Sun, Feb. 02, 2025, 11.00 am | Elbphilharmonie, Grand Hall
6th Philharmonic Concert
Kent Nagano
Jörg Widmann: “Cantata in tempore belli” for alto, speaking voice, choir, organ and orchestra - based on texts by Friedrich Hölderlin, Friedrich von Logau, Matthias Claudius, Wolfgang Borchert and from the Bible - world premiere
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Missa C minor KV 427 “Great Mass in C minor” for soloists, choir and orchestra
Kent Nagano
Alto (Widmann): Ida Aldrian
Soprano I (Mozart): Katharina Konradi
Soprano II (Mozart): Ida Aldrian
Tenor (Mozart): Seungwoo Simon Yang
Bass (Mozart): Jóhann Kristinsson
Chor der Liatoshynski Capella, Kyiv, Ukraine
Choir rehearsal: Bogdan Plish
Speaker (Widmann): Jens Harzer
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
Kent Nagano
DirigentKent Nagano is considered one of today’s outstanding conductors for both operatic and orchestral repertoire. Since September 2015, he has been General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg. In addition, he is committed as Artistic Director of the Ring project “The Wagner Cycles” of Dresdner Musikfestspiele with Dresdner Festspielorchester and Concerto Köln, and as patron of the Herrenchiemsee Festival. He has been Honorary Conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin since 2006, Concerto Köln since 2019, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal since 2021 and the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester since 2023.
The 2024/25 season is Kent Nagano's last season as General Music Director in Hamburg and brings four new productions to the Staatsoper under Nagano's musical direction: Carl Orff's Trionfi, Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Unsuk Chin's The Dark Side of the Moon, and Rodolphe Bruneau-Boulmier's The Illusions of William Mallory. Furthermore, he conducts symphony concerts with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester in the Elbphilharmonie as he does every season, including the New Year's performance and the world premiere of Alex Nante's symphony Anahata, a work commissioned by the Philharmonic State Orchestra.
Highlights of recent seasons in Hamburg have included opera productions such as Boris Godunov, Salome, performances of Sciarrino's Venere e Adone and Britten's Peter Grimes, Les Troyens, Lulu, Lessons in Love and Violence and the world premiere of Stilles Meer as well as Les Contes d'Hoffmann in the new production by Daniele Finzi Pasca (released on DVD by EuroArts, February 2022), the “Philharmonic Academy” in St. Michaelis, open-air concerts at the Rathausmarkt and the world premiere of Pascal Dusapin's work Waves for organ and orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie. Orchestral tours with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg have taken Kent Nagano to Japan, Spain and South America.
In the 2024/25 season, Kent Nagano conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Passau, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal in Montréal and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester in Berlin, among others. He also conducts Dusapin's Il Vaggio, Dante in a production by Claus Guth at the Paris Opera and the revival of Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre in a production by Krzysztof Warlikowski at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.
As a much sought-after guest conductor, Kent Nagano regularly works with leading international orchestras worldwide, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique Radio France, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre de l'Opéra national in Paris, the Chicago and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest and the Wiener Symphoniker. A special project was the Bernstein opera A quiet place at the Paris Opera. Other opera productions include the world premiere of Dusapin's Il viaggio, dante at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Hindemith's Cardillac, Henze's Die Bassariden and the world premiere of Saariaho's L'amour de loin at the Salzburg Festival. Other world premieres conducted by Nagano include Bernstein's A White House Cantata and the operas Alice in Wonderland by Unsuk Chin, Three Sisters by Peter Eötvös and The Death of Klinghoffer and El Niño by John Adams.
Under the artistic direction of Kent Nagano and the Intendant of the Dresdner Musikfestspiele Jan Vogler, Wagner's Ring Tetralogy will be performed in the artistic context of the period in which it was composed, based on the latest findings of research into Wagner and performance practice, and integrated into an extensive supporting program as part of the multi-year project The Wagner Cycles of the Dresdner Musikfestspiele from 2023 to 2026. The first performance in 2023 was Das Rheingold at the Dresden Music Festival and the tour to Cologne, Ravello and Lucerne under the musical direction of Kent Nagano. Die Walküre followed in 2024 as the second work in the epochal narrative in Prague, Amsterdam, Cologne, Dresden, Hamburg and Lucerne. In 2025, the project devotes itself to Richard Wagner's Siegfried and gives historically informed concert performances in international concert halls and opera houses.
