"Playing with building blocks"—that's how Mahler once described his creative process. Therefore, in this concert, under the direction of Philippe Jordan, we will joyfully assemble one note after another with over 100 instruments. With our combined orchestral forces, we are always mindful, in Mahler's spirit, of "building a world by all means." The sound world we are to create is his popular Fifth Symphony from 1902, in whose interpretation we can indulge our musical passion, for the composer said that "the boldest passages and movements escaped him" here. It is a multifaceted work with a wealth of playful building blocks, and as a dreamy point of repose, there is the Adagietto, a truly otherworldly movement—made particularly famous by Visconti's film classic "Death in Venice."

Philippe Jordan, Maria Dueñas

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

Our principal conductor once praised the "natural quality" of our orchestra, saying that we "never play routinely" and therefore it "never sounds boring." He particularly appreciates our great enthusiasm for discovering the often still unknown music of his homeland, and so we will once again delve with him into the Czech repertoire, which has become irresistible to us – with exciting works such as the "Suita rustica" by Vítězslava Kaprálová, who was not only a highly gifted composer but also the first female conductor of the Czech Philharmonic. She came from Brno but died in exile in France at the young age of 25. In 1938, she wrote her impressive suite, inspired by the folklore of her homeland, which we will present with great joy and energy. 

Jakub Hrůša, Julia Hagen

"Fate shuffles the cards – and we play." In the spirit of this Schopenhauer quote, we look forward to the program under the direction of our honorary conductor, Manfred Honeck. It begins with the overture to a musical card game: Tchaikovsky's dramatic setting of Pushkin's poem from 1890 revolves around a countess who, in her youth, was a daring gambler nicknamed "The Queen of Spades" – and who knows a secret about three unbeatable winning cards that prove fatal for a young officer gambling in a casino. Shostakovich also had a great passion for gambling: he was an enthusiastic football fan, maintained contact with the members of his favorite club, and even completed referee training. Perhaps his stadium experiences enabled him to so brilliantly charge, channel, or unleash the masses of sound in his compositions—as in his magnificent Second Cello Concerto from 1966, for which Truls Mørk takes on the role of the charging striker in our performance. 

Manfred Honeck, Truls Mørk

Podcast link: https://youtu.be/4hagYvrYbuM

The Artelize Podcast and Kasper Holten - Pedefining Opera for the modern world

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d36M5Hi6O80

The Artelize Podcast - A legacy of innovation in Opera: Celebrating Marc A. Scorca

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59E40S_EQSY

The Artelize Podcast: A love letter that was never sent

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THv6htilWtI

The Artelize Podcast and Adolfo Corrado: Mediterranean flavors, opera and social media

A few orchestral Champions League matches are on the horizon: But before we take some creative shots on goal in Spain, we're looking forward to a home game in front of our loyal Bamberg fans. Our principal conductor will be leading us as our musical coach, guiding us through, among other things, "Champions League" works from his native Czech Republic.

Jakub Hrůša, Sol Gabetta

The organ world of this concert offers a wealth of evocative colors and magical impressions – and even a few mythical figures play their games. Johannes Skoog, born in Stockholm in 1992, will bring them musically to life on the keys and pedals: He won First Prize at the Canadian International Organ Competition in 2024 and was recently appointed organist to the Swedish royal court. He opens his Bamberg program with Prokofiev's Toccata of 1912, a "devilishly witty" virtuoso piece of classical modernism. Debussy's sensuously shimmering composition, written in 1894, is characterized by an arabesque-like main theme: A faun revels in intoxicating memories of beautiful nymphs on a summer afternoon.

Organ concert: Johannes Skoog

This will be a great joy for everyone involved: In keeping with the fifth season (Carnival), under the direction of Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, we will slip into different roles, individually or in groups, for the musical stories of this concert, just like at Carnival or a masquerade – and can thus demonstrate our playing skills on the respective instruments. For Berlioz's soul-searching work set in Italy, our solo violist Wen Xiao Zheng will take on the part of the melancholic dreamer Harold.

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Wen Xiao Zheng

An exciting concert for us, offering plenty of creative freedom for individual orchestra members and fresh musical perspectives. We welcome Jörg Widmann, a versatile artist, to the conductor's podium, as he is both a soloist and composer of some of the pieces. He once gave such a wonderful answer to the question of how important live music is that "especially in the age of technical reproducibility and the accessibility of music anytime, anywhere in the world, the human being singing and playing on stage in the moment, without a safety net, is able to captivate and fascinate us more than ever.

Jörg Widmann, Ilian Garnetz, Sarah Maria Sun, Barbara Bode

This promises to be a delightful theatrical experience: Giovanni Antonini, as conductor and director, guides us through an original program brimming with powerful emotions and dramatic surprises. In the first part, we embark on a journey through the enchanting world of Italian music, which in the 18th and 19th centuries revolved almost exclusively around opera. Many composers explored this genre, and we present wonderful arias penned by the then-leading bel canto masters Rossini, Bellini, and Paisiello – and welcome the acclaimed artist Julia Lezhneva to sing the often rapid coloratura passages. 

