Concert information
At the invitation of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Info
Our organ series starts with one of the most interesting organists of our time: Richard Gowers, still only 29 old, discovered his passion for music as a choirboy at King’s College, Cambridge. Trained in Cambridge, London and Stuttgart, he has travelled internationally as a soloist and has also been Director of Music at St Georgeʼs, Hanover Square in London since 2023. Together with the brass section of the Berliner Philharmoniker, he will perform an opulent, late-romantic programme, including the passionate love scene from Richard Strauss’ opera Feuersnot and Franz Liszt’s heroic final tribute to his friend Chopin, Funérailles.
Artists
Richard Gowers organ
Blechbläserensemble der Berliner Philharmoniker
Programme
William Walton
Orb and Sceptre (arr. for organ and brass by Richard Gowers)
Blechbläserensemble der Berliner Philharmoniker, Richard Gowers organ
Franz Liszt
Funérailles (arr. for organ by Jeanne Demessieux)
Richard Gowers organ
Richard Strauss
Feuersnot op. 50: Liebesszene (arr. for organ and brass by Richard Gowers)
Blechbläserensemble der Berliner Philharmoniker, Richard Gowers organ
Julius Reubke
Organ Sonata in C minor “The 94th Psalm”
Richard Gowers organ
William Byrd
Earl of Oxford’s March (arr. for brass ensemble by Elgar Howarth)
Blechbläserensemble der Berliner Philharmoniker
Franz Schmidt
Fuga solemnis (arr. for organ and brass by Richard Gowers)
Blechbläserensemble der Berliner Philharmoniker, Richard Gowers organ
Main Auditorium
22 €
Series Z: Organ
Biographies
Richard Gowers
Our organ series 2024/25 starts with one of the most interesting organists of our time. Richard Gowers, aged just 29, discovered his passion for music as a choirboy at King’s College in Cambridge. He now travels internationally as a pianist, organist and conductor. Since 2023, he has also been Director of Music at St George’s Church in Hanover Square, the church where Handel regularly played during his time in London.
Richard Gowers was born in Cambridge in 1994 and trained in Cambridge, Leipzig, London and Stuttgart. He performs as a soloist throughout Europe, the USA, Asia and Australia. As an ensemble player, he performs regularly with the major London orchestras and at the BBC Proms; he also specialises in performing with singers and in chamber music. His critically-acclaimed debut album of Olivier Messiaen’s La Nativité du Seigneur was awarded the Gramophone Editor’s Choice in 2018. Richard Gowers teaches at the University of Cambridge and is an Associate at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Brass ensemble of the Berliner Philharmoniker
The brass section of the Berliner Philharmoniker has been performing as a chamber music group since the mid-1950s. The octet of four trumpets and four trombones was later expanded to include a tuba, a horn and a further trumpet and trombone. Of course, the musicians also play additional instruments, including the high Bb trumpet, bass trumpet and even the contrabass trombone.
The ensemble is characterised by a refined technique and the rich sound of the instruments. The repertoire initially focussed on works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods; later, commissioned compositions were also added. For example, Hans Werner Henze composed the Sonata per otto ottoni (1983) and Dieter Siebert the eleven-part Rondo for brass (1992) for the ensemble. In the meantime, the musicians have also included arrangements of classical works as well as pop and jazz arrangements in their programme. A successful concert schedule has taken the Philharmoniker brass players to many major European music centres, to festivals and on tours as far afield as Japan.
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