Highlights of Kent Nagano's collaboration with the OSM as Music Director from 2006 to 2020 included the inauguration of the orchestra’s new concert hall La Maison Symphonique in September 2011, performances of the complete cycles of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, concert versions of Wagner's Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde and Das Rheingold, Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au Bücher, and Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise. Tours have taken Nagano and the orchestra to Canada including the Northern Territories, Japan, South Korea, Europe (latest 2019), Latin America and the USA. In July 2018, Kent Nagano conducted Krzysztof Penderecki’s St. Luke Passion with the OSM at the Salzburg Festival opening concert.
His recordings with the OSM on Sony Classical/Analekta include Mahler’s Orchestral Songs with Christian Gerhaher in 2013 and a complete recording of all of Beethoven’s symphonies in 2015. Decca released a recording of the North American premiere of L'Aiglon, a rarely performed opera by Honegger and Ibert in 2016, conducted by Nagano in 2015. Further releases by Decca are Danse Macabre with works by Dukas, Saint-Saens, Ives and others in 2016 as well as a recording of Bernstein's A quiet place in 2018 on the occasion of the composer's 100th birthday. John Adams' Common tones in simple time & harmony (Decca) was released in 2019, the Lukas Passion by Penderecki (BIS) and works by Ginastera, Bernstein and Moussa (Analekta) in 2020.
At the Bayerische Staatsoper, where he was General Music Director from 2006 to 2013, Kent Nagano commissioned new operas such as Babylon by Jörg Widmann, Das Gehege by Wolfgang Rihm and Alice in Wonderland by Unsuk Chin. New productions included Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Frau ohne Schatten, Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites, Messiaen’s Saint François d'Assise, Berg’s Wozzeck, George Benjamin's Written on skin and Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Tours took Nagano and the Bavarian State Orchestra through Europe and Japan. In addition to Bruckner's Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7 (Sony), Kent Nagano has released several opera performances with the Bavarian State Orchestra on DVD: Unsuk Chin's opera Alice in Wonderland (2008) and Mussorgsky's Chowanschtschina (2009) with unitel classica/medici arts, Dialogue des Carmélites with Bel Air Classiques (2011) and Lohengrin (2010) with Decca.
Another very important period in Nagano’s career was his time as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from 2000-2006. He performed Schönberg’s Moses und Aron with the orchestra (in collaboration with Los Angeles Opera) and took them to the Salzburg Festival to perform both Zemlinsky’s Der König Kandaules and Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten, as well as to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with Parsifal and Lohengrin in productions by Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Recordings with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin for Harmonia Mundi include repertoire as diverse as Bernstein’s Mass, Bruckner’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 6, Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge, Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, Schönberg’s Die Jakobsleiter and Friede auf Erden, as well as Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 and Schönberg’s Variationen für Orchester Op. 31. In June 2006, at the end of his tenure with the orchestra, Kent Nagano was given the title Honorary Conductor by members of the orchestra – only the second recipient of this honour in their 60-year history. To this day he maintains a close friendship with the orchestra.
In October 2019, Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama expanded their joint recordings of Beethoven's works for piano and orchestra with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 0 E-flat Major WoO 4, a nearly unknown work from the composer’s youth, and his Rondo for Piano and Orchestra WoO 6 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. The complete edition of Beethoven’s piano concerti was released on the Berlin Classics label.
Nagano was awarded Grammys for his recordings of Busoni’s Doktor Faust with Opéra National de Lyon, Prokofjew’s Peter and the Wolf with the Russian National Orchestra and Saariaho’s L’amour de Loin with the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin. He has worked with labels such as BIS, Decca, Sony Classical, FARAO Classics and Analekta for many years, and has also recorded CDs with Berlin Classics, Erato, Teldec, Pentatone, Deutsche Grammophon and Harmonia Mundi.
