Prepare to be transported into a world of drama, romance, and adventure as Deutsche Oper am Rhein presents an eclectic mix of operatic masterpieces. From the heartbreaking tale of love and sacrifice in 'La traviata' to the comedic chaos of 'Prima la Mamma!', each performance offers a unique experience. Join us at Theater Duisburg and the German Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf as talented artists breathe life into these timeless stories, leaving audiences captivated and yearning for more.

Opera Extravaganza at Deutsche Oper am Rhein: A Feast for the Senses

Duisburg is set to be the stage of a vibrant showcase of musical and cultural events, featuring world-class operas such as Verdi's 'La Traviata' and Mozart's 'Don Giovanni,' alongside innovative projects like 'Female Voices United' and 'A-string to pluck.' From the timeless narratives of opera to the dynamic debates of musical history, the upcoming events offer something for everyone. Join us as we delve into the details of these fascinating performances and the artists bringing them to life.

A Harmonious Confluence: Opera, Culture, and Musical Innovation in Duisburg

Duisburg is set to become a bustling hub of musical and cultural activity with an eclectic mix of events that promise to captivate audiences. From timeless operas like 'La traviata' to innovative concert meditations and thought-provoking memorials for artists, the city is celebrating music in all its forms. The Deutsche Oper am Rhein and the Duisburger Philharmoniker are at the forefront, bringing a range of performances that delve into operatic classics, childhood literature in musical form, and poignant tributes to historical composers.

Duisburg's Diverse Musical Extravaganza: Opera, Concerts, and Innovative Performances

In a celebration of cultural and artistic diversity, a series of breathtaking events are set to unfold across Germany, with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and the Duisburger Philharmoniker taking center stage. From the classic tales of Pinocchio and Beatrice di Tenda to the soulful Fado of António Zambujo, and the innovative reinterpretations by the Margulis Trio, these events promise a rich tapestry of opera and music. Join us in exploring the remarkable narratives, creative performances, and unique artistic expressions that make this a season to remember.

A Cultural Symphony: Uniting Diverse Musical Narratives

Get ready to immerse yourself in a diverse array of musical and cultural events that promise a rich tapestry of narratives and performances. From the whimsical tale of 'Pinocchio' to the tragic opera 'Beatrice di Tenda,' and a celebration of Ravel's compositions, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein offers a unique blend of operatic storytelling and musical homage. Meanwhile, the Duisburger Philharmoniker presents an introspective journey with 'Heart Music,' a historical nod to music festivals of old, and showcases emerging talents in a variety of engaging performances. Join us for an unforgettable cultural journey where music, history, and storytelling converge.

Exploring the Cultural Tapestry: A Symphony of Events at Deutsche Oper am Rhein and Duisburger Philharmoniker

Germany's vibrant cultural scene is set to come alive with a series of grand events this season. These include the riveting opera, 'Beatrice di Tenda,' the innovative 'Soirée Ravel' honoring a legendary composer, an unforgettable special choir concert by the State Choir of Latvija, and a monumental farewell concert under the baton of Axel Kober. Each event promises to captivate audiences with its unique charm, celebrating the essence of opera, the power of choral music, and the poignant farewell of a maestro.

A Symphony of Dramatic Art: Opera, Choral Masterpieces, and Farewells Across Germany

Embark on a unique journey with the Duisburg Philharmonic as they blend music, nature, literature, and art across diverse events. From the enchanting 'Owl and Woodpecker' concert that intertwines nature and melody, to the soul-touching 'Heart Music' chamber sessions, and the dramatic orchestral performances with renowned conductors, Duisburg Philharmonic offers an array of experiences. Dive into their celebrations where music transcends boundaries, evoking emotions and linking past and present in a harmonious symphony.

The Musical Odyssey: Duisburg Philharmonic's Celebration of Art and Sound

Join the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra on a captivating journey that marries the beauty of nature with the profound power of music. From exploring forest symphonies to heartfelt concerts that touch the soul, these events are designed to engage audiences of all ages and backgrounds. This article explores their rich offerings, including unique collaborations with nature workshops, nostalgic musical readings, and performances that celebrate the timeless works of legendary and lesser-known composers alike, all crafted to leave an indelible impact on the cultural landscape.

Harmonizing Nature and Culture: A Journey Through Duisburg Philharmonic's Eventful Calendar

The large, old trees in the forest hide a fascinating secret. Musical instruments are built from the trunks and branches of maple, spruce, and pine—as well as from the wood of trees from distant lands. An entire musical forest will be heard during the concert. The Duisburg Philharmonic will talk about their instrument trees and discuss the importance of protecting them so that the forest can be preserved as a habitat for animals and plants. After the concert, an instrument maker will present her work, and guests of all ages will have the opportunity to try out the instruments for themselves.

Astrein – Instruments and their trees

Lehmbruck Museum

Around 250 years separate the Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach from the Hungarian composer György Ligeti, one of the most distinguished representatives of New Music in the 20th century. Yet they have something in common: the radical concentration of compositional means with which they advanced into new realms of expression. It is therefore a fascinating dialogue when Bach's famous "Goldberg Variations," a crown jewel of keyboard literature to this day, encounters György Ligeti's String Quartet No. 1. While Bach uses a simply enchanting melody, which he develops into 30 variations, Ligeti takes a short four-note motif, which he then allows to undergo a series of metamorphoses.

Radical worlds of expression

Theater Duisburg

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was his composition teacher; in addition to a symphony and a piano concerto, he himself wrote a variety of songs, chamber music, and piano works. Yet today, hardly anyone knows Georgi Catoire. To mark the 100th anniversary of his death on May 21, the program opens with his melancholic Piano Quintet in G minor, in which, despite all its originality, echoes of Johannes Brahms can also be heard. Brahms himself is also represented, with his symphonic-like Quintet in F minor. Interspersed with this piece is one of George Onslow's 34 string quintets: Harmonic richness and cantabile melodies characterize the work, in which the composer also achieves a special richness of sound through the instrumentation of cello and double bass.

Quintet discovery

For the fourth time, the Duisburg Philharmonic and its guests, together with Ludger Engels, are developing three concert performances for the special exhibitions at the Küppersmühle Museum. In the nine editions of the series, which has become a cult classic and whose three performances are now each being performed twice due to high demand, the Philharmonic, with more than 40 guests from music, theater, and dance, have created new levels of experience from the themes and content of the exhibited works. In the next three concert performances, sound interventions will provide audible insights into the works of the Küppersmühle's unique Ströher Collection, as well as the backgrounds of the respective artists and their inspirations.

Concerts at the Küppersmühle Museum

Museum Küppersmühle

The toccata concert "Trumpet & Organ" was originally scheduled to take place last year, but then the devastating floods struck Valencia, Pacho Flores' adopted hometown. Together with star conductor Gustavo Dudamel, the trumpeter and Artist in Residence for the 2024/2025 season organized a benefit concert for the victims of the natural disaster – which took place on the day of the planned toccata. However, the two musicians did not want to deprive the Duisburg audience of the spectacular sound experience, when radiant trumpet tones combine with the majestic sound of the Eule organ – and will present their personally curated program in the 2025/2026 season. Pacho Flores and Carlos Paterson met in Valencia, have already been in the recording studio together, and have brought along not only their own works but also arrangements of other composers. For example, Johann Sebastian Bach's popular cantata "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (Awake, the Voice Calls Us), but also the "Méditation sur Salve Regina" from the "Scènes Mystiques d'une Paraphrase Grégorienne," which Carlos Paterson composed in 2021. In the same year, Pacho Flores also composed "Musas y Resuell," which he dedicated to the Argentine tango king Astor Piazzolla.

