Elbphilharmonie Concerts 2011/2012

Over the past two years, the Elbphilharmonie Concerts have become an integral part of cultural life in Hamburg. In the upcoming third season, General and Artistic Director Christoph Lieben-Seutter again presents an exciting programme of more than 100 different music events taking place in the Laeiszhalle and other venues throughout the city.

The 2011/2012 season will be opened on 26 September by one of the most colourful characters on the cultural scene – Hollywood actor John Malkovich – and in June 2012 it will be brought to a close by British maestro Sir Simon Rattle, making a rare and very welcome appearance in Hamburg.

Alongside Sir Simon Rattle and Ingo Metzmacher, three outstanding young conductors round off the series of »Nordic Concerts«: Yannick Nézet-Séguin with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (28 September), Andris Nelsons with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (21 March), while Jérémie Rhorer will lead his own orchestra Le Cercle de l'Harmonie in a performance of Mozart's Great Mass in C minor (25 October).

Hamburg-born violinist Christian Tetzlaff can enjoy four home fixtures as one of three Artists in Residence, while the acclaimed Belcea Quartet will perform all of Beethoven's string quartets as Ensemble in Residence. Magdalena Kožená, Christiane Karg, Christian Gerhaher and Ian Bostridge will give lieder recitals in the Kleiner Saal of the Laeiszhalle, and three outstanding projects at Kampnagel will provide audiences with unconventional ways to experience new music – from a concert performed in complete darkness to a »musical drinking spree«. Among the highlights of the »Chamber Music« series will be guest appearances by the Hagen Quartet (currently celebrating its 30th anniversary), Frank Peter Zimmermann, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Martin Fröst and Janine Jansen.

In a new cycle entitled »Orchestra 3.0«, the Elbphilharmonie Concerts focus specifically on young orchestras: this series of concerts brings together the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie under Kristjan Järvi, the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester under Ingo Metzmacher and the National Youth Orchestra of Germany under Sebastian Weigle – three dynamic and highly professional young ensembles who will perform from 2 to 14 April. The music education programme »Elbphilharmonie Compass«, meanwhile, aims to cultivate and engage the audience of tomorrow. In addition to continuing well-established projects such as the award-winning series of children's concerts »Doc Sound in Action« and the »Elfi – Baby Concerts«, »Compass« will provide an ideal platform for musical encounters with the three concerts in the »Orchestra 3.0« series and a film concert featuring the Ensemble Resonanz.

The concert programme also includes three music festivals: the popular Easter festival »Hamburger Ostertoene« will be held for the seventh time in April 2012, while the successfully established accordion festival »Akkordeonist!« enters its second round in November 2011, followed in February 2012 by »Sounds of Israel«, offering a cross-section from the vibrant Israeli music scene.