To celebrate Kent Nagano's 70th birthday in 2021, a 3-CD box set of works by Olivier Messiaen was released in October on the BR Klassik label. The release includes live recordings of the works Poèmes pour Mi, Chronochromie and La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ from his concerts with the Symphonieorchester und Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, demonstrating Nagano's close familiarity with Messiaen's musical language in a special way.
In September 2021, Kent Nagano published his second book with Berlin Verlag. In "10 Lessons of my Life", he recalls ten deeply personal encounters from which he learned important lessons, not only for his career but for his life more broadly. Among those experiences are encounters with the Icelandic pop artist Björk, Frank Zappa, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez and the Nobel Prize winner in physics Donald Glaser.
In 2015 Kent Nagano published "Erwarten Sie Wunder!" also in Berlin Verlag, a passionate appeal for the relevance of classical music in today's world. In 2019 the book was released in English by the Canadian McGill-Queen's University Press under the title ″Classical Music - Expect the Unexpected" and in 2015 under "Sonnez, merveilles!" in French by Éditions du Boréal.
Born in California, Nagano maintains close connections with his home state and was Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra from 1978-2009. His first major successes came with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1984, when Messiaen appointed him assistant to conductor Seiji Ozawa for the premiere of his opera Saint François d'Assise. Nagano’s success in America led to European appointments: Music Director of Opéra National de Lyon (1988-1998) and Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra (1991-2000). Kent Nagano became the first Music Director of Los Angeles Opera in 2003 having already held the position of Principal Conductor for two years.
Kent Nagano was awarded an honorary doctorate from McGill University in Montréal in 2005, an honorary doctorate from the Université de Montréal in 2006, and an honorary doctorate from San Francisco State University in 2018. Since 2017, Kent Nagano has been a "Compagnon" of the "Ordre des arts et des lettres" of Québec and in the fall of 2023, Kent Nagano was also awarded the title of "Chevalier" in the "Ordre des art et des lettres" of France. In February 2024, Kent Nagano was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the Federal President and in June 2024 he was awarded the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honor. Kent Nagano is the recipient of the 2024 Brahms Prize of the Brahms Society of Schleswig-Holstein.
Ida Aldrian
Alto (Widmann)Birthplace:
Bruck an der Mur, Austria
Studies:
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Leopold Spitzer and Karlheinz Hanser; studies for Stage Performance (Opera and Musical Drama), Art Song and Oratorio with KS Marjana Lipovšek with honors; member of International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera (2012/13–2013/14)
Master class:
With Ann Murray, Bernarda Fink, Reri Grist, Peter Kooij, Andrew Watts, Thomas Hampson, Wicus Slabbert, Alan Titus, Brigitte Fassbaender, et al.
Prizes:
Dr.-Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Preis of Stiftung zur Förderung der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (2014), prize winner of the jury ranking at international singing competition „Stella Maris“ (2014)
Relation to the State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the season 2019/20
Important parts:
Wellgunde (Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung), Siegrune and Rossweiße (Die Walküre), Blumenmädchen and Stimme aus der Höhe (Parsifal ), 2. Maid (Daphne), Feodor (Boris Godunov), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Isabella (L'Italiana in Algeri), Adalgisa (Norma), Idamante (Idomeneo), Third Lady (The Magic Flute), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Penelope (Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria), Mercedes (Carmen), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Laura (Luisa Miller), Flora and Annina (La Traviata), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Meg Page (Falstaff), Dryade (Ariadne auf Naxos), Orlofski (Die Fledermaus), et al.
Stages:
Elbphilharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kölner Philharmonie, Wiener Konzerthaus, Musikverein Wien, Staatstheater Nürnberg, Grafenegg Festival, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Barocktage Melk, Styriarte, International Brucknerfest Linz, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Andreas Homoki, Georg Schmiedleitner, Laura Scozzi, Mariame Clément, Verena Stoiber, Peter Konwitschny, Stéphane Braunschweig, David Bösch, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Simone Young, Kent Nagano, Martin Haselböck, Marcus Bosch, Yutaka Sado, Pablo Heras-Casado, Christopher Moulds, Cornelius Meister, Fabio Luisi, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Simon Gaudenz, et al.