Trumpet & Organ

CityPalais

"Peace doesn't come by itself," Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv said in an interview: "Without active commitment, it won't exist." And she herself sets a good example, with the resources available to her as a musician. In 2023, for example, she conducted a solidarity concert for Ukraine in Duisburg with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, which she founded. Now she returns with a piece that she also initiated. "Oksana Lyniv's idea to compose a work based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's 'The Little Prince' immediately inspired me," says composer Eduard Resatsch. He sees the abstract figure of the prince as a beacon of hope in a modern world: "For me, this fairy tale embodies the comprehensive idea of ​​universal humanism; it is a metaphor for world peace – especially in today's world, when we must say goodbye to many illusions." Following the world premiere in Paris on February 25, 2026, Oksana Lyniv will conduct the German premiere of this hopeful work in Duisburg. Following this, the young Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko will play—at the conductor's special request—the "Piano Concerto for the Left Hand," which Ravel composed for Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in the First World War. The concert will then conclude with Camille Saint-Saëns's magnificent "Organ Symphony."

Peace music

In 2024, the Trio con Brio Copenhagen celebrated its 25th stage anniversary: ​​a quarter-century of ensemble history, during which the three have delighted audiences with their characteristic blend of harmonious interplay and instrumental perfection. They have already demonstrated their talent in Duisburg, too, in the 2022/2023 season with works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, among others. This time, the program features Lili Boulanger, one of the most gifted composers of her time: she was the first woman ever to win the famous Rome Prize before her tragically early death from tuberculosis at the age of 24. However, she was still able to complete a pair of unlikely works for trio: one, "D'un matin de printemps," full of enchanting spring colors and hope, the other, "D'un soir triste," full of despair and melancholy. The only piano trio by Maurice Ravel follows in a cheerful and relaxed manner, in which the composer plays with sophisticated sound mixtures and intricate rhythms, while Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Piano Trio No. 2 strikes a particularly passionate tone and is, as the composer himself remarked, "a bit nauseating to play."

Trio con Brio Copenhagen

To effectively advance climate protection, all forces in society are needed – including those of culture. And so, in 2020, it was a no-brainer for the Duisburg Philharmonic to become founding members of the Orchestra of Change initiative: an alliance of German professional orchestras and individual musicians who, through active engagement, seek to give the topic of sustainability a broader space in their professional environment and, at the same time, raise public awareness through their artistic work.

Climate Workshop #5

St. Mary's Church Duisburg

György Kurtág is undoubtedly one of the most important composers of our time; on February 19, 2026, he will celebrate his 100th birthday. His music is "fragile, defenseless, as if clumsily groping through the pathless, teetering on the edge of silence – yet glowing with emotional intensity," Kurtág expert Hartmut Lück once beautifully put it. As a birthday present, Christof Weinig, double bassist with the Duisburg Philharmonic, has compiled a program of works by the Hungarian composer, which he will perform together with his wife, son, and close associates. A very personal conversation concert for a special composer.

Kurtág 100

Koray Berat Sari , a multi-award-winning bağlama player, jams with a youth ensemble, can be seen in theater and music projects, and performs with musicians from the Duisburg Philharmonic. During his visits to Duisburg schools, he brings a wide selection of saz instruments, including the bağlama, the oud, the duduk, and the daf. Where do the instruments come from, and what do they have in common? The community musician and his guests demonstrate how to tap along to the beat or drum with the tongue to the music. The rule for the students is: get involved in the body percussion!

saz4teens

Stadt Duisburg

By breaking rules, composers always revolutionize the way their works are perceived by their audiences. Frederic Rzewski, for example, liberated New Music from its ivory tower and made it the vehicle for his political message; John Cage declared chance a co-author and silence an integral part of his music; Steve Reich, in turn, founded a new musical movement with Minimal Music – hypnotic, pulsating, and timelessly modern. The Duisburg pianist is declaring the ninth edition of his successful Kai Schumacher & Friends format under the motto "Changing Rules," looking not only at the aforementioned visionaries of the past. Also performing this evening: the duo AFAR, who explore the paradox of naturalness and artificiality with the help of analog synthesizers, electric guitar, and voice. In this joint experiment with Kai Schumacher, they push the boundaries between classical repertoire and electronic soundscapes, between tradition and new beginnings. Where does a concert lead that knows no predefined paths? The answer lies in the moment – ​​and perhaps exactly where you least expect it.

Kai Schumacher & Friends Vol. 9

Young and old listen to the music together and then embark on a journey of discovery. What do the instruments sound like, how do they produce their sound, and what does it feel like? What do Wilhelm Lehmbruck's "Kneeling Woman" or Jean Tinguely's sculptures sound like? Through music and the visual arts, sensory impressions, positive emotions, and memories are simultaneously addressed. Members of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Sybille Kastner from the Lehmbruck Museum's art education department will be participating.

Listen to art

Diana Tishchenko began playing the violin at the age of six and, barely of age, became the youngest concertmaster in the history of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. But what are the duties of a concertmaster, what is her favorite music, and how does it feel to travel the world playing an almost 300-year-old violin? What the human voice can do, the clarinet can do even more. David Orlowsky discovered this when he first picked up the clarinet. "I try to use the clarinet like my voice." He founded his own trio at the age of 16. He has since won many awards and traveled the globe, exploring the boundaries between musical genres - whether classical, klezmer, or his own compositions. The Indian singer Kamalini Mukherji , who lives in New York , has been a guest in Duisburg many times. She always sees her music as a call to fight for women's rights in India and for human rights around the world. After the exclusive mini-concert in the schools, the students can talk to the three exceptional musicians and learn more about the exciting and diverse life of a musician.

solo4teens

David Orlowsky is an ace on the clarinet: with him, the clarinet laughs, cries, sings, and laments as if it had a voice of its own. The expressive spectrum he coaxes from his versatile instrument is certainly tremendous. The clarinetist, who makes his debut with the Duisburg Philharmonic with this concerto, is equally at home in classical music and in klezmer music, which he first encountered through his mentor and teacher Giora Feidman. And this specifically Jewish musical tradition plays a central role in Osvaldo Golijov's suspenseful suite "The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind," in which the composer tells a kind of history of Judaism—from its beginnings with Abraham to the present day. Olivier Messiaen's "Hymn" also has a religious reference, in this case to the "Holy Sacrament" of the Eucharist. Although the score was lost in the Second World War, the composer later reconstructed it from memory. In the second half of the concert, Robert Treviño , who courageously stepped in for Eun Sun Kim , who was ill at the Philharmonic's 9th Symphony in December 2022, conducts Jean Sibelius's Symphony No. 2, which evokes its creator's closeness to nature and the vastness of the Finnish landscapes. Also ingenious is the way the composer constructs an entire symphony from a small three-note motif at the beginning – right up to the grandiose finale.

Dreams and prayers

He was perhaps the greatest genius in music history, later eclipsed, if at all, only by the child prodigy Mozart. Yet Johann Sebastian Bach not only gifted posterity with numerous musical masterpieces, but also with several sons, some of whom followed in their all-powerful father's footsteps. First and foremost, Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Sebastian Bach's second eldest son, whose "sensitive" style made him the most popular Bach of the second half of the 18th century—while Johann Sebastian Bach's eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, was famous during his lifetime primarily for his phenomenal improvisational skills on all keyboard instruments. When Asya Fateyeva and her fellow musicians perform Baroque sonatas by the Bach dynasty, they do so on an instrument that Bach himself could not have even known, for the saxophone was not invented until the 19th century. When the saxophonist approaches early music on a comparatively modern instrument, she does so in the spirit of Bach: He was not only interested in the compositional possibilities of new or improved instruments such as the "Well-Tempered Clavier," but was also extremely flexible in instrumentation questions in his masterful compositions.

