As the curtain rises on 2025, the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne is orchestrating a series of captivating concerts that promise to enchant music lovers. With performances spanning across Köln and Amsterdam, featuring renowned conductors and virtuoso performers, these New Year’s concerts highlight creative works from iconic composers like Richard Strauss, Maurice Ravel, and Jean Sibelius. From symphonic poems to chamber music, the line-up promises to be bold, witty, and thoroughly engaging, setting the tone for a year filled with music and cultural celebration.

Kicking Off 2025: A Symphony of New Year Concerts with the Gürzenich Orchestra

In a celebration of timeless classical music, the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne embarks on a series of captivating performances across the globe. From the renowned Museum Ludwig in Köln to esteemed venues in Tokyo, Osaka, and beyond, these concerts promise an unforgettable musical experience. Featuring celebrated conductor Sakari Oramo and the virtuosic talents of pianist Mao Fujita and violinist Akiko Suwanei, audiences will be treated to masterworks by Schumann, Mahler, Beethoven, and more. Join us as we delve into this thrilling journey where artistry meets tradition, and discover the stories behind these remarkable performances.

A Harmonious Journey: The Gürzenich Orchestra's Global Musical Voyage

March 2025 in Cologne and Brussels witnessed a celebration of classical music, bringing together some of the most extraordinary artists and compositions. From the orchestral brilliance of the Kölner Philharmonie's 'Magisch' to the emotive 'Carnival of Emotions' by the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, each event offered a unique experience. This series of concerts not only showcased renowned compositions by Berlioz, Ravel, and Shostakovich but also highlighted the talents of eminent performers like Emanuel Ax and Elisabeth Leonskaja, creating a captivating symphony of emotions.

A Symphony of Emotions: Celebrating Classical Concerts and Performances in March 2025

The Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne presents a captivating series of events exploring the dynamic realm of emotions and exceptional musical works. From the whimsical 'Carnival' exploring emotional depths to 'Tango Fenesta' with evocative performances, and the reflective 'Last but not least' capturing Shostakovich's final symphonic journey, each event offers a unique exploration of musical artistry. With diverse performances such as the 'Duo Jazzical Class' and benefit concerts 'Herzenssache' and 'Dear to the heart,' the series promises an unforgettable musical journey for all.

Exploring Emotions and Musical Masterpieces: A Journey with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne

March and April 2025 bring a series of captivating musical events to Cologne, blending emotions, genres, and cultures. The Gürzenich Orchestra and Kölner Philharmonie present a range of performances, from the innovative 'Emotion Carnival' to the introspective works of Shostakovich and the lively 'Duo Jazzical Class'. These events promise a unique experience, inviting audiences to embark on a journey through emotions, history, and musical excellence. Join us as we explore the creative endeavors of renowned artists and musicians, shaping a vibrant tapestry of sound in Cologne.

Exploring Emotional Resonance: The Diverse Musical Offerings of Cologne

Alla Boemia

Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud

It begins with the baroque Jean-Philippe Rameau and is far from over with George Gershwin's furious »I got rhythm«. »Jazzical Class« is Peter Fleckenstein, principal timpanist in the Gürzenich Orchestra, and clarinettist Žilvinas Brazauskas. As a duo, they have been cultivating the joyful clash of the most diverse genres since 2013. Connected by an entertaining moderation, their programme moves from classical music to tango to jazz, from »Little Green Cactus« to original compositions such as »Wartesaal« and back again with sophisticated arrangements and breakneck improvisations. The joy of playing and the humour with which they use their instruments is unmistakable: in addition to Bb clarinet, bass clarinet, vibraphone, xylophone, djembe and snare drum, they also use piano, voices and bodies. The audience can look forward to a rousing mix of classical, jazz and world music!

Duo Jazzical Class

Stadtgarten Köln

EPSG:4326

Last but not least

Museum Ludwig

Towards the end of his eventful life as a composer, Dmitri Shostakovich once again sets out to write a symphony, his fifteenth by now. It is bound to be his last, as the seriously ill Russian is fully aware of. Still, his decision stands: »I would like to write a cheerful symphony.« And indeed, his final symphonic endeavour begins with a twinkle in the eye, mischievously orchestrated. But by the second movement, the mood has already changed, and movement by movement, the score turns into what seems like a musical biography. A painful chorale, moments of eerie trembling, and sharp irony – Shostakovich creates a musical review of his own oeuvre and the horrors of his era. His life as an artist is still marked by panic, even though two decades have gone by since Stalin’s death. Thus it is not surprising that Shostakovich’s sense of humour, essential for survival, keeps drifting towards the grotesque and becomes terrifying. At the end, you can almost hear death itself coming towards you, bones rattling.

Tango Fenesta

Comedia Theater

Charlie finds himself in a dilemma: Lou seems to be distancing herself more and more, showing less interest in spending time together. In an effort to uplift her spirits, Charlie proposes the idea of arranging an "Emotion Carnival". They ponder which emotions induce laughter, provide the most comfort, evoke fear, or cause overwhelming joy. Together, Lou and Charlie embark on a whimsical journey to explore the depths of emotional power, inviting both young and old to join them on a musical expedition into the realm of feelings.