Katharina Konradi
Soprano I (Mozart)Birthplace:
Bischkek, Kyrgyzstan
Studies:
Singing education with Julie Kaufmann in Berlin, master's degree in song composition with Christiane Iven and Donald Sulzen at Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
Master class:
with Helmut Deutsch and Klesie Kelly-Moog
Prizes:
BBC New Generation Artist (2018–20), prize of Deutscher Musikwettbewerb in Bonn (2016), special prize of Walter und Charlotte Hamel Stiftung, prizewinner of Bundeswettbewerbs „Jugend musiziert“ and of Sommerakademie Mozarteum (2015), 1st prize of Kulturkreis Gasteig München in the classification „Lied-Duo“ (2015); scholarship holder of Paul-Hindemith-Gesellschaft Berlin, of Yehudi Menuhin Stiftung „Live Music Now“ and of Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 2018/19 season
Important parts:
Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Zdenka (Arabella), Ännchen (Der Freischütz), Anne Frank (Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank), et al.
Stages:
Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Elbphilharmonie, Kammeroper München, Theater Hof, Mainfranken Theater Würzburg, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Lionel Bringuier, Paavo Järvi, Thomas Hengelbrock, Patrick Lange, Konrad Junghänel, et al.
Ida Aldrian
Soprano II (Mozart)Birthplace:
Bruck an der Mur, Austria
Studies:
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Leopold Spitzer and Karlheinz Hanser; studies for Stage Performance (Opera and Musical Drama), Art Song and Oratorio with KS Marjana Lipovšek with honors; member of International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera (2012/13–2013/14)
Master class:
With Ann Murray, Bernarda Fink, Reri Grist, Peter Kooij, Andrew Watts, Thomas Hampson, Wicus Slabbert, Alan Titus, Brigitte Fassbaender, et al.
Prizes:
Dr.-Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Preis of Stiftung zur Förderung der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (2014), prize winner of the jury ranking at international singing competition „Stella Maris“ (2014)
Relation to the State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the season 2019/20
Important parts:
Wellgunde (Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung), Siegrune and Rossweiße (Die Walküre), Blumenmädchen and Stimme aus der Höhe (Parsifal ), 2. Maid (Daphne), Feodor (Boris Godunov), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Isabella (L'Italiana in Algeri), Adalgisa (Norma), Idamante (Idomeneo), Third Lady (The Magic Flute), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Penelope (Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria), Mercedes (Carmen), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Laura (Luisa Miller), Flora and Annina (La Traviata), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Meg Page (Falstaff), Dryade (Ariadne auf Naxos), Orlofski (Die Fledermaus), et al.
Stages:
Elbphilharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kölner Philharmonie, Wiener Konzerthaus, Musikverein Wien, Staatstheater Nürnberg, Grafenegg Festival, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Barocktage Melk, Styriarte, International Brucknerfest Linz, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Andreas Homoki, Georg Schmiedleitner, Laura Scozzi, Mariame Clément, Verena Stoiber, Peter Konwitschny, Stéphane Braunschweig, David Bösch, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Simone Young, Kent Nagano, Martin Haselböck, Marcus Bosch, Yutaka Sado, Pablo Heras-Casado, Christopher Moulds, Cornelius Meister, Fabio Luisi, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Simon Gaudenz, et al.
Seungwoo Simon Yang
Tenor (Mozart)Birthplace:
Gwangyang, South Korea
Studies:
Singing at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with Prof. Carolyn Grace James
Master class:
Bo Skovhus, Eytan Pessen, Lioba Braun, Brigitte Eisenfeld, Gregory Kunde, Chris Merritt, Piotr Beczala, Dorothea Röschmann, Kwangchul Youn, Olga Peretyatko, Ralph Strehle, Harald Stamm, et al.