Bach geniuses

"Battle of the Arts" isn't just the name of Germany's largest poetry slam organizer. It could also be the general motto under which the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra opens the arena for this season's Philharmonic Slam – already the fourth edition of this extraordinary series and a testament to its popularity with Duisburg audiences. Five young poets, all stars of the slamming scene, will enter the ring and engage in a competition that is as exciting as it is entertaining. Their weapons: language, facial expressions, gestures – and a microphone, so that the audience, who will ultimately choose the winning entry, can ideally absorb the verbal acrobatics unleashed this evening. In addition to the performed language, music also comes into play. In anticipation of the orchestra's 150th anniversary in 2027, the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra has selected works from all eras of its existence, to which the slammers will respond with their performances. This year's Philharmonic Slam is supported as part of the "Musik-Achsen-Zeiten" project within the framework of the "Neue Wege" funding program by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Philharmonic Slam IV

Following the Duisburg Philharmonic's guest performance at the Cologne Philharmonic at the beginning of the season, the Cologne-based WDR Symphony Orchestra is now making a return visit to the Mercatorhalle Philharmonie. Romanian-born Cristian Măcelaru was Chief Conductor there from 2019 until the summer of 2025 – and will continue to be associated with the orchestra as Artistic Partner before Marie Jacquot becomes the new Chief Conductor in the cathedral city starting in the 2026/2027 season. Over the years they have worked together, Măcelaru and the WDR Symphony Orchestra have repeatedly explored the symphonies of Gustav Mahler. And they will also be performing Mahler during their guest performance in Duisburg. More specifically, his Symphony No. 5, whose famous "Adagietto" was a captivatingly beautiful declaration of love by the composer to his wife Alma, and which Luchino Visconti used as the atmospheric soundtrack for his Thomas Mann film adaptation "Death in Venice." Before that, there are two Tchaikovsky pieces and two orchestral pieces with solo cello: the night-dreamy "Nocturne," in which the cello is allowed to sing its wonderful utterance in an elegiac melody, and the "Rococo Variations," a musical homage by Tchaikovsky to his revered role model, Mozart. The young star cellist Kian Soltani makes his Duisburg debut as soloist.

WDR Symphony Orchestra

Almost exactly 100 years separate the two works in this program—and yet they have one thing in common: Both trios enjoyed enormous popularity immediately after their publication. Beethoven's Opus 38 was originally a septet—and in this form, it was one of his most frequently performed works. This is probably one of the reasons why he later reworked it into a piano trio, whose violin part could also be played by a clarinet. Alexander von Zemlinsky, however, had a different "role model" for his clarinet trio: his idol, Johannes Brahms. Brahms politely thanked his colleague for the flowers and advocated for its publication with his publisher, Simrock.

Trio with clarinet

Duisburg audiences will likely still remember Benjamin Reiners fondly: In March 2025, he conducted a special concert in the "Philharmonic Debate" series, in which composers of the past engage in creative exchange with each other through their works—a debate using musical means, so to speak. The Romantic composer Brahms now kicks off this program. Although he initially failed to win over his contemporaries with his monumental symphonic Piano Concerto No. 1, the work later established itself and became a lasting success. With Gerhard Oppitz , the concerto is in the best pianistic hands, as he is considered one of the leading Brahms interpreters.

Pianistic orchestral magic: Brahms & Pejačević

The Minguet Quartet's programs are not just chamber music of the highest caliber, but always also an invitation to the audience to engage in dialogue and participation. The four musicians have already committed themselves to this with their ensemble's name: their namesake is the Spanish writer and music educator Pablo Minguet, who strove in his writings to provide access to the fine arts for all. The fourth chamber concert also features works from different eras in dialogue with each other: the concert begins in a truly classical style with one of the last quartets by Joseph Haydn, the inventor of the string quartet; at the end, we hear Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 2, nothing less than a milestone in New Music – the transition to atonality. Tradition and modernity also converge in the works of the Romantics Johannes Brahms and Robert Schumann, as they are performed in the transcription by Aribert Reimann, one of the most distinguished composers of the second half of the 20th century, who died in 2024. The quartet also enters into dialogue with soprano Sarah Maria Sun, who is also known for her profound program ideas and as a specialist in contemporary music: she has already sung more than 400 world premieres.

Dialogues

Despite the spirit of optimism, the new year also offers an opportunity for reflection: In 2025, the music world celebrated the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II. For the Duisburg Philharmonic's Salon Orchestra, this is just one of many reasons to celebrate the master of three-quarter time at its New Year's Concert. In cooperation with the Susanne Scholten Foundation, the ensemble presents sparkling waltz classics combined with arias and duets from "Die Fledermaus," "The Gypsy Baron," "A Night in Venice," and—to give another operetta king, Emmerich Kálmán, a voice—"Die Csárdásfürstin." Also joining in singing and enjoying champagne are soprano Alexandra von der Weth and baritone Junsung Kim.

New Year's Concert with the Salon Orchestra

Beethoven's freedom opera "Fidelio" was already on the program at the beginning of the season, a work that ends with an emphatic choral finale in which the humanistic convictions of its creator burst forth in powerful sound. And this also applies to his 9th Symphony, a work with which Beethoven, so to speak, embraces all of humanity. "All men become brothers," it says in Schiller's "Ode to Joy," which Beethoven used as the text for his magnificent finale. While people probably didn't know what was happening to them at the premiere—a powerful choral finale in a symphony had never been seen before—Beethoven's music already swept the euphoric audience to their feet. Since then, the 9th Symphony, and especially its final movement, has become a true global hit. For example, the Council of Europe declared the instrumental prelude to the "Ode to Joy" the European anthem in 1972. Stefan Blunier, who returns to the podium of the Duisburg Philharmonic twice this season, conducts an exquisite quartet of soloists in a work that could hardly be more relevant even in our time.

Joy, beautiful spark of the gods

Founded 40 years ago, Concerto Köln is one of the outstanding protagonists of early music. It's fortunate that the journey to Duisburg is not far – and that the Duisburg Philharmonic also includes seasoned experts in musically informed performance practice. This creates ideal conditions for an extraordinary encounter in a concert that brings together well-known and lesser-known masterpieces by composers of the 17th and 18th centuries. Examples such as those of the Italian Antonio Vivaldi, the German George Frideric Handel, the Frenchman Jean-Philippe Rameau, the Bohemian Jan Dismas Zelenka, and the Englishman Henry Purcell demonstrate that all of Europe was shaken by the tremendous musical developments of this period. Some of these masters will perform "vocal specialties" – arias from operas or sacred works – or, like the piano pioneer Domenico Scarlatti, excerpts from their instrumental works. The name of countertenor Valer Sabadus, who is another guest from Cologne in Duisburg, shines as brilliantly as his voice.

From all over Europe

Not only Christmas carols but also numerous major and minor works of classical music will create a musical atmosphere for the most wonderful holiday of the year. In their series "Christmas in Song and Word," the Duisburg Philharmonic will perform original works and arrangements from the works of great composers this year, including the enchanting Flute Quartet in D major, K. 285, which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed fittingly for the occasion on Christmas Day 1777. While alto Ingeborg Danz takes on the vocal part, narrator Bernt Hahn complements the program with Christmas stories and poems by literary classics such as Hermann Hesse, Joseph von Eichendorff, and Theodor Storm.

Christmas in song and word

Although Alessandro Scarlatti is primarily admired as a composer of operas and oratorios, Concerto Köln pays tribute to him on the 300th anniversary of his death with excerpts from his instrumental works. At the same time as composers like Arcangelo Corelli, the Sicilian master developed a new musical genre with the Concerto Grosso around 1715, thus inspiring subsequent generations of composers, including Johann Adolf Hasse and George Frideric Handel. During the Duisburg visit of the celebrated period sound ensemble, founded exactly 40 years ago, these and other Baroque musical greats will enter into a shared dialogue, illuminated by atmospheric lighting.

Baroque concert in the light

With the end of the 2024/2025 season, Axel Kober has stepped down as General Music Director of the Duisburg Philharmonic. It was a long and fruitful collaboration, for which the conductor is now being honored with the 2025 Duisburg City Music Prize, sponsored by the Köhler-Osbahr Foundation. For him, the award is a wonderful acknowledgment – ​​"to receive feedback, so to speak, after the years spent together that what we have done has left its mark." And, of course, he will try "to continue to remain connected to Duisburg's musical life." A promise he immediately fulfills in the 4th Philharmonic Concert. After programming Arnold Schoenberg's powerful "Gurre-Lieder" in his farewell concert as General Music Director, he returns to his former orchestra conducting works by two American composers and combining them with Beethoven's Symphony No. 7: Charles Ives' "The Unanswered Question" sounds mystical and transcendental, creating an iconic work of American modernism. Meanwhile, in Samuel Barber's popular Violin Concerto, violin virtuosity and voluptuous melodies enter into a delightful liaison. Dance-like rhythms then characterize Beethoven's Seventh, which, with the Allegretto, also contains one of the greatest hits of the Viennese classic.