A Carnival of Emotions

Charlie finds himself in a dilemma: Lou seems to be distancing themselves more and more, showing less interest in spending time together. In an effort to uplift their spirits, Charlie proposes the idea of arranging an "Emotion Carnival". They ponder which emotions induce laughter, provide the most comfort, evoke fear, or cause overwhelming joy. Together, Lou and Charlie embark on a whimsical journey to explore the depths of emotional power, inviting both young and old to join them on a musical expedition into the realm of feelings.

Carnival

In bloom

Guerst performance Brussels

BOZAR

On a single whiplash, the door opens to a world of colours and light: Maurice Ravel’s piano concerto in G Major is fascinating from the very first note. Basque folklore, sounds from Spain and southern France, crystalline sparkle, and elegant jazz – musical notes become images, some tender and fluffy, others rich and bright. Ravel’s compatriot, French pianist Bertrand Chamayou, seems completely in his element in this dazzling bravura piece. The other two works are equally sensual to the eye and the ear: In his Ballet Gayaneh, Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian lets the sparks fly, including a fiery sabre dance. Modest Mussorgsky invites us to a vernissage where he paces from painting to painting, creatively turning each of them into sounds.

Eye and ear

1–2–3, 1–2–3, round and round in circles, usually clockwise but not necessarily: experts, and the Viennese, are capable of going counter-clockwise, too – the waltz is more than just a dance. It embodies euphoria, elegance, and pure energy. Plus, its momentum makes for a great flirting method. Spinning around in triple time gets people closer together, and they can test for future compatibility: The less they step on each other’s feet, the better the prospects. In 1911, Maurice Ravel composed a cycle of »noble and sentimental« waltzes for piano, paying homage to Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, and Robert Schumann. The pieces are witty, creative, and full of surprise effects. Still, the premiere ended in disaster, entailing a shower of mockery and incomprehension. Yet Ravel saw no reason to give up: The following year, he wrote a version for orchestra, serving the ballet music genre. This time, things went a bit better, maybe because the music now had an accessible (and quite perfumed) plot, illustrating the story of a young Parisian woman who is wooed by different men. Where? On the shining dance floor, of course, under sparkling chandeliers.

Magical

Magisch – Special Concert

Anyone who has ever danced the Viennese Waltz will know that an air of royal-imperial grandeur and stylistic elegance is not the only sensation that overcomes you. A profound sense of dizziness and centrifugal force are part of the deal. What in the beginning seems cheerful and buoyant quickly turns into sensual frenzy, much like a spinning top gone crazy. There is no piece that shows these two aspects of waltzing in such a poignant and Viennese way as Ravel’s La Valse, so much so that even the famous impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who had commissioned the work, felt it was a bit over the top for his ballet company. But Ravel’s orchestral dance is so mesmerizing, so colourful and rhythmically bizarre that it is easy to visualize the frenzy on an imaginary dancefloor: »You can see a huge hall with countless people spinning in circles,« said the composer about La Valse. In less than 14 minutes, the illusive bliss of waltzing turns into apocalyptic ecstasy.

Intoxicating sounds

Guest Performance Amsterdam

The Concertgebouw

Yokohama

Queen's Square Yokohama

Osaka

The Symphony Hall

Tokyo

ARK Hills

Tokyo Opera City Tower

Tokorazawa

Tokorozawa Civic Cultural Center MUSE

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

One and all

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

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?!«

Strings

26 years old, and just married to a woman who is an avowed Fennoman (a Finland enthusiast), young Jean Sibelius starts composing his first tone poem. Rather than following a specific musical road map, his En saga is more of a fairy tale of mystic landscapes. It shows vast surfaces of sound, subdued melancholy, and here and there, cheerful trolls pop up for a perky little dance. Incidentally, the first sketches to this piece were made in Austria, where Sibelius, the composer with the Swedish accent, spent his time in Viennese coffee houses, reading the Finnish national epic, the Kalewala. »I never felt more Finnish than in Vienna, Italy and Paris.«

Into the Distance

Ins Weite – Special Concert

Philharmonie Lunch

Cheeky and witty, rebellious and rousing, this is how we start the year 2025 with our audience, featuring Maurice Ravel with his most stubborn and at the same time most popular stroke of genius and Bernd Alois Zimmermann from the Rhineland, who shows himself from a completely different side to celebrate the day.

New Year`s Concert in Amsterdam

Bold and witty, rebellious and captivating – a great way to kick off the year 2025, together with our audience. Also joining us: Till Eulenspiegel and his Merry Pranks, compiled and turned into a symphonic poem by the Bavarian magician of sound, Richard Strauss. Indeed, this is a milestone in orchestra literature. It is masterfully orchestrated, and was premiered almost exactly 130 years ago by the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne.