Prizes:
1st Prize Elise Meyer Competition (2020), 1st Prize of the Mozart Singing Competition (2020), Special Prize and 2nd Prize of the Maritim Music Award (2019), 2nd Prize of the Maritim Music Award (2018), 1st Prize of the Korean Singing Competition (2015), 1st Prize of the Korea Talent Award (2015), 1st Prize of the Ehwa & Kyunghyang Competition (2014), 1st Prize Shin Young-Ok Voice Competition (2014), 1st Prize of the Shinhan Music Award (2014)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2023/24 season
Was Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from 2020/21 to 2023/24
Important parts:
Lord Arturo Bucklaw (Lucia di Lammermoor), Pong (Turandot), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Beppe (Pagliacci), Jaquino (Fidelio), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Pilade (Oreste), Nemorino (L'Elisir d'amore), Rodolfo (La Bohème), et al.
Stages:
Hamburg State Opera, Zurich Opera, Salzburg Festival
Cooperation with directors:
Guy Montavon, Yona Kim, Sascha Alexander Todtner, Amélie Niermeyer
Cooperation with conductors:
Kent Nagano, Stefano Ranzani, Roberto Rizzi-Brignoli, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Daniele Callegari, Giampaolo Bisanti, Leonardo Sini, Matteo Beltrarmi, Paolo Arrivabini, Giacomo Sagripanti, et al.
Jóhann Kristinsson
Bass (Mozart)Origin:
Iceland
Studies:
Akademie für Gesang und vokale Kunst in Reykjavik bei Bergþór Pálsson (2009-2013); Masters at Hochschule für Musik „Hanns Eisler“ with Prof. Scot Weir (2015); lessons with KS Prof. Thomas Quasthoff, Prof. Wolfram Rieger and Prof. Júlia Várady
Master class:
with Thomas Quasthoff, Júlia Várady, Thomas Hampson, Graham Johnson, Deborah
Polaski, Giacomo Aragall, et al.
Prizes:
Winner Stella Maris Vocal Competition (2019), Icelandic Music Award in the category “Most Promising Young Artist”, nominated for “Singer of the Year” and “Musical Event of the Year” (2018), 3rd Prize and audience award at the competition ”Das Lied” in Heidelberg (2017), Finalist International Robert-Schumann-Wettbewerb für Klavier und Gesang Zwickau (2016)
Important parts:
Eugen Onegin (Eugen Onegin), Miriways (Miriways), Christiano (Un Ballo in Maschera), Fiorillo (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Morales (Carmen), Il Barone Douphol (La Traviata), Il Commissario Imperiale (Madama Butterfly), Zweiter Handwerksbursch (Wozzeck), Hiroto (Stilles Meer), Marullo (Rigoletto), Un Sergente degli Arcieri (Manon Lescaut), Rupert/Jäger/Königssohn (Schneewittchen), Happy (La Fanciulla del West), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Pierre Boulez Saal, Heidelberger Frühling, Oxford Lieder Festival, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Icelandic Opera, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Vera Nemirova, Birgit Kajtna, Holger Liebig, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Herbert Blomstedt, Kent Nagano, Stefano Ranzani, Roberto Rizzi-Brignoli, Christoph Gedschold, Carlo Rizzari, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Josep Caballé-Domenech, et al.
Chor der Liatoshynski Capella, Kyiv, Ukraine
ChoirUkrainian artistic team, which is a part of the National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine. The Capella is named after the outstanding Ukrainian composer Borys Lyatoshinskyi. In addition to the choir, the Capella includes orchestra and early music ensemble, together more than 70 professional musicians. The chief conductor is Bogdan Plish.
The history of the Capella began in 1964 with the creation of an amateur choir by Viktor Ikonnyk. Lately the choir acquired the status of professional and in 1992 was joined by a newly created orchestra. The team got the title - Ensemble of Classical Music named after Borys Liatoshynsky, known today as Liatoshynskyi Capella.