American and European classics

The string quartet is considered the pinnacle of chamber music – and we can experience why this is so at performances by the Quatuor Ébène: In around two decades, an ensemble has grown that not only plays in the premier league of international quartets, but also regularly leaves audiences breathless with its unconditional courage to take risks and the intensity of its interpretations. Even supposedly well-known repertoire sounds refreshingly new and excitingly different with the Quatuor Ébène. For example, Joseph Haydn, who is considered the inventor of the genre. The program features one of the Viennese classic's late quartets, the String Quartet in G major, Op. 76 No. 1, in which he bundled all his achievements in this field, as a kind of legacy. The bar was thus set high for subsequent generations of composers, a fact that Johannes Brahms also felt: he spent around 20 years exploring the genre before presenting his first quartets to the public with Opus 51. Framed by the two German-speaking composers, the only string quartet by the Frenchman Maurice Ravel can be heard, which is full of wonderful sound effects.

Quatuor Ébène

2025 marks the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel's birth. Fittingly, the program presents a selection of works in which we encounter typical elements of Ravel's sensuous and sophisticated music: Effective virtuosity characterizes the popular "Tzigane," spectacular for the audience, yet highly demanding for the performers, a "virtuoso piece in the style of a Hungarian rhapsody," as the composer himself put it. In "La Valse," Ravel lets the musical worlds of Viennese waltzes and French Impressionism collide, while the second movement of his second violin sonata is inspired by the then-new and exciting jazz.

Serenade for Ravel

Step into the musical circus tent and give a round of applause to the stars of the ring! With their acrobatics, flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon will keep the young audience breathless. Laughter, amazement, and rapture: Anything is possible when the five musicians of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra introduce their instruments—each unique and yet good friends. Who knows? Perhaps the next great flautist or the next enthusiastic horn player will be in the audience.

Breathe until encore

Do you remember your favorite (picture) book from back in the day? Were you inspired by "Struwwelpeter," "Urmel," or perhaps "Max and Moritz"? The musicians of the Duisburg Philharmonic will bring their childhood treasures to the City Library. In addition to reading excerpts from their favorite books, they will present individual and loving musical interpretations of the stories. Young and old are invited to listen to the words and music together, discover new things, or rediscover familiar ones.

Listen to a book

Duisburg City Library

Music touches the soul, and regardless of cognitive or physical limitations, enjoying music together is almost always possible. In dementia-related changes, music can play a key role, providing access where language no longer can. It can evoke memories and appeal to everyone's emotions equally. "Heart Music" offers a relaxing hour for those affected, their relatives, caregivers, and the whole family. The concerts take place in the barrier-free foyer of the Philharmonie Mercatorhalle and are particularly suitable for music lovers who need assistance or simply want to enjoy a concert in the afternoon.

Heart music

Philharmonic Mercatorhalle, foyer

World premieres are exciting: For the first time, printed music becomes tangible music for an audience. For the first time, the composer experiences how listeners react to his new work. Thomas Blomenkamp's work features "Cordelia, the lovingly loyal daughter of King Lear; Lady Macbeth, the demoness lusting for power and murder; and 13-year-old Juliet, caught between love and death," the Düsseldorf-born composer reveals of these "portraits between lyric poetry, drama, and psychological study." He juxtaposes key monologues by Shakespeare's female characters, which could hardly be more different, and allows them to flow into one another—connected by two orchestral interludes. With Sylvain Cambreling at the helm of the Duisburg Philharmonic, a conductor is considered a proven specialist in contemporary music and is also known for his imaginative programming, something he has already demonstrated in Duisburg. With Hector Berlioz's "King Lear" Overture, he opens the door to the world of Shakespeare, contrasting it in the second half of the concert with Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 7. A work whose tragic tone and profound seriousness perfectly complement the English playwright's tragedies.

Shakespeare monologues

Even the youngest children respond to the magic of music, and it's also exciting for parents to experience how the playing of the harp, violin, or marimba makes children's eyes light up. With the colorful sounds of their instruments, the Duisburg Philharmonic inspires the imagination of their very young audience – while providing space for playing, crawling, and letting off steam.

A Musical Rainbow

Before becoming Head of Music at Westminster Cathedral in London in 2021, Simon Johnson was organist at St. Paul's Cathedral, where he performed at a variety of royal events, including the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and the celebrations for her 90th birthday. The Eule organ in the Philharmonie Mercatorhalle, with its four manuals and 72 stops, is also very British and majestic. Its four manuals and 72 stops are modeled on the late-Romantic English town hall organs—in the first Toccata of the season, the Duisburg Philharmonic Choir will provide powerful support. Choir director Marcus Strümpe has included Anton Bruckner, among others, on the program, as the late-Romantic composer, as a virtuoso organist and composer of sacred music, was well versed in the combination of choir and organ. In Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's "Hear My Prayer," a soprano joins the organ and choir: the frequent alternations between solo voice and choir are reminiscent of the "anthem" tradition of the Anglican liturgy. William Harris and Herbert Howells, two prominent representatives of Anglican church music, are also on the program, while Louis Vierne, long-time chief organist at Notre-Dame de Paris, represents the rich organ scene in France. An exuberant romantic richness of sound characterizes his organ symphonies, a genre he himself invented.

Organ & Choir

"The mandolin gives me a feeling of freedom - it allows me to present something new," says Avi Avital . He has managed to awaken his instrument from its slumber and bring it onto the big stage. Born in Israel, Avital now lives in Berlin and is one of the most famous mandolin players in the world. But how did he come to play this instrument and what fascinates him so much about it? What does "musical home" mean and why is music always true to life? What kind of music is exciting and how can different styles be combined? As Artist in Residence with the Duisburg Philharmonic, Avi Avital not only gives various concerts but also visits Duisburg schools with his enchanting instrument as part of the "art4teens" program, where he answers students' questions.

art4teens

Avi Avital describes Antonio Vivaldi's mandolin concertos as "the Old Testament of my instrument ." The mandolinist recorded some of them, including the D major concerto RV 93, around ten years ago – and received excellent reviews for their work. This baroque masterpiece is then followed by a leap in time of almost 300 years: with a piece that Fazıl Say recently composed for Avi Avital. The commissioned work was created in close collaboration, with the Turkish pianist and composer having long been on the mandolinist's wish list because "his musical language includes the integration of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean music." "In this respect, we are both very similar as artists," says the Artist in Residence for the 2025/2026 season. The result is a work that is tailor-made for the artistic personality of the Israeli musician. "When I look at the music, I recognize a lot of myself in it," he says of the new mandolin concerto, with which he has once again expanded the repertoire for his instrument. With conductor Ariel Zuckermann, Avital's friend is not only conducting the Duisburg Philharmonic, but also his preferred candidate for the 2nd Philharmonic Concert. "I've known him for many years and have played with him often," says Avital. "He has exactly the right temperament for this kind of music."

Master of the Mandolin

In the 2023/2024 season, the Duisburg Philharmonic, in their exploration of transcultural processes, already explored the Indian Nobel Prize-winning poet-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore. The program for the second chamber concert, compiled by Kamalini Mukherji, now also follows the Europe-India axis, always looking in both directions. The Indian singer, who will also curate the "Eigenzeit – Music of Now" festival in the 2025/2026 season, is considered one of the leading exponents of the music of the Bengali-Indian polymath Rabindranath Tagore, who reshaped the culture and language of Bengal. In this unique concert, Tagore's music will be reinterpreted through various musical traditions. The performance begins with a traditional Indian ensemble – esraj, tabla/khol, and Indian flute. This is followed by bridge instruments such as the lavta and the bağlama from the Middle East, followed by a Western soundscape featuring flamenco guitar, saxophone, and other instruments. The concert culminates in a fusion of these musical worlds, reflecting Tagore's embrace of global influences.

