Name: Organ concert: Juan de la Rubia
Start: 2026-03-08T17:00:00
Location: Bamberger Symphoniker

The Bamberger Symphoniker is set to host an extraordinary series of events, blending diverse orchestral works with the talents of celebrated conductors and soloists. From New Year's Eve surprises with Aurel Dawidiuk to the enchanting Czech repertoire led by Jakub Hrůša, and the theatrical extravaganza with Giovanni Antonini, each event offers a unique, immersive experience. With the spotlight on creative works from composers like Mendelssohn, Kaprálová, and Dvořák, and performances by renowned artists like Josef Špaček and Julia Hagen, this symphonic journey promises to captivate audiences with its vibrant musical tapestry.

Symphonic Journeys: Exploring the Musical Landscape with Bamberger Symphoniker

The Bamberger Symphoniker is set to host a series of captivating events, showcasing an eclectic mix of classical music genres. From audience-curated New Year's Eve concerts to an International Classical Music Awards Gala, this season offers something for every classical music aficionado. Featuring renowned artists like Aurel Dawidiuk, Julia Hagen, and Nemanja Radulović, and highlighting works from composers such as Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, and Rossini, these events promise to be a feast for the senses, celebrating the enduring power and beauty of orchestral and choral music.

A Symphony of Events: Celebrating Classical Music with the Bamberger Symphoniker

Juan de la Rubia

Bamberger Symphoniker

We look forward to a grand concert with a small ensemble: The program features highly emotional soundscapes that at times explore the boundaries of chamber music. One biographer remarked that Shostakovich's Second Piano Trio is "probably the most tragic" work in the composer's oeuvre – and explained: "While he was previously familiar with the pathos of his own personal tragedy, here he expresses the tragedy of a generation that has endured death and suffering.

Chamber concert: Piano trio

"May the day be lost to us on which there was not a single dance!" Friedrich Nietzsche already expressed this sentiment – ​​and so we gladly gather under the choreographic direction of Juraj Valčuha for several playful, melodious dances of joy on our instruments. The Hungarian composer Béla Bartók found much inspiration for this during his beloved "folk song collecting trips." His suite was composed in 1923 for the 50th anniversary of the unification of Buda, Óbuda, and Pest into the new capital, Budapest. This large-scale orchestral work, featuring plenty of percussion, celesta, and piano, contains a whole series of dances – sometimes elegiac, sometimes stamping, sometimes cheerful, and culminating in a triumphant celebration of joie de vivre. 

Juraj Valčuha, Frank Peter Zimmermann

This will be a great joy, as we'll be igniting four sonic fireworks. Our energy will be further fueled by two Spaniards – the conductor Roberto González-Monjas and the pianist Javier Perianes. We'll begin with a humorous role-playing exercise: Manuel de Falla's ballet "El sombrero de tres picos" ("The Three-Cornered Hat") from 1919 is set in a small Andalusian town – and for this turbulent comedy of errors, we can create witty onomatopoeia and lively dances. Equally atmospheric is his piece "Nights in Spanish Gardens," completed in 1916: enchanting impressions for piano and orchestra with which the composer wanted to "evoke places, moods, and feelings." This also resonates with Debussy, who preferred to listen to the wind for his music, "which tells us the story of this world" – and who even initially wanted to become a sailor. 

Roberto González-Monjas, Javier Perianes

RUBY RED AND THE WONDERS OF THE FOREST Ruby and her friends are celebrating a joyful festival in the forest. The lively atmosphere is contagious, even spreading to the birds, and everyone joins in a colorful concert. But what are those angry sounds suddenly coming from the thicket? Is a forest dweller perhaps disturbed by Ruby's party? Join Ruby Red and her friends on a vibrant musical adventure that attracts not only forest animals but also magical woodland creatures! A wonderful story about colors, emotions, friendship, and courage. Our cushion concerts, developed by our education team, take place in the concert hall, right on the stage.

Cushion Concert: Ruby Rot and the Wonders of the Forest

Bamberg Concert Hall

A museum visit? Boring?! Not this one! In our narrated family concert, conducted by Benjamin Haemhouts, you can take a musical stroll through Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and experience how the individual paintings evoke moods and the moods become musical sounds. The musicians of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, playing brass and percussion, along with soloist Christian Schmitt on the organ, considered the "queen of instruments," will create a truly special sound experience. Join us and experience "Pictures at an Exhibition" in a unique version that will take young and old alike on an exciting journey through the museum's corridors.

Family Concert: Pictures at an Exhibition

This evening, our concertmaster Ilian Garnetz will have the opportunity to showcase his talent on stage. His talent was nurtured from an early age: raised in an artistic family, he made his solo debut at the age of ten and later studied with, among others, Igor Oistrakh. Today, he is a prizewinner of major competitions and a sought-after chamber musician. For this chamber concert, he has compiled a richly evocative and captivating program, which he will present with great pleasure together with Stanislav Jar at the piano – a musical reflection of a vibrant era full of contrasts. The concert opens with a dazzling work by George Enescu, often called the "Romanian Mozart," who, as a violinist and composer, masterfully wove folkloric elements into his music. 