The repertoire of the ensemble includes masterpieces of musical art from different countries, eras and styles. The Capella has a tight concert schedule, performing at the most prestigious concert venues in Kyiv, touring the cities of Ukraine and Europe. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the activity of the Capella has acquired a special meaning and an important mission - to support the spirit and mental health of Ukrainians during war time, to commemorate war victims, as well as to conduct cultural diplomacy, representing Ukraine at famous music venues around the world.
Bogdan Plish
Choir rehearsalPlace of birth:
Mukachevo, Ukraine
Studies:
National Music Academy of Ukraine (2001, choral conducting; 2006, opera and symphony conducting), assistantship-internship with Lev Venedyktov
Awards:
As the founder and conductor of chamber choir Credo:
⁃ Winner of the XXIV International Competition of Sacred Music 'Hainuwka-2005' (Poland),
⁃ Grand Prix of the 44th International Choir Competition in Tolosa (Spain),
⁃ finalist of the European Grand Prix in choral singing-2013 (Arezzo, Italy).
Other awards:
⁃ Winner of the Grand Prix of the All-Ukrainian competition of choral conductors (2005)
⁃ Laureate of the award named after L.Revutsky (2007)
⁃ Honored Artist of Ukraine (2013), honorary state award given by the President of Ukraine
⁃ People's Artist of Ukpaine (2021), honorary state award given by the President of Ukraine
⁃ Ordine della Stella d’Italia (2024), honorary state award given by the President of Italy
Stations and important work:
In 2002 – prompter, in 2007 – choirmaster, since 2013 – chief choirmaster and conductor of the National Opera House of Ukraine. Combines his work at the theater with creative activities as a chief conductor of the Liatoshynskyi Capella of the National House of Music. Leads the chamber choir ‘Credo, which he founded in 2002
Production choirmaster of such operas as Boyarynya by V. Kyreyko, L’elisir d’amore, The Barber of Seville by G. Donizetti, Cinderella by J. Rossini, Don Carlos, Nabucco by G. Verdi, Floria Tosca, Bohemia by J.Puccini, Natalka Poltavka by M.Lysenko, choral scenes in the ballet Zorba the Greek by M. Theodorakis and Daphnis and Chloe by M.Ravel
Toured with the choir in Poland, Hungary, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, Italy, Japan and others
Cooperation:
With Ukrainian and European composers – Y.Stankovych, L.Dychko, V.Sylvestov, V.Stepurko, O.Rodin, V.Poliova, Arvo Part, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Andrew Lawrence King and others. As a conductor-choirmaster he cooperated with maestro Riccardo Muti (Ravenna Festival, Italy), maestro Kent Nagano (Hamburg State Opera, Germany), maestro Asher Fish (Bologna Municipal Theater, Italy), maestro Markus Stenz (La Fenice Opera House, Italy)
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
OrchesterThe Philharmonic State Orchestra is Hamburg’s largest and oldest orchestra, looking back on many years of musical history. When the “Philharmonic Orchestra” and the “Orchestra of the Hamburg Municipal Theatre” merged in 1934, two tradition-steeped orchestras combined. Philharmonic concerts have been performed in Hamburg since 1828, artists such as Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms being regular guests of the Philharmonic Society. The history of the opera company goes back even further: Hamburg has been home to musical theatre since 1678, even if a regular opera or theatre orchestra was only formed later. To this day, the Philharmonic State Orchestra has embodied the sound of the Hansa City, a concert and opera orchestra in one.
During its long history, the orchestra encountered great artist personalities. Apart from composers of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, such as Telemann, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Mahler, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, since the 20th century chief conductors such as Karl Muck, Joseph Keilberth, Eugen Jochum, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Horst Stein, Aldo Ceccato, Christoph von Dohnányi, Gerd Albrecht, Ingo Metzmacher and Simone Young have shaped the orchestra’s sound. Renowned conductors of the pre-war era such as Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Karl Böhm and Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt gave brilliant performances, as did outstanding conductors of our times: suffice it to mention Christian Thielemann, Semyon Bychkov, Kirill Petrenko, Adam Fischer and Sir Roger Norrington.