When a traveler on an autumn night…

Getting to know Anne Krickeberg means constantly being amazed by what she can still do. Since we first met, every reunion has been a discovery. Most recently, at the Consol Theater in Gelsenkirchen, I had the opportunity to admire how easily and willingly she eavesdrops on a musical quality from a seemingly randomly generated sound and finds a deliberate refinement. A truly fine musician, thoroughly interested in refinement, working with her creates and signifies a quiet, ever-precious web of privileged partnership.

ConcertMeditation

Consol Theater

In a distant future, at the edge of our galaxy, surrounded by twinkling celestial bodies and unknown sounds, Luna was born on an alien planet. But something else echoes in her dreams: the stories her grandmother tells of a place called Earth, a planet full of colors, voices, winds—and music that sounds so different from anything Luna has ever heard. One day, she discovers an old, incomplete piece of music. No title, no name, just one word: "Earth." Why does this melody touch her so deeply? With curiosity in her heart and a sound that resonates within her, Luna embarks on a journey where every stop brings her a little closer to Earth. What awaits her on Mars, Jupiter, and the distant moons? And which piece of the puzzle is still missing to unlock Earth's secret?

Luna – the sound of the distant world

Gesamtschule Meiderich

Humans have always been fascinated by the moon, and this mystical, pale celestial body has inspired artists of all genres. The mysterious moon and the moonstruck Pierrot are the main characters in "Mondestrunken": Alongside Arnold Schoenberg's "Pierrot Lunaire," a prologue and three interludes conjure the moonlit night—with music, scenes, texts, songs, and poems ranging from the poetically contemplative to the cheerfully frivolous. These include the poem "Mondesaufgang" (Moonrise) by the writer and composer Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Robert Schumann's ethereally beautiful "Mondnacht" (Mond Night), and Johann Abraham Peter Schulz's famous musical setting of "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" (The Moon Has Risen).

Moon-drunk

Due to changes in their touring plans, the Ensemble Trouts has decided to present their eponymous opus: Schubert's Trout Quintet, for the season opening in Duisburg. The ensemble was founded in 2018 with the goal of contrasting Schubert's famous quintet with contemporary works. This resulted in a CD, numerous concert tours, and now a permanent soloist ensemble that embarks on several concert tours a year. In the first half of the program in Duisburg, the instruments and soloists will present themselves individually in Bach's Cello Suite No. 3 (divided between bass, cello, and viola), followed by Schubert's Rondo for piano and violin, before they come together musically for the first time in George Onslow's Piano Quintet.

Take Five

Mozart probably spent as much time in a carriage as he did at home in Salzburg or Vienna. Anke Becker and an ensemble from the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra also embark on a journey into his world, using the composer's preferred means of travel. With the help of magic flutes and spells, colorful birds are caught, a minuet with Don Giovanni is danced – and at the end, "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" invites you to dream and relax.

Mozart on the road

Visible from afar, the imposing Elbphilharmonie building towers over Hamburg's Hafencity as the metropolis's new landmark and one of the world's most exciting concert venues. The Duisburg Philharmonic's invitation to make its debut there in September is also a sign of the esteem in which this traditional orchestra is held far beyond the borders of its home city - a philharmonic accolade, so to speak. And for this special occasion, conductor Stefan Blunier has put together a program that revels in the most beautiful Romantic tones: Among the most popular operas of all time is "Der Freischütz", for whose overture Carl Maria von Weber anticipated the greatest hits of his Romantic opera. Full of catchy melodies, the yearning and melancholy First Violin Concerto by Max Bruch, played by Diana Tishchenko, a well-known singer to Duisburg audiences, follows . And finally, Antonín Dvořák's Eighth Symphony, a work overflowing with musical ideas. The "melodies just fly to me," the composer wrote of this cheerful and life-affirming work, for which he borrowed some themes from Bohemian folk music. The exuberant orchestral jubilation at the end of the symphony provides a fitting conclusion to this guest performance in the far north.

EPSG:4326

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Freedom, courage, and human rights are the existential themes that form the foundation of Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera, "Fidelio." It is the story of the arbitrarily imprisoned Florestan, whose loving wife, Leonore, disguises herself as a man against all danger to free him from prison in the role of "Fidelio." On the journey from imprisonment to a seemingly utopian freedom, the driving force of music transcends formal boundaries.

Fidelio

In a musical rally in the countryside, the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, together with the Nature Workshop – Association for Environmental Education, invites all curious environmental detectives to take a closer look at the surroundings of the Six Lakes Plateau in Duisburg-Wedau. On their exploratory journey through the forest, all participants will combine the themes of music and nature in an exciting and creative way.

Owl and woodpecker in the forest concert

Duisburg-Wedau station

We can often understand music even better when we hear the words it is based on. In a delightful blend of concert and reading, the Studio Orchestra Duisburg and narrator Natalia Hüskens juxtapose musical and lyrical pairs of works—concrete, as in the artistic encounter between Gabriel Fauré and Paul Verlaine, or Ralph Waldo Emerson and Charles Ives, but also imaginary ones. Antonín Dvořák drew inspiration for his "Czech Suite" from the sounds of his homeland, while Mendelssohn Bartholdy found it for his "Hebrides Overture" in the magnificent natural scenery of Scotland. What would the appropriate poems sound like? The first serenade concert provides the answer.

1. Serenade Concert

Hamborn Abbey

When the magic of film blends with the magic of the night sky, Duisburg cinephiles know it's time for the Stadtwerke Summer Cinema. Under the direction of Stefanos Tsialis, the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra is once again participating in this cult open-air event this season. On screen: Charlie Chaplin's last great silent film masterpiece, "Modern Times." On the music stands: the moving music that the leading actor, director, screenwriter, and producer Chaplin composed for this classic of film history, which premiered in 1936 – with the help of accomplished Hollywood musicians, incidentally, as he couldn't read or even write music. From the noisy sounds of the machine age to echoes of Giacomo Puccini's music, Charlie Chaplin, seen here for the last time as a tramp with a mustache, cane, and hat, uses a diverse palette of moods for the catchy soundtrack. Above all, the yearning final melody is well known not only to enthusiastic moviegoers, but with a subsequent text version entitled “Smile” it still has a musical life of its own today.

Stadtwerke Summer Cinema

Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord

Axel Kober was orchestra director in Duisburg for almost eight years , where he developed the Philharmonic Orchestra into one of the most exciting and modern orchestras in Germany and anchored it even more firmly in Duisburg's urban society - with new concert formats and cleverly curated programs with many renowned soloists. But now it's time to say goodbye; the last Philharmonic concert of the season is also the last that Axel Kober will conduct in his role as General Music Director. It will be a farewell with drums and trumpets in the truest sense of the word, because the program includes Schönberg's monumental "Gurre-Lieder". The oratorio for five vocal soloists, speaker, choir and orchestra is one of the largest and most impressive works in music history - and not just in the overwhelming sunrise with its mighty choral performance. In addition to a select ensemble of soloists with illustrious names such as Albert Dohmen, Maximillian Schmitt and Jacquelyn Wagner, the concert also offers the opportunity to meet the State Choir of Latvija again , which was already a guest in Duisburg last season. But for Axel Kober, too, the final bang with the "Gurre-Lieder" will not be a farewell forever, as he will remain closely associated with the orchestra as a guest conductor. So there are great prospects for the end of the season.

