CANCELLED: Symphoniker Hamburg / Europa Chor Akademie / Sylvain Cambreling

Is there any greater work of sacred music composed in the 19th century? Beethoven’s monumental »Missa solemnis« is arguably the most important setting of the Mass written in the German-speaking countries in this era, and is a work that goes beyond the scope of any litugical use. The composer himself referred to »the greatest work I have written up to now«. It embodies a personal profession of faith and translates into music a view of God refined by the Enlightenment and by humanism. The gigantic choral symphony has an ending not dissimilar to that of Beethoven’s Ninth: the composer wrote the motto »From the heart – May it go back – to the heart« above the score. The »Missa solemnis« was the first work that Sir Jeffrey Tate conducted in the newly-opened Elbphilharmonie in January 2017. His successor as chief conductor, Sylvain Cambreling, uses it to open his third season.