Chamber concert: Violin Piano

As you know, the tour starts in Bamberg: Before we embark on our Italian tour with our honorary conductor Manfred Honeck, we'll be performing some magnificent compositions at home – including two concertante character pieces, for which we'll be accompanied by Julia Fischer, of whom it was once said: "Everything she plays, she executes with such effortless grace," and one almost forgets "that this music is produced by a person and an instrument – ​​here, the music simply seems to flow from a soul and sweep the listener away." The two works for violin and orchestra included in the program are not only very close to our hearts, but also to hers, as this charming virtuoso violinist has a very personal connection to them: Her mother comes from Slovakia, and these sounds of Eastern European Romanticism were an essential part of her childhood. Josef Suk's Fantasy, composed in 1902, and Dvořák's Romance, first performed in 1877, are technically highly demanding and folklorically inspired compositions.

Special concert: Manfred Honeck and Julia Fischer

We are looking forward to a short tour of Italy under the direction of our honorary conductor, Manfred Honeck, and have brought along some wonderful compositions for the Italian audience – including two concertante character pieces. Julia Fischer will be joining us on our tour to perform them. It was once said of her: "Everything she plays, she performs with such effortless grace," and one almost forgets "that this music is produced by a person and an instrument – ​​here, the music simply seems to flow from a soul and sweep the listener away." The two works for violin and orchestra included in the program are very close to her heart, as well as to ours, because this charming and accomplished violinist has a very personal connection to them: Her mother comes from Slovakia, and these sounds of Eastern European Romanticism were an integral part of her childhood.

On Tour: Italy

In this program, our orchestral toy shop is a whirlwind of activity: Under the direction of Kazuki Yamada, we joyfully immerse ourselves in the colorful and magical realm of childhood fantasy – with a work by Debussy, inspired in 1913 by the illustrator André Hellé. He once remarked: "Toy boxes are actually cities where toys live like real people." And he added ironically: "Or perhaps cities are nothing but toy boxes where people live like toys." For the delightful composition "La boîte à joujoux," we pull a pretty doll, a tin soldier, and a quarrelsome jumping jack from the musical box and bring this wonderful bedtime story to life on stage. The poetic world of children was also a fertile source of inspiration for Bizet: in 1871, with his piano cycle "Jeux d'enfants," he created a charming collection of short, concise genre pieces – and thanks to his skillful orchestration, we will set a whirring top in motion on the stage in the small suite. 

Kazuki Yamada, Leif Ove Andsnes

After more than 13 years of extensive restoration, the former abbey church of St. Michael, located in the over 1000-year-old monastery complex, is reopening its doors. It is particularly famous for its "Heavenly Garden," a ceiling painting with over 580 detailed depictions of plants. We have the honor and, of course, the pleasure of performing on this festive occasion under the direction of our principal conductor – and we are presenting a highly Romantic work by the composer who always took great delight in churches. Bruckner dedicated the score of his Fourth Symphony to the feast day of St. Cecilia, patron saint of music.

Benefit concert for the reopening of St. Michael's Church

St Michael's Church, Bamberg

Our final chamber music open mic night of the season: We are delighted to present a program with an unusual instrumentation and an enchanting world of sound and rhythm. Four string players and the two percussionists from our ranks will perform a concert of fascinating works. This includes a brand-new piece by Gabriele Campagna – a violinist colleague from our orchestra who composes "on the side" and whose string quartet we premiered last season. We are eager to hear which facets of the diverse percussion arsenal he will explore today. A veritable acoustic choreography is the work by the American-born composer Andy Pape, who now lives in Denmark – the title playfully combines the words "cadence" and "dance.

Chamber concert: String quartet and percussion

We look forward to immersing ourselves in diverse musical worlds under the direction of Susanna Mälkki – including that of Mozart, for whom play was an important part of his life: He particularly loved billiards and skittles, as well as chess and trick-tock – or he would sit at the card table and gamble with Tarock, Brandeln, Piquet, or Pharaoh. This enthusiasm is also audible in his often playful music. Together with Bertrand Chamayou as soloist, we will perform one of his most popular works: Piano Concerto No. 23 from 1786, which was composed around the same time as his comic opera "Le nozze di Figaro" – a fact that is particularly evident in the surprising scene changes of the finale. Also on the program in Würzburg: A composition by Liszt, who wrote significant symphonic poems. 

Susanna Mälkki, Bertrand Chamayou

This will be a dazzling performance on our very own queen of instruments! Our guest is the Spaniard Juan de la Rubia, organist at the famous Sagrada Família cathedral in Barcelona. He begins his multifaceted program with the magnificent overture to Handel's 1743 psychological drama "Samson." A superb example of French Renaissance music is Eustache du Caurroy's 1610 Fantasia on the then-popular and enchanting song "Une jeune fillette." Profound emotion stands alongside explosive outbursts in Bach's legendary Chaconne in D minor. Charles Tournemire never wrote down his choral improvisations, such as the one on the Easter sequence "Victimae Paschali Laudes"—they survive only because he recorded them as early as 1930. Jehan Alain, who died young in World War II, wrote impressive variations on a folk song by the 16th-century master Clément Janequin.

Organ concert: Juan de la Rubia

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