In the organizer's words:

Two big Bs with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester: Alisa Weilerstein plays Britten's Cello Symphony, Alan Gilbert conducts Brahms' Second Symphony on January 23 at the Musik-und Kongresshalle in Lübeck.
Introductory event at 6.30 pm

Alan Gilbert Conductor
Alisa Weilerstein violoncello
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra

BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Symphony for cello and orchestra op. 68
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Symphony No. 2 in D major op. 73

The best for the cello: Weilerstein and Britten

Alisa Weilerstein is "a reminiscence of an earlier age of classical performers", the New York Times once wrote, "not content to serve as a vessel for the composer's wishes, she takes a piece completely into herself and makes it her own." And the American star cellist does not limit herself to the standard repertoire! For her return to the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under chief conductor Alan Gilbert, she is now taking on a piece that very few people have probably ever heard in the concert hall: Benjamin Britten's Symphony for Cello and Orchestra. As the title promises, solo and orchestra are closely interwoven in this four-movement work. Together they find the musical path from darkness to light: composed in 1963 for the famous Mstislav Rostropovich, Britten reflects on the horrors of the Second World War in his concertante symphony, but also spreads hope in the finale. "The best thing ever composed for cello," was Rostropovich's simple verdict.

Brahms 2: "Lovely monster"

The conciliatory thread from the end of the cello symphony is then continued in the seemingly unreservedly friendly orchestral symphony after the interval: with its relaxed mood and song-like, lyrical themes, Johannes Brahms' Second in D major is generally regarded as the composer's "Pastoral". What a difference from the laboriously wrested First Symphony! However, this does not make the work, which was artfully developed from a single motivic primal cell, "harmless": the score must appear "with a mournful edge", Brahms said only half-jokingly about his "lovely monster" - a warning not to take even the cheerful too lightly...

Price information:

Discounts available (e.g. U30)