Monumental Farewell

Philharmonie Mercatorhalle

Singing has always been a priority in the Baltic states, but no other country in Europe has such a rich and diverse choral landscape as Latvia. The State Choir of Latvija, Latvia's largest professional ensemble of its kind, also comes from this environment. With unearthly sound power - from radiant soprano heights to unfathomable bass depths - this impressive ensemble not only causes a sensation in its homeland, but also regularly delights audiences in the world's major music metropolises. The Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra considers itself lucky to be able to welcome the approximately 70 singers from Riga again this season after their visit in the 2023/2024 season. Before its performance in Arnold Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder on July 9 and 10, 2025, the State Choir of Latvija will make an a cappella stopover in the Salvatorkirche. Under the direction of Māris Sirmais, an atmospheric program will be performed, which, starting with the romantic sounds of Anton Bruckner or Edward Elgar, touches on classical modernism and, above all, presents music by contemporary Baltic composers.

special choir concert

Salvatorkirche Duisburg

This year, the youngest voices of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and an ensemble from the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra will be welcoming the summer with music. With international and German songs as well as works from sacred and pop music, the children's choir on the Rhine will be creating a musical Sunday for the whole family.

With 55 singers, the children's choir on the Rhine can regularly be seen in major opera productions, including in the past in "Turandot" and "Carmen". In the 2024/2025 season, the children's choir will be on the big stage at the Theater Duisburg in "Tosca" by Giacomo Puccini and in the children's opera "Pinocchio" by Marius Schötz and Marthe Meinhold.

klasse.klassik invites you: Summer Concert

Siegfried Rivinius normally sits at the podium of the first violins with the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, where he has been first concertmaster since 1985. In addition to the large symphonic repertoire, he also has a strong passion for the intimate form of chamber music. And so in 1995 he founded the RIVINIUS Piano QUARTET together with his brothers. The four have now put together an exciting program for the last chamber concert of the season. It begins with the first piano quartet by Camille Saint-Saëns, which he composed when he was just 18 years old but never published during his lifetime. Stephen Hartke follows, a composer who is even personally known to the quartet. His five tableaux from “The King of the Sun” refer to paintings by the well-known painter Joan Miró. The finale is the expansive Piano Quartet in E major by Paul Scheinpflug, who is also no stranger here in Duisburg: almost exactly 100 years ago he was the orchestra's General Music Director. The concert is therefore also an examination of Duisburg's music history, as is also the case in the 11th and 12th Philharmonic Concerts.

RIVINIUS Piano QUARTET

Not only the artist in residence and soloists - the musicians of the Duisburg Philharmonic also have a lot to tell. When they go to Duisburg schools in the new "phil4teens" series, there is a lot of music-making - and the musicians talk about their interesting and often unusual everyday life as orchestral musicians.

klasse.klassik 4teens addresses children and young people with musical experiences on site in secondary schools. Whether saz4teens, art4teens, solo4teens or new phil4teens - students experience top-class music at eye level with our community musician, the artist in residence, well-known soloists and musicians from the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

phil4teens

Duisburg schools

Under the Italian sun: Every year the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra heads south, more precisely to Montepulciano - a picturesque little town near Siena. At the local Academy of Music and Performing Arts, the musicians study selected chamber music works, which are then presented to the Duisburg audience after returning home: the result of a concentrated rehearsal phase in a unique environment, made possible by the generous support of the Friends and Sponsors of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra. With Hugo Wolf's "Italian Serenade", a work is on the program this time that couldn't be more fitting. Complemented by string quartets by Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.

Montepulciano

France has a long and glorious organ tradition. And this is also where Johann Vexo comes from. Born in Nancy in 1978, he was appointed organist at the choir organ of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral at the age of 25 and is also titular organist at the Cavaillé-Coll organ in Nancy Cathedral. For his Toccata, he has put together a program that includes some of the greatest names in the history of French organ music. César Franck, for example, was probably the most important French composer and organist of the second half of the 19th century. He was not only titular organist at the Parisian church of Sainte Clotilde, but also an influential teacher. His students included Louis Vierne, who was titular organist at Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. His mighty organ symphonies are monumental, colorful and full of power. Marcel Dupré also worked in Paris: as organist at the large Cavaillé-Coll organ in Saint-Sulpice. He was also the teacher of Gaston Litaize, who was blind from birth and was appointed titular organist at Saint François-Xavier in Paris in 1946. The program begins with Johann Sebastian Bach, a composer and organ virtuoso who represents German organ music, which is also rich in tradition.

À la française

Clarinet and string quartet: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart tried this combination for the first time in 1789 - and it was a great success. The quintet that Carl Maria von Weber composed 26 years later for the clarinetist Heinrich Joseph Baermann was just as popular. The fact that both pieces are still among the most popular of their kind today is not only due to their magical sound and melodies, but also to the humorous, cheerful mood that connects them. The path to Joseph Haydn, the grand master of musical humor, is of course not far. It was probably an enterprising publisher who first heard the many bird calls in his famous quartet op. 33 no. 3, to which the piece owes its sales-boosting nickname: "Bird Quartet".

2nd Serenade Concert

Abbey Church in Duisburg

Since 2019, Evgeni Bozhanov has been a professor at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen - in addition to his international career as a pianist - where he looks after the keyboard stars of tomorrow. The Bulgarian pianist, who has won the international Frédéric Chopin Competition in Varna, among other things, is now putting on a duo evening with one of these promising talents, his master student Hao Tian. Hao Tian, ​​who was born in China in 2002, can already look back on a number of successes in international competitions himself and joined Evgeni Bozhanov's master class in Essen in 2022. For the Piano Extra II, he has chosen two touchstones of piano literature. Robert Schumann's "Carnaval", for example, which is one of the composer's most important piano cycles. After the turbulent scenes of a masked ball in Schumann's Opus 9, Alexander Scriabin's two-movement sonata takes us out to sea: in the first movement of the "Sonata-Fantaisie" composed in Genoa, the composer evokes a calm evening atmosphere with nighttime moonlight, after which it becomes stormy - in the ocean whipped up by wave-like triplets.

Evgeni Bozhanov & Hao Tian

Folkwang in Duisburg – that means lively teaching and learning, extraordinary concert series, master classes and regular musical events throughout the year. Since an extensive university reform in 2002, the areas of chamber music, early music and piano have been located on the Duisburg campus.

There is traditionally a close connection with the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, whose circle of influential teachers often works at the university. A comprehensive musical education qualifies young musicians for solo playing and chamber music as well as for orchestral work, which remains the most important professional field of activity for young university graduates. The Profile concerts of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra are a shining example of how high-level orchestral playing and passionate commitment to chamber music can inspire each other.

final concert of the master class 2024/2025

Folkwang University

Under the heading "Time Machine", the 11th Philharmonic Concert as part of the Duisburg Philharmonic's "New Ways" project offers a journey back in time: The program refers to a concert that was played exactly 100 years ago as part of a music festival in the city of Duisburg. The "Concerto for Orchestra" by Paul Hindemith had its premiere there, conducted by the prominent General Music Director Paul Scheinpflug. Also on the program from 100 years ago: Beethoven's Violin Concerto and music by Rudi Stephan, who was one of the most promising young composers at the time before he died tragically young in the First World War. Instead of Beethoven's Violin Concerto, Axel Kober has put his 4th Piano Concerto on the program, in which the young British pianist and rising star Isata Kanneh-Mason makes her debut with the orchestra. And as a musical tribute to the former General Music Director, there is also the "Shakespeare Overture" by Paul Scheinpflug. However, the concert is not just a reconstruction of Duisburg's rich musical history, but also a lively and critical examination of history: the music festival took place on the occasion of the "millennial celebration of the Rhineland", so it was definitely in a German-national context.

A music festival from old times

Music can play an important key role for people with dementia. It provides access where language can no longer do so, it can evoke memories and appeals to the emotions of all people equally. Our "Heart Music" concerts offer a relaxed hour of music for people with dementia and their companions. At the end of each lovingly selected program of chamber music and popular classics of the concert literature, the musicians invite you to sing along.

heart music

To mark the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel's birth, we are celebrating his anniversary with the creation of four choreographies of very different styles to four of his most famous compositions.