Starting with the 2015/2016 season, Kent Nagano has taken on the position of Hamburg’s General Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra and the Hamburg State Opera and since June 2023 also its honorary conductor. In his first season Kent Nagano initiated a new project, the Philharmonic Academy, focusing on experimentation and chamber music. In 2016, Nagano and the Philharmonic toured South America, followed by concert tours to Spain and Japan in 2019, and in the spring of 2023, the Philharmonic State Orchestra made its debut at New York's Carnegie Hall under his direction, which was acclaimed by audiences and the press. Since 2017 Kent Nagano and the Philharmonic State Orchestra have continued the traditional Philharmonic Concerts at the new Elbphilharmonie, for which they commissioned Jörg Widmann to compose the oratorio ARCHE, which was given its world premiere during the hall’s opening festivities. The concert recording has been released by ECM, for which Widmann received the OPUS KLASSIK as Composer of the Year 2019, and ARCHE was performed again in 2023 to great acclaim.
The Philharmonic State Orchestra offers approximately 35 concerts per season and performs more than 240 performances per year at the Hamburg State Opera and the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier, making it Hamburg’s busiest orchestra. The stylistic bandwidth covered by the 140 musicians, ranging from historically informed performance practice to contemporary works and including concert, opera and ballet repertoire, is unique throughout Germany. Chamber Music has a long tradition at the Philharmonic State Orchestra: what began in 1929 with a concert series for chamber orchestra has been continued since 1968 by a series of chamber music only.
In 2008 Simone Young and the Philharmonic State Orchestra won the Brahms Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Brahms Society. The orchestra has recorded the complete Ring by Wagner as well as the complete symphonies of Johannes Brahms and Anton Bruckner – the latter in the rarely-performed original versions – as well as works by Mahler, Hindemith and Berg, and has released DVDs of opera and ballet productions by Hosokawa, Offenbach, Reimann, Auerbach, J.S. Bach, Puccini, Poulenc and Weber.
The members of the Philharmonic State Orchestra feel equally beholden to Hamburg’s musical tradition and responsible for the city’s artistic future. Since 1978 the musicians have been participating in education programmes in Hamburg’s schools. Today, the orchestra maintains a broad education programme, including school and kindergarten visits, patronage for music projects, introductory events for children and family concerts. The orchestra’s own academy prepares young musicians for their professional careers. The Philharmonic’s musicians thereby make an equally enjoyable and valuable contribution to tomorrow’s music education in the music metropolis of Hamburg.
Introduction 60 minutes before the start of the event
In the 6th Philharmonic Concert, a world premiere reflecting our times is on the program at short notice. Jörg Widmann, who has been in close artistic contact with Kent Nagano, particularly since the great success of his ARCHE for the opening of the Elbphilharmonie, has recently written a decidedly peaceful work in view of the global wars: “Cantata in tempore belli”. Jens Harzer takes on the role of narrator.
“After my oratorio ARCHE was premiered for Kent Nagano and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra during the opening week of the Elbphilharmonie in 2017, Kent Nagano and I thought it would be a nice idea to write another work for his last Hamburg season,” says Jörg Widmann. “I decided to compose a cantata. In view of the global political situation, it is impossible for me to write a purely representative, 'beautiful' piece. The horrific wars of our time and the immeasurable suffering of so many people leave me no choice but to focus on the war itself and give the piece the title 'Cantata in tempore belli'. In times when there are calls in our country to become 'warlike' again, it is all the more important for me to compose a flaming appeal for peace. Alongside biblical texts and fragments of poetry by Hölderlin, Logau and Matthias Claudius, the pacifist appeal 'Say No!' by the Hamburg composer Wolfgang Borchert, who died far too young, takes center stage. May this cantata give comfort and call for peace.”
Newly married, Mozart wrote his Mass in C minor in gratitude for the recovery of his wife, who was heard in the soprano role at the premiere in Salzburg. Contemporaries regarded the music as over-rich and operatic - today it is celebrated as the pinnacle of Mozart's church music oeuvre.
The originally planned Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert is omitted.