago by George Frideric Handel in his opera "Giulio Cesare in Egitto," which, with its rich instrumentation and numerous musical ideas, remains one of the milestones of Baroque heroic opera. Now, the work will be performed for the first time in concert at the Elbphilharmonie with a prominent cast.

Handel: Julius Caesar / Francesco Corti

The Orchestra Academy of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra prepares highly talented young instrumentalists for a career as professional musicians in a major international orchestra. The 15 academy students are part of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra for two years. At their annual chamber concert, the stage belongs to them for one evening: They showcase their talent in the Recital Hall of the Elbphilharmonie, sometimes in classical and sometimes in unusual ensembles.

Chamber concert of the Orchestra Academy

"Noble simplicity and quiet grandeur"? No way! With their breathtaking operatic shocker "Elektra," Richard Strauss and his librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal completely turned the 18th-century idealized image of antiquity on its head in 1909. Horror instead of humanism, revenge instead of a feat of glory, bloodbath instead of a flowering of culture: this one-act opera leaves no one unmoved to this day. And in terms of the musical language, Strauss and his mammoth orchestra also went to extremes in every respect.

Strauss: Elektra / Alan Gilbert

In Christian Fennesz's music, time seems to stand still and space dissolve. Since the 1990s, the musician has shaped the electronic music scene in Austria and far beyond. He creates his complex, multi-layered ambient sounds around the guitar. Often distorted beyond recognition, the instrument is Fennesz's trademark and unique selling point.

Christian Fennesz

Trumpet and accordion – it sounds unusual, but they actually go together perfectly. Just like Lucienne Renaudin Vary and Félicien Brut. Both effortlessly bridge the boundaries between classical, jazz, and pop, blending diverse soundscapes. They skillfully blend the music of their French homeland with global sounds, proving that the accordion is rightfully the instrument of the year 2026!

Lucienne Renaudin Vary, Trumpet

The great Austrian repertoire, from Strauss and Strauss to Mahler and Berg, is in the best hands with Manfred Honeck, a native of Vorarlberg. And because the 2026 Hamburg International Music Festival is dedicated to the theme of "The End," Honeck will be performing the most monumental vision of the end of the world by an Austrian composer of the 20th century at the opening concert: Franz Schmidt's setting of the apocalypse, "The Book with Seven Seals." Outstanding singers and choirs are a must here.

Franz Schmidt: The Book with the Seven Seals / Manfred Honeck

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