Concert information
Musikfest Berlin
Info
Anton Bruckner’s symphonies have often been described as cathedrals of sound. And they really do combine a powerful architecture of sound with soaring climaxes and visions of the transcendent. This also applies to the Fifth Symphony, which Bruckner called his “contrapuntal masterpiece” because of its ingenious compositional technique. Kirill Petrenko combines it with a work that also has a connection to sacred architecture: Wolfgang Rihm’s IN-SCHRIFT, whose dark, powerfully-sculpted sounds are inspired by St Mark’s Basilica in Venice.
The Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko dedicate these concerts to the memory of Wolfgang Rihm (1952-2024).
Artists
Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill Petrenko conductor
Programme
Wolfgang Rihm
IN-SCHRIFT
Interval
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 5 in B flat major
Additional information
In co-operation with Berliner Festspiele
Main Auditorium
37 to 106 €
Introduction
19:15
Series G: Concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker
Main Auditorium
37 to 106 €
Introduction
19:15
Series M: Concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker
Main Auditorium
37 to 106 €
Introduction
18:15
“Upbeat”: Wolfgang Rihms “IN-SCHRIFT”
Programme notes and exclusive rehearsal footage
This video shows special footage of the rehearsals for Wolfgang Rihm’s IN-SCHRIFT with chief conductor Kirill Petrenko. Solo horn player Stefan Dohr gives personal programme notes and tells us about his favourite part of the piece.
“My music saves me”
Composer in Residence Wolfgang Rihm in conversation
Wolfgang Rihm (1952-2024) was famous – more famous than most contemporary composers can ever aspire to becoming. The Berliner Philharmoniker appointed him as their Composer in Residence for the 2024/25 season. Following Wolfgang Rihm’s death on 27 July 2024, the planned concerts will now take place “in memoriam”. For this interview, conducted in March of 2024, he spoke about inspiration, about the struggle to complete a work and about beauty in modern music.
Biography
Kirill Petrenko
Kirill Petrenko has been chief conductor and artistic director of the Berliner Philharmoniker since the 2019/20 season. Born in Omsk in Siberia, he received his training first in his home town and later in Austria. He established his conducting career in opera with positions at the Meininger Theater and the Komische Oper Berlin. From 2013 to 2020, Kirill Petrenko was general music director of Bayerische Staatsoper. He has also made guest appearances at the world’s leading opera houses, including Wiener Staatsoper, Covent Garden in London, the Opéra national in Paris, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and at the Bayreuth Festival. Moreover, he has conducted the major international symphony orchestras – in Vienna, Munich, Dresden, Paris, Amsterdam, London, Rome, Chicago, Cleveland and Israel. Since his debut in 2006, a variety of programmatic themes have emerged in his work together with the Berliner Philharmoniker. These include work on the orchestra’s core Classical-Romantic repertoire, for example with symphonies by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Brahms. Unjustly forgotten composers such as Josef Suk and Erich Wolfgang Korngold are another of Kirill Petrenko’s interests. Russian works are also highlighted, with performances of Tchaikovsky’s operas Mazeppa, Iolanta and The Queen of Spades attracting particular attention recently.
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