They import an individual sound from the Big Apple to Old Europe: The Isidore Quartet comes from New York and likes to follow the motto in their performances: treat the old as if it were new, and the new as if it were old.

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Isidore Quartet

Museum Ludwig

Oum El Ghaït Benessahraoui has made it her mission to confront prejudices decisively, using only the power of music. The singer from Morocco fights against clichés that reduce Muslim women to the veil and Arabs to holy warriors, in an impressive way.

The concert begins with the contrasting pair of Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3 in C major and C minor. Lisiecki was already able to shine alongside the Academy in 2018 when he spontaneously stepped in for the ill Murray Perahia. The result: a great concert - and some of the most exciting Beethoven albums of recent years.

Jan Lisiecki | Academy of St Martin in the Fields | Tomo Keller

Who's up for classical music? For the third time, the Philharmonie opens its doors to young people when the Gürzenich Orchestra invites them to »Concert & Kölsch«.

Fancy some classical music?!

Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne: »In the mood for classical music?!«

Two fifth symphonies from Russia: In 1944, Sergei Prokofiev spent some time in the countryside where he had all the peace and calm he needed in order to compose, while back home in Moscow, people were suffering from hunger and homelessness. What Prokofiev brought to paper is lushly orchestrated, patriotic, and deliberately Russian in its rhythm and melodies. Not to mention a tremendous amount of heroic pathos, in light of the global war against Nazi Germany. In his op. 100, we see the composer as a mature, experienced symphonist, and as grand master of instrumentation. He creates veritable »orchestral paintings« – some lyrical and sumptuous, some dark and warlike.

Awakening

Aufbruch - special concert

This season, Jan Lisiecki will be presenting all of Beethoven's piano concertos together with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields - and, as the icing on the cake, the rarely performed Triple Concerto.

Jan Lisiecki | Daniel Müller-Schott | Academy of St Martin in the Fields | Tomo Keller

Great emotionality and the highest technical demands make Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto one of the pianistic touchstones. The multi-award-winning, 20-year-old Yunchan Lim takes on this challenge. Afterwards, the dazzling jazz star Wynton Marsalis shows what creative power he can extract as a composer from a classical formation.

Sound Power – Rachmaninoff & Marsalis

One and all

Many people, connoisseurs and amateurs alike, have an illustrious list of one-and-only musical works that they have grown to love forever. This concert features two of the top candidates that would rank high in the charts of all-time-favorite-classical-pieces. The Gürzenich Orchestra builds a bridge from Robert Schumann to Gustav Mahler, from dramatic, boasting virtuosity all the way to the abysmal depths of the soul. Barely half a century lies between Schumann’s only piano concerto and Mahler’s fifth enormous symphonic endeavor. But how different were the artistic worlds they each thrived in, and how turbulent were the political, technological and cultural changes that took place over the course of these few decades! Still, the works are each considered to be exemplary of a deeply romantic approach to the world.

One and only

The Venetian Dream

When asked "Song or opera?" Katharina Konradi once gave an unequivocal answer: Song - although she has also enjoyed seamless international success as an opera and operetta actress. A rare duet evening will take her to Cologne.

Katharina Konradi | Catriona Morison | Ammiel Bushakevitz

PhilharmonieLunch

»Listen carefully to all folk songs! They are a treasure trove of the most beautiful melodies and open your eyes to the nature of different cultures.« Robert Schumann once noted these wise words in his collection of »Musical House and Life Rules« – and Jakub Hrůša loves to rummage through the various treasure chests of late Romanticism with its manifold folkloristic styles. He constantly includes pieces by his beloved composer Dvořák on the programme – even the lesser-known ones, as he sees him as an artist »who is always interesting, in every work«. And so we now have the rarely performed »Heldenlied« to discover: a tone poem from 1898, which grippingly revolves around different moods from happiness to sorrow. For one of the most famous violin concertos from 1878, which we have long had on our wish list, we welcome Ray Chen, a gifted virtuoso: he loves playing with us and can now immerse himself in the emotions alongside our orchestra – because the often emotionally fragile Tchaikovsky always wanted to express »all the agony and ecstasy of love« in his music. For fans of sophisticated melodic works, we conclude with a large load of these: the Symphony No. 5 by Martinů, one of Jakub Hrůša’s favourite composers, revels in his typical soundscapes – with a rich array of colours, yearning parts, pulsating rhythms and hymn-like pathos.

Guest in Cologne

A sonic rush is guaranteed when the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and Ray Chen take on Tchaikovsky's sumptuous violin concerto. The top violinist presents himself as always in a virtuoso and approachable manner.

Bamberg Symphony Orchestra

Exceptional violinist Arabella Steinbacher inspired the Luxembourg composer Georges Lentz to write an unearthly and beautiful violin concerto. In it, the sound of the violin spreads out across the Philharmonie like starlight under the sky of the Australian outback, where Lentz composed his piece. In her large orchestral piece Masaot, Olga Neuwirth enters a river of memories and associations: music as both home and foreign. Georges Aperghis instigates a new celebration of orchestral virtuosity with his eighth etude.

Music of the Time – Distantly Familiar

FF - Carnival lover Ferkeet

Piano arrangements made a significant contribution to the spread of symphonic works in the 19th century. The symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven in the version by Franz Liszt are considered to be the high point. Igor Levit dares to climb this summit.

Igor Levit

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Events in Köln

Isidore Quartet

Kölner Philharmonie

Oh

Kölner Philharmonie

Jan Lisiecki | Academy of...

Kölner Philharmonie

Fancy some classical musi...

Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne

Gürzenich Orchestra Colog...

Kölner Philharmonie

Jan Lisiecki | Academy of...

Kölner Philharmonie

Awakening

Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne

Aufbruch - special concer...

Kölner Philharmonie

Jan Lisiecki | Daniel Mül...

Kölner Philharmonie

Sound Power – Rachmaninof...

Kölner Philharmonie

One and all

Kölner Philharmonie

One and only

Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne

The Venetian Dream

Kölner Philharmonie

Katharina Konradi | Catri...

Kölner Philharmonie

PhilharmonieLunch

Kölner Philharmonie

Guest in Cologne

Bamberger Symphoniker

Bamberg Symphony Orchestr...

Kölner Philharmonie

Music of the Time – Dista...

Kölner Philharmonie

FF - Carnival lover Ferke...

Kölner Philharmonie

Igor Levit

Kölner Philharmonie