Name: Sunday Matinee
Start: 2025-10-12T11:00:00
Location: Odense Concert Hall

Dive into a world where music and stories intertwine, offering a journey through time and emotions. From the vibrant performances of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen with the Odense Symphony Orchestra to the timeless tale of Verdi's La Traviata, each event showcases the transformative power of music. Whether it's the modern retelling of The 13th Child or the evocative narratives of Shostakovitch & Tchaikovsky, the events promise an unforgettable blend of history and harmony. Join us as we explore these rich musical landscapes, crafted by talented performers and visionary composers.

A Symphony of Stories: Exploring the Melodies of Odense

This event season, embark on a journey through the diverse and enthralling world of opera and symphonic concerts. From Verdi's classic La Traviata, exploring themes of love and freedom, to Poul Ruders' fairy tale opera, and the iconic melodies of Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky, music lovers are in for a treat. Hosted at spectacular venues in Denmark, the performances promise a deep dive into musical histories and fresh compositions, bridging past and present, and offering a rich tapestry of cultural narratives and emotional experiences.

Exploring the Symphony of Emotions: A Journey Through Music and Opera

Odense Symphony Orchestra

The mysteries and conspiracies are in full swing when it comes to Mozart's last great work, the impressive Requiem, which he left this world without completing – at the age of just 35. According to tradition, the night before he died, he sang the alto part of all the written fragments for his friends in a last desperate attempt to get the music from his physical body onto paper before it was too late. He didn't manage to do so, and the work had to be completed by former students. But even though much of the music in this work was not completed by the master himself, it is iconic music of the finest caliber, conceived, as it is, by the world's most fearsome musical mind. Mozart's Requiem has been a sure hit on concert posters around the world for centuries, and the beauty, the horror, the sorrow and the hope – everything that makes us human – also emanate from the pages of the magnificent score. Odense Symphony Orchestra collaborates regularly with high schools on Funen, and the many hundreds of young voices and the experienced singers from the Funen Philharmonic Choir lift the mood in tonight's concert, confidently led by choral conductor Stephen Moore from the Royal Danish Opera Choir.

Mozarts Requiem

Odense Concert Hall

London in 1748, it attracted 12,000 people, and a veritable traffic chaos arose around London Bridge. We expect more civilized conditions around the churches of Funen when the Odense Symphony Orchestra, together with the ultra-concise Magnus Fryklund, tackles Handel's masterpiece in our traditional baroque church concert, which also offers a concert version of Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas - an epic story of love and betrayal. We guarantee goosebumps and existential angst in the most beautiful packaging to complement the baroque fireworks.

Music For The Royal Fireworks

Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Faaborg Kirke/ Faaborg Church

Saint Hans Church Odense

The good melodies are in line when the always well-intentioned Simon Gaudenz, who has a special flair for programming, together with the Odense Symphony Orchestra offers a selection of Schubert's best songs together with the Norwegian lyric tenor Petter Moen, who is visiting Odense again. We let the orchestra's many timbres magnify the beautiful songs, which were originally written with piano accompaniment, before we are enchanted after the break by Felix Mendelssohn's last composed and probably most popular symphony, The Scottish Symphony .

Schubert & Mendelssohn

Sunday Matinee

Conservatory Concert Hall

Together with all of Denmark's Sigurd Barrett and a huge children's choir, we dive deep into the soil of Funen and offer a fantastic musical story about our fine Funen - with original songs by Sigurd, inspired by the stories of Funen schoolchildren. Look forward to a re-hearing of all of Sigurd's songs, which he composed for the 10 Funen municipalities in connection with our 75th anniversary in 2021. Here are stories about the many exciting people from Funen, about special regional dishes, traditions, and the great mystery of where the Brunswicker actually comes from.

Sigurd And The History Of Funk

No one above and no one next to Tchaikovsky when the menu is ballet music. It is actually difficult to comprehend exactly how many absolute world hits the self-critical Russian managed to write in the ultimate romantic genre, and when you put them next to each other, as our chief conductor, Pierre Bleuse, has done for this concert, yes, then we are talking about a hit parade of unheard of dimensions - but at the same time with depth, humor and bite; there is a reason why Tchaikovsky is considered the world's undisputed best ballet composer. He embraces all the great emotions, and his sublime melodies are combined with a surprisingly refined use of rhythmic intricacies, which means that the orchestra always has to get to the front of their seats when Tchaikovsky is on the bill.

Swan Lake & Sleeping Rose

The viola figures prominently in tonight's Pro Musica concert. Dvořák's 3rd String Quintet has added an extra viola to the standard string quartet and dates from Dvořák's time in America in the early 1890s, where he went all out to find the American 'primordial music', just as he had done with his own Czech folk music idiom. We can therefore look forward to both tribal rhythms, folk tunes and Dvořák's take on what could be a new, American national anthem.

Dvořák's String Quintet & Viola Power

Films should be seen in the cinema – but their unforgettable music MUST be experienced live in the concert hall. And this time it will be in Odense Concert Hall, where the entire hall will be enveloped in symphonic surround sound that goes directly into your body.

The World's Best Film Music – Part Ii

Longing, transformation and the poetry of nature – from the fragile to the magnificent. That's just a little of what's at stake at this concert.

Brahms' 2nd Symphony

Odense Symphony Orchestrakicks off its complete performance of all of Mahler's symphonies in style, when we are the very first to play the longest of them all, namely the monumental 3rd symphony, which runs for up to 1 hour and 45 minutes and requires an orchestra almost twice the size. But then it is fortunate that we have joined forces with our friends inCopenhagen Phil– on this symphonic journey into Mahler's score of overwhelming dimensions: in addition to an enormous ensemble with, for example, 8 horns, a boys' choir, a women's choir and a mezzo-soprano are also required. Here, Mahler's own words that the symphony IS the world really make sense – the musical expression could not be more all-encompassing; but Mahler also moves down into the smallest chamber musical expression and thus comes all the way around this amazing symphony – a word that actually becomes too poor here to describe what we are about to experience.

Mahlers 3.

The greatest music for the little ones! Get up close to the great symphony orchestra and have a unique musical experience for the whole family as you run around the orchestra, dance, go on dream journeys and feel the magical powers of music.

Classic With Skewers

In 2026, we can once again open the doors to the international Carl Nielsen Competition; the competition where we both pay tribute to our great, world-class composer from Funen and the talented stars of tomorrow. Since its inception, the Carl Nielsen Competition has put Odense on the musical map, attracted some of the biggest names from abroad as judges and coaches, and a long list of the winners have become big guns on the international music scene. Now you will once again have the opportunity to see what the classical music world has to offer – and in 2026 it is the flute that is the protagonist of the competition. The competition offers three elimination rounds for the 24 hopeful talents who have made it through the eye of the needle before we can reveal the absolute winner of the competition. It will all be spiced up with community singing events, talks about music and Carl Nielsen and much more.

Sunday Matinee

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