Soirée Ravel

Venezuelan double: For the 8th chamber concert, our artist in residence Pacho Flores has invited his fellow musician, composer, arranger and producer Jesús "Pingüino" González, who also comes from Venezuela - the "Paganini of the Spanish guitar", as Pacho Flores calls him with a wink. The two have been in a close artistic partnership for some time, the result of which was the album "Entropía", which won the gold medal at the Global Music Awards, which was released in 2017. And that forms the basis of the program, for which the two multi-talented artists have put together pieces from their homeland, with a careful selection of important Latin American composers. In addition to excursions into the passionate world of "Tango Nuevo" by Astor Piazzolla, there will be the opportunity to get to know the Brazilian singer, pianist, guitarist and composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, one of the inventors of the bossa nova. The illustrious group of different composers is also joined by the two soloists, Pacho Flores and Jesús "Pingüino" González, who show another facet of their talent. Music full of longing, world-weariness and joie de vivre, perfect for a warm summer evening.

Pacho Flores & Jesús “Pingüino” González

Concert and clubbing as an all-in-one pleasure? The Trio Repercussion makes it possible - in the eighth edition of BEAT, the somewhat different concert series of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra with its exploratory journeys into the unlimited sound worlds of percussion. This time the Mercatorhalle will become a nightlife temple, when virtuoso playing on classical percussion instruments turns into the driving force of energetic club sounds as part of a rousing live performance. With their own songs at the interface of neo-classical, electronics and drums, Repercussion creates a direct and intense connection to the audience on stage - like a DJ who breaks up the usual situation of a philharmonic concert and opens up new areas of experience. Listen, feel, go along: This evening releases unimagined energies and appeals to all the senses. At the end of BEAT #08, many will perhaps ask themselves: Was I at a concert or in a club? Therefore, it is advisable to bring along not only open and curious ears but also comfortable shoes – in case the urge to dance arises.

Beat #08

Get off the sofa - out into the countryside. The Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nature Workshop - Association for Environmental Education invite all curious environmental detectives to a nature rally at the Sechs-Seen-Platte in Duisburg-Wedau. On the way through the Duisburg forest, members of the orchestra and the Nature Workshop combine music, forest and environment in an exciting and creative way.


Owl and Woodpecker in the Forest Concert

Duisburg-Wedau

By carriage from classical music to our time: Anke Becker, together with the string ensemble of the Duisburg Philharmonic, brings Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to life. Colorful birds are caught with magic flutes and witch's spells, Don Giovanni invites you to dance the minuet at his big party, and at the end, listeners young and old can dream and relax with the little night music.

In the klasse.klassik junior family and school concerts in the opera foyer or in the large theater hall, the youngsters are very close to the orchestra! The Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra presents orchestral fairytales, great classics and modern pieces in the best possible mood with special guests, narrators, choirs, singers and actors.

Mozart on Tour

The Küppersmühle Museum in Duisburg's inner harbor is one of the largest German private museums. Covering a good 6,100 square meters, it features highlights from the Ströher Collection, one of the most important and extensive collections of German art after 1945.

In three concert performances, musicians from the Duisburg Philharmonic and director Ludger Engels explore new levels of experience that are developed from the themes and content of the exhibited works or enter into a direct dialogue with them. These sound interventions open up new perspectives on the architecture of the house as well as the works in the collection and the current exhibition.

Concerts in the Museum Küppersmühle

Koray B. Sari, a multi-award-winning bağlama player, jams with a youth ensemble, plays in theater and music projects, and with musicians from the Duisburg Philharmonic. He brings the wide selection of saz instruments to schools, including the bağlama, the oud, but also a duduk and a daf. Where do the instruments come from and what do they have in common? The community musician and the cheerful ensemble of the Duisburg Philharmonic show how to tap along to the beat or drum with the tongue to the music. For the students: get involved in the body percussion!

klasse.klassik 4teens addresses children and young people with musical experiences on site in secondary schools. Whether saz4teens, art4teens, solo4teens or new phil4teens - students experience top-class music at eye level with our community musician, the artist in residence, well-known soloists and musicians from the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

By carriage from classical music to our time: Anke Becker, together with the string ensemble of the Duisburg Philharmonic, brings Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to life. Colorful birds are caught with magic flutes and witch's spells, Don Giovanni invites you to dance the minuet at his big party, and at the end, listeners young and old can dream and relax with the little night music.

Music can play an important key role for people with dementia. It provides access where language can no longer do so, it can evoke memories and appeals to the emotions of all people equally. Our "Heart Music" concerts offer a relaxed hour of music for people with dementia and their companions. At the end of each lovingly selected program of chamber music and popular classics of the concert literature, the musicians invite you to sing along.

The klasse.klassik senior program is aimed at the older generation - and those who are musically young at heart - with a variety of concerts and cross-generational projects. In addition to the popular Herzmusik concerts and the accompanied profile and winter concerts "Plus", the tandem projects "Hör mal Kunst" and "Hör mal ein Buch" in cooperation with the Lehmbruck Museum and the Duisburg City Library enrich the range of music education for young and old.

 Conductor Stefan Blunier has put together an exciting program full of discoveries and various references for his return to the Duisburg Philharmonic. At the end is Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky's darkly flowing "Symphony of Fate", which fits wonderfully with the magnificent overture by Dora Pejačević at the beginning, which also has a tragic undertone. The Croatian countess who composed was a real superstar during her lifetime, but was pushed out of the collective memory by music history. However, she is slowly emerging from oblivion, thanks in part to initiatives such as those of Stefan Blunier and the Duisburg Philharmonic. The program then includes one of Franz Liszt's rarely played symphonic poems. In it, the virtuoso piano composer deals with the ancient Orpheus myth, which also builds a content-related bridge to Manfred Trojahn's work, which will premiere in 2023. The name "Achéron" also comes from Greek mythology and refers to the river of suffering and pain into which the other rivers of the underworld flow. The concert is thus also a continuation of the orchestra's intensive engagement with the work of one of the most important living composers.

Excursion into the Underworld

Hör mal Kunst takes place in cooperation with the Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg, where seniors and children of preschool and primary school age discover music and art. Together with a musician from the Duisburg Philharmonic and a museum educator, we go on a journey of discovery that enables personal encounters between children and seniors.

Listen to Art

Do you remember your favorite (picture) book from childhood? Was it "Struwwelpeter", "Urmel" or perhaps "Max and Moritz", "The Little Witch" or "The Robber Hotzenplotz"? The musicians of the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra are bringing their treasures to the city library. In addition to reading excerpts from their favorite books, there is an individual and loving musical setting of the stories. Young and old are invited to listen to words and music together and to learn new things or rediscover familiar things.

Apparently familiar, in an unusual form – that is the motto of the 7th Chamber Concert. It was put together by violinist Alissa Margulis, who has a close relationship with the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra and is co-curating the “Eigenzeit” festival this season. Together with her siblings, she plays classics of literature, which she dresses up in unusual sounds in different ensembles, thus enabling new listening experiences in actually familiar works. Johann Sebastian Bach's famous “Chaconne”, for example, a lonely high point of literature for solo violin, but here with the piano part supplemented by Robert Schumann. Or Arnold Schönberg's romantic-expressive “Verklärte Nacht” – here in Eduard Steuermann's version for piano trio instead of the original version for string sextet. Camille Saint-Saëns' diabolical “Danse macabre” was originally intended for orchestra, but now sounds on the piano solo. Modest Mussorgsky composed the original version of his famous “Pictures at an Exhibition” for this purpose; however, they became even more popular in the brilliant orchestration of Maurice Ravel. The Margulis Trio is now exploring the tone-painting cycle using chamber music techniques.

Margulis Trio

The Portuguese word Saudade translates as longing. But it means much more than that: it is an attitude to life, a very specific form of world-weariness, full of wistfulness and gentle melancholy. And these also characterize Fado, which has become popular in Germany primarily through strong female voices such as those of Carminho, Mariza or Ana Moura. But António Zambujo, with his gentle and slightly hoarse voice, is also a representative of this emotional singing. However, there are also other influences in his personal style: the song tradition of his home region in southern Portugal, for example, called Cante Alentejano. There are also echoes of the Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, the inventor of the Bossa nova, for which António Zambujo has a soft spot as well as for the Brazilian Samba.