Giovanni Antonini, Julia Lezhneva

Impressive, athletic – and so vivid that individual scenes of our antics will be clearly recognizable: We are looking forward to performing a few lighthearted musical recreations under the direction of Robert Treviño. We will be playing a musical team game composed by Charles Ives, and our audience can look forward to seeing how this "Football Game," complete with woven-in fan chants and a referee's whistle to ensure fair play, unfolds. The composer himself described the piece as a "caricature in two two-minute halves" and added: "Funny to listen to – but difficult to play!" We will also present the equally witty pranks of Till Eulenspiegel, that profound rogue whom Richard Strauss captured with all manner of mischief – and with such delight, because he wanted to hear "the people in the concert hall really laugh.

Robert Treviño, Janos Wollenweber

"When spring arrives, the heart leaps for joy." Fittingly, just before the official start of this season, we're bringing together a vibrant blend of sonic magic and folklore. With guest conductor Krzysztof Urbański and the explosive violinistic power of Nemanja Radulović, we'll also be delivering plenty of energy and musical exuberance – in refreshing interpretations of works that all resonate with the vibrant spirit of spring. Tchaikovsky's popular Violin Concerto, with its catchy themes, is certainly a virtuosic rollercoaster ride, yet it's also one of the more lighthearted pieces by this otherwise often melancholic composer.

Krzysztof Urbański, Nemanja Radulović

concert together with our solo trumpeter, Manuel Mischel, and our solo trombonist, Philippe Stier. The sonata by the Venetian composer Dario Castello, born in 1602, offers an enormous range of emotions. In Widor's organ symphony from 1878, a vast array of stops are pulled out around a chorale-like theme, creating a brilliant sonic experience. Berio's "Sequenza" from 1966 explicitly prescribes elements of theatrical performance, including conscious breathing and vocal technique. The two organ movements, published only after Mendelssohn's death, were combined into a single sonata in 1993 with a new instrumentation – and represent a compelling musical experiment. 

Organ concert: Christian Schmitt, Manuel Mischel, Philippe Stier

"Man only plays when he is in the full sense of the word a human being, and he is only fully a human being when he plays." These famous words come from Friedrich Schiller, and the program under the direction of our honorary conductor Christoph Eschenbach inspires us to many musical flourishes – with our wind players repeatedly shining through with their playful spirit. And the instrumental pieces hit the mark perfectly, for example in the overture from Weber's opera "Der Freischütz" from 1821: Here, bullets cursed by demonic powers decide the love life of a young hunter in a competition – but "the whole thing ends joyfully," as the composer noted. Afterwards, together with our solo horn player Andreas Kreuzhuber, we perform a fascinating concerto by Reinhold Glière: Although this virtuoso piece was composed in 1950, it is entirely imbued with a romantic spirit.

Christoph Eschenbach, Andreas Kreuzhuber

"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

Let's play: We look forward to the continuation of the symphonic format »Video Games in Concert"And immerse yourself in the epic soundtracks of popular games, which have long since been celebrated on concert stages far beyond the virtual realm. In this exciting branch of composition, the often enormously emotional music ingeniously creates evocative atmospheres in the various scenarios and, with its captivating passages, draws the listener ever deeper into the action.

EPSG:4326

Video Games in Concert

Konzerthalle

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

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

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

As early as 1773, the traveling scholar Charles Burney noted in his diary that "the Bohemians are the most musical of all nations." Our characteristically warm orchestral style is deeply rooted in this tradition, and we always enjoy celebrating it with exuberant joy. Our principal conductor has once again put together a captivating program from his homeland: It plunges us into the second act of Janáček's poignant national opera "Jenůfa," which premiered in Brno in 1904. The opera revolves around rural life and the prevailing moral codes and social constraints that place immense pressure on a young woman—ultimately leading to the death of her illegitimate child. This magnificent masterpiece is defined by folk music, dramatic moments, and an incredible intensity of emotion.

Orchestral events in Bamberg

Philippe Jordan, Maria Du...

Bamberger Symphoniker

New Year's Eve À La Carte...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Jakub Hrůša, Julia Hagen

Bamberger Symphoniker

Manfred Honeck, Truls Mør...

Bamberger Symphoniker

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast - A ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast: A l...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

Jakub Hrůša, Sol Gabetta

Bamberger Symphoniker

Organ concert: Johannes S...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, We...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Jörg Widmann, Ilian Garne...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Giovanni Antonini, Julia ...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Robert Treviño, Janos Wol...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Krzysztof Urbański, Neman...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Organ concert: Christian ...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Christoph Eschenbach, And...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Juraj Valčuha, Frank Pete...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Roberto González-Monjas, ...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Video Games in Concert

Special concert: Manfred ...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Kazuki Yamada, Leif Ove A...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Susanna Mälkki, Bertrand ...

Bamberger Symphoniker

Jakub Hrůša, Daniela Koch...

Bamberger Symphoniker