Late debuts
Three guest orchestras from Germany
This year, 2004, is an anniversary for both Janácek and Dvorák and so all attention is focused on Bohemia and Moravia, regions of a country overflowing with musicality and often described as “The Conservatory of Europe”. What would music history be without the Bohemian émigrés, without Biber and Zelenka, without the Benda and Stamitz families, without Gassmann, Rosetti, Dussek or Reicha? The citizens of the time-honoured city of Bamberg are probably asking themselves the same question, as their famous orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony, originally came from Prague. After the end of the Second World War the musicians of the German Philharmonie, who had become homeless, ventured on a new beginning in Franconia where they had been given asylum. Joseph Keilberth, their former artistic director from Prague, encouraged them in their bold undertaking and together with him and eminent advocates such as Eugen Jochum or Paul Hindemith they were committed to continuing a great and endangered musical tradition. The success exceeded all expectations: nowadays besides the cathedral and the Bamberg Rider, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra is well known throughout the world! The orchestra is now firmly and deeply rooted in its place of refuge and since 1993 has had its own concert hall with the musical name “Symphony on the Regnitz”.
Jonathan Nott
Every tenth citizen of Bamberg has a subscription ticket for the orchestra’s concerts and just how much the people there identify with their orchestra was impressively demonstrated recently in the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition organised by the orchestra. The entire city took part enthusiastically and created the special family atmosphere that makes musical life in the “Rome of Franconia” so pleasant. It is almost hard to believe that “the Bamberger” have never played at the Salzburg Festival. Under its British principal conductor Jonathan Nott the orchestra will perform a concert with a very unusual programme in the Felsenreitschule on 30 July 2004.
The Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra will also be making a late debut in Salzburg this summer. In the coming months the orchestra from the bank metropolis which has such a vibrant arts life will be performing at several major festivals because it is celebrating its 75th anniversary. The RSO Frankfurt was founded on 1 October 1929 by what was then called “Radio Frankfurt” and from the very beginning the orchestra’s sound was characterised by unconventional and unorthodox conductors: by the Austrian Hans Rosbaud (who conducted the first performances of works by Schoenberg and Bartók in Frankfurt), by Eliahu Inbal, renowned for his interpretations of Bruckner and Mahler, and by the Russian conductor Dmitri Kitayenko.
RSO Frankfurt
At present the American Hugh Wolff is the RSO Frankfurt’s principal conductor, the second American after Dean Dixon in the 1960s – certainly no coincidence in the “most American” of German cities. Hugh Wolff is a Harvard graduate, studied composition with George Crumb and Olivier Messiaen and perfected his piano playing in classes with Leon Fleisher. Hugh Wolff has broadened the orchestra’s repertoire to almost encyclopaedic dimensions – starting before Bach and extending well beyond Stravinsky. Hugh Wolff and the RSO Frankfurt devote their concert in Salzburg on 19 August to this year’s composers in residence, György Kurtág and Jörg Widmann; they will also give the first performance in Europe of an orchestral piece by Helmut Lachenmann.
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| Paavo Järvi |
On the very next day there will be a chance to see and hear the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie again – they first appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 2001 – and now they are returning with their new principal conductor Paavo Järvi from Estonia. This ensemble was originally formed by music students and now, less than 25 years later, is one of the best and most renowned chamber orchestras in the world. The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie is based in Bremen and together with Paavo Järvi they have recorded all the Beethoven symphonies. His humoristic Eighth Symphony is on the programme of their concert in Salzburg as well as the Piano Concerto in C minor with Olli Mustonen as soloist. The concert opens with a late work – the Symphonic Serenade in B flat major opus 39 – by the émigré Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Wolfgang Stähr
Guest orchestras
30 July, 8 p.m. • Felsenreitschule
Conductor Jonathan Nott • Soprano Barbara
Hannigan • Mezzo-soprano Margriet van Reisen
Bamberg Symphony Chorus • Bamberg
Symphony Orchestra
György Ligeti Atmosphères for large
orchestra
Gustav Mahler Adagio from Symphony No. 12 • Totenfeier
György Ligeti Requiem
19 August, 8 p.m. • Kleines Festspielhaus
Conductor Hugo Wolff
Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt
Jörg Widmann Implosion
Helmut Lachenmann Schreiben
György Kurtág Stele, op. 33
Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
20 August, 8 p.m. • Kleines Festspielhaus
Conductor Paavo Järvi •
Piano Olli Mustonen
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie
Erich Wolfgang Korngold Symphonic Serenade in B flat
major, op. 39
Ludwig van Beethoven Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
No. 3 in C minor, op. 37 • Symphony No. 8 in F
major, op. 93
Così fan tutte
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