Under the title "Cidade", the Portuguese songwriter Miguel Araújo has composed a whole series of touching songs especially for António Zambujo, which clothe the everyday life and loneliness of people in a big city in almost unspectacular tones. But it is precisely through their apparent simplicity that these songs unfold their irresistible saudade pull. For the atmospheric opening of the "Eigenzeit" festival, there will be dancing in the foyer with samba, salsa and bachata.

António Zambujo

A deliberate misinterpretation seals Beatrice di Tenda's miserable fate: an intimate conversation with Orombello comes at just the right time for her heartless and unfaithful husband Filippo. Because he does not love his Beatrice and wants to get rid of her as quickly as possible, the Duke of Milan puts all his eggs in one basket - and demands her death for the adultery that did not take place.

Beatrice di Tenda

German Oper am Rhein

Tell me, Pinocchio, what are you saying? You've seen people turn into donkeys? You sat in the belly of a shark? And you've met the blue fairy, who is the very best anyway? You're teasing us! Don't you know that lies have short legs? Uh... Pinocchio, wait a minute! That can't be true! You made up all these stories!

Pinocchio

Howling wolves, whispering winds, wailing whales, banging doors, ships searching for their way and grinding engines - we listen to the sounds of our fellow world, think they are melodies - intentionally - and "get into conversation" with them. As we did recently with Margarita Rumyantseva's electric violin and George Warren's synthesizer, in the KROHNE Auditorium we find the ideal acoustic and technical conditions for the playback of the sounds - and with the recently overhauled Steinway concert grand piano D, we have a wonderfully suitable correspondence partner.

Messtechnik event hall

When Akiko Suwanai won the renowned Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1990, she was just 18 years old. It was also the start of an international career, during which the Japanese violinist has been a guest in Duisburg several times. Now she is returning with an exciting program, together with the Argentinian José Gallardo, who is one of the most sought-after chamber music pianists and is making his debut in Duisburg with this concert. The duo evening begins with Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 6, the dramatic style of which was the composer's immediate reaction to his increasing deafness. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's suite "Much Ado About Nothing", which is based on his symphonic incidental music for Shakespeare's play of the same name, then tells of the changing feelings of a young woman in love, while the chromatically sharpened "Four Pieces" by Anton Webern explore dynamic extremes between barely audible tones and blatant fortissimo outbursts. The final work is Schumann’s Opus 121, a work that its creator explicitly described as a “great” sonata – which refers both to its dimensions and to the demands placed on virtuoso playing.

Akiko Suwanai & Jose Gallardo

Antonín Dvořák used a popular folk dance and a song that is now sung as the Czech national anthem as themes in his overture “My Home” – a partly lyrical, partly fast-paced declaration of love for his homeland.

The connection to Slavic folk music can also be heard in the 1952 Rhapsody Concerto by Dvořák's Czech compatriot Bohuslav Martinů, which is one of the most frequently played viola concertos of the 20th century.

symphony concert

When Akiko Suwanai won the renowned Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1990, she was just 18 years old. It was also the start of an international career, during which the Japanese violinist has been a guest in Duisburg several times. Now she is returning with an exciting program, together with the Argentinian José Gallardo, who is one of the most sought-after chamber music pianists and is making his debut in Duisburg with this concert. The duo evening begins with Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 6, the dramatic style of which was the composer's immediate reaction to his increasing deafness. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's suite "Much Ado About Nothing", which is based on his symphonic incidental music for Shakespeare's play of the same name, then tells of the changing feelings of a young woman in love, while the chromatically sharpened "Four Pieces" by Anton Webern explore dynamic extremes between barely audible tones and blatant fortissimo outbursts. The final work is Schumann’s Opus 121, a work that its creator explicitly described as a “great” sonata – which refers both to its dimensions and to the demands placed on virtuoso playing.


Today we know Johann Sebastian Bach primarily as perhaps the most famous composer in music history. During his lifetime, the Thomaskantor was also celebrated throughout Europe for his virtuoso harpsichord playing, as an organist and as a master of improvisation. He composed a large part of his organ works during his time in Weimar, including numerous toccatas, preludes and fugues. Martin Sturm - Professor of Organ and Improvisation at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar since 2019 - recalls the various facets of the baroque artist Bach at the magnificent Eule organ in the Philharmonie Mercatorhalle: He not only interprets works by Bach, but also revives the tradition of organ improvisation - with active support from the audience. The audience is invited to request themes, melodies or songs on the basis of which Martin Sturm can show off his improvisational skills. In addition to works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Max Reger, also a true giant of the organ, is also on the program. His organ works are romantically exuberant, expressive and eccentric – and devilishly difficult to play.

Bach & Reger

Last season, the Chinese-born New Zealand conductor Tianyi Lu made her debut in Duisburg and caused a huge sensation with a passionate performance. Now she is returning to the orchestra - with one of the most mysterious works in music history: the Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. There are countless legends about this requiem, which the composer was unable to complete himself. He died while working on it and left behind fragments for posterity that led to all kinds of speculation. Because most of the movements of the Requiem hardly progressed beyond sketches, the mythical history of composition is followed by an equally adventurous series of attempts to complete the torso to form a "complete" work. Tianyi Lu has opted for the established version by Franz Xaver Süßmayr, to whom Mozart himself says he personally gave instructions for the elaboration. But regardless of the question of how much “real” Mozart is in the Requiem, it is a masterful work – with the spectacular use of the trombones in the “Dies irae” and the powerful use of the choir. Here it is brilliantly sung by the Duisburg Philharmonic Choir, with whom the orchestra traditionally maintains a close working relationship.

Mozart Requiem

Pavel Haas is one of a whole series of artists who, to this day, painfully remind us of the gaps the Nazis left with their campaign of extermination against Jewish life and culture. At the age of 14, Haas began his musical education at the Brno Music School and later studied for two years at Leoš Janáček's Conservatory. He worked as a music teacher and freelance composer before being deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in December 1941. There, in order to perfidiously maintain the appearance of normality, the Nazis started a "leisure activities" program that also included music. Viktor Ullmann, Hans Krása and Pavel Haas were among the composers who continued to compose in the midst of the unimaginable. As a contribution against forgetting, the memorial concert commemorates the unimaginable suffering of so many people.

Memories of Pavel Haas

The large old trees in the forest hide an exciting secret. Musical instruments are made from the trunks and branches of maple, spruce and pine - but also from the wood of trees from faraway countries. A whole musical forest then resounds during the concert. The Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra talks about their instrument trees and how important it is to protect them so that the forest remains a habitat for animals and plants. After the concert, an instrument maker presents his work and guests of all ages can try out string instruments for themselves.

Astrein – Instruments and their Trees

A busy joy of discovery - in the exciting combination of meticulous historical research and incredibly lively music-making practice - is perhaps his most striking character trait. And with this unbridled thirst for research, Alessandro de Marchi has turned the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, which he shaped for many years as artistic director and artistic director, into an exciting place for rediscoveries and new encounters. And this desire to revitalize long-forgotten treasures of music history also characterizes the program with which the early music specialist makes his debut with the Duisburg Philharmonic. For example, with Christoph Willibald Gluck, who is known today above all as a great opera reformer, but whose rather neglected pantomime "Don Juan, ou Le Festin de Pierre" is brought to life by de Marchi. The Italian conductor is well versed in all aspects of Gluck, as evidenced by an award-winning recording with the countertenor Valer Sabadus. And Carl Heinrich Graun has also long been a confidant of de Marchi; in Innsbruck, for example, he led his opera "Silla" to great success. In Duisburg, however, the audience can look forward to the ballet music "Histoire de Pygmalion" - this too is a real rarity, the performance of which has an air of the extraordinary.

The Touch of the Extraordinary

Don Giovanni: Is he the legendary rake, womanizer and heartbreaker who does not shy away from murder in his pursuit of erotic conquests? Or is he a radical free spirit whose urge for freedom shatters all norms and spares neither death nor punishment?

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Astrein – Instruments and their trees

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