Tagged with 'Philharmonie Köln'

He has always admired composer Robert Schumann and often drawn inspiration from his works: Jörg Widmann’s new piece, Schumannliebe (“Love for Schumann”), for voice and ensemble will have its world premiere at the Casa da Música in Porto, Portugal on October 4th, 2023. Baritone Matthias Goerne will perform alongside the Remix Ensemble under the direction of Peter Rundel. 

Internationally, Jörg Widmann has achieved great success as a clarinetist, composer and increasingly as a conductor. On 27 May, the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle will premiere Widmann’s new work Tanz auf dem Vulkan (Dance on the Volcano), which was commissioned by the orchestra as part of their “tapas” concert series, and dedicated to Sir Simon who will leave his post as the orchestra’s principal conductor this year.

Although the work is written for Sir Simon, it begins without a conductor. Instead, the percussionist counts the orchestra in with drumsticks, and the conductor walks on stage to join in over the course of the first eleven bars.

Jörg Widmann – Tanz auf dem Vulkan: Love for all music, past and present

For Widmann, established tradition and contemporary exploration in music are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, Widmann openly refers to past musical conventions in his works, yet creates something completely new in his examination on the past.

“Over the past few years, I have been closely involved with the Berlin Philharmonic in an intense musical partnership and was therefore only too pleased to fulfill their request to compose a short farewell piece for Sir Simon. My composition has evolved into an insistently explosive work. The job description for a chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic is these four words, in my opinion very aptly described: Dance on the volcano.”
– Jörg Widmann

The Berlin Philharmonic will perform Tanz auf dem Vulkan at the Royal Festival Hall in London on 31 May, at the Musikverein Wien in 2 June and at the Philharmonie Köln on 6 June. The Spanish premiere will follow at the Auditorio Nacional de Música on 7 June in Madrid.

• Jörg Widmann – profil


• Tanz auf dem Vulkan – work details


• Berlin Philharmonic

When Yuri Gagarin became the first human to journey into space in 1961, he sparked a generation’s interest in the mysteries of the universe. This included a young Peter Eötvös, whose latest work, Multiversum for concert organ, Hammond organ, and orchestra, sets out to explore this theme. The composer himself will conduct the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and soloists Iveta Apkalna and László Fassang in the world premiere on 10 October 2017 in the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

Peter Eötvös: Multiversum - creating a universe out of sound

Eötvös was inspired to compose a piece that would envelope the listener in the same way the universe envelopes the earth.  A three-dimensional sound is created by the staging: the strings are placed to the left of the audience and the woodwinds to the right, while the brass and percussion are spread over the stage alongside the Hammond organ.  A carefully placed Leslie rotary speaker creates a Doppler effect that obscures the Hammond organ’s location, allowing it to seemingly float above the whole audience. Even immovable instruments are presented in a different light - the Klais organ, which is built into the wall of the Elbphilharmonie behind a section of the audience, is played at a keyboard at the front of the hall. The overall effect is a visual break from traditional orchestral staging and an immersive sound experience for each audience member.

I try to describe the world with sounds, just like writers do it with words, painters with a brush, and directors with a camera. We often describe the same thing; only the medium is different. – Peter Eötvös

Eötvös will conduct Multiversum again on 11 October at the Philharmonie Köln, 12 October at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brüssel, 14 October at the Müpa Budapest and 19 and 20 October at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

• Peter Eötvös – profile


• Multiversum– details and score


• Elbphilharmonie Concert