And go - New Year`s Concert

Fest versprochen - Sonderkonzert

Entfesselt

Two great Passion settings by Johann Sebastian Bach, the St. Matthew Passion and the St. John Passion, are considered to be among the cornerstones of western music. Another, following the Gospel of Mark, has remained lost to the day. How might it have sounded? Over the past decades, many experts have attempted to reconstruct the St. Mark Passion. While this initially may seem like the search for sunken Atlantis, the philosopher’s stone, or the Holy Grail, from the perspective of musical practice it is actually not so different from what Bach himself did on a regular basis: creative secondary use. Many of his chorales or arias can be spotted more than once in his catalogue of works – usually with a different text and sometimes in an entirely different context. This baroque practice is known as musical parody, and it works both ways: Ton Koopman, one of the world’s foremost Bach performers, decided to start over: In tireless research, he examined works by the great master, trying to find out whether they might serve as musical setting for the words of Mark’s Gospel.

Wounds

Supporting the »wir helfen« (we help) campaign by the newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger is more than just a tradition upheld by the Gürzenich Orchestra – it is of heartfelt importance. This season, contributing to the initiative for underprivileged children and adolescents in the region, the orchestra will play a passionate concert full of deep emotions.

Dear to the heart

Herzenssache – Benefit Concert

Cologne Citizens' Orchestra | Mariano Chiacchiarini

Playing in an orchestra - for many Cologne residents, this wish is fulfilled in the Cologne Citizens' Orchestra, which the Gürzenich Orchestra founded in the 2019/20 season. The initiative is a matter close to the heart of the musicians in the orchestra. More than 40 of them are working on the works with the participants and supporting them in their preparations for the joint concert in the Kölner Philharmonie.

Cologne Citizens' Orchestra

Perfect

The premiere of a new work by Unsuk Chin unfortunately had to be postponed. Instead, we will open the concert with the Adagio for string orchestra by Periklis Koukos. At the end, we will hear »Five Greek dances for string orchestra« by Nikos Skalkottas, replacing his »Four Images« which were originally planned.

Where

Eugène Ysaÿe

Music has the ability to influence our emotions and create moods. It moves us to tears, boosts our self-confidence or gives us goosebumps. In films in particular, this power of music is used to give scenes a special atmosphere and to direct the feelings of the audience. But how exactly does this work?

Cinematic

Femmes Fortes

About Life – Special Concert

It takes but a few minutes, a blink of the eye in the history of music. And yet, Arnold Schönberg’s melodrama »A Survivor from Warsaw« is a central work within 20th-century music. The composer Luigi Nono even went so far as to call it »the aesthetic musical manifesto of our period.« The work for narrator, men’s chorus and orchestra conjures up a horrifying scene in the Warsaw Ghetto: The selection and dismissal of prisoners who are sentenced to death. Schönberg reconverted to Judaism in 1933, shortly before emigrating to the USA. Two years after the war had ended, he dealt with the Holocaust on a musical and literary level and formulated a warning addressed to all people of Jewish faith, »never to forget what has been done to us.« In the final chorus, the prisoners – in the face of death – break into sung prayer, the Shema Yisrael. Together with the designated Gürzenich-Kapellmeister Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the Gürzenich Orchestra welcomes the renowned French singer and actor Dominique Horwitz who will take on the role of the narrator.

Survive

Jewels

GO Academy

Werner is head over heels in love with Margareta. And since he is The Trumpeter of Säkkingen, it makes sense to serenade his sweetheart on said instrument: The perfect trigger for Gustav Mahler to become creative and start composing. In 1884, a stage production of the novel about Werner and Margareta is put on at the Hoftheater Kassel, and Gustav Mahler writes the music for it. Out of that, Blumine is the only remaining piece. The rest was destroyed by 24-year-old Mahler who was second Kapellmeister at the time – quality control at its most radical. Since this highly romantic but isolated movement wouldn’t really fit into Mahler’s next major project either, his first symphony, seven decades went by before Blumine was rediscovered: Pure, nearly unclouded beauty by Mahler, and with a trumpet solo to melt your heart.

Fabulous

Bock auf Klassik?!

Heaven

Cologne Cathedral

"Everything I've written so far, and which you've unfortunately printed, you can now pulp! My collected works begin with Carmina Burana!" Carl Orff was proud of the choral work he presented to his publisher and the music world in 1937 – there's no doubt about that. He also created a magnificent opus magnum: his settings of the medieval "Songs from Benediktbeuern" soar across time yet draw on life itself. With both tender colors and ecstatic sounds, the famous work, which will be presented to audiences this year by the Gürzenich Orchestra and the Cologne Citizens' Choir under the direction of our featured artist Andrés Orozco-Estrada, tells of fate, nature throughout the year, and love and desire.

Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne

Apr 18, 2025

Wounds

Apr 27, 2025

Dear to the heart

Apr 27, 2025

Herzenssache – Benefit Concert

May 4, 2025

Cologne Citizens' Orchestra | Mariano Chiacchiarini

May 4, 2025

Cologne Citizens' Orchestra

Apr 13, 2025

Alla Boemia

Apr 9, 2025

Duo Jazzical Class

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Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne