CANCELLED: Symphoniker Hamburg

He was the most charming of all 20th century violinists: Fritz Kreisler. The Viennese wunderkind undertook a detour into the worlds of medicine and then painting before making his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1924. Thenceforth, the world was his oyster – at least until 1933, when his Jewish origin forced him to emigrate Berlin to Austria and then to the USA. Kreisler’s recordings of the Brahms and Beethoven violin concertos are legendary examples of the traditional Viennese violin school. Kreisler’s own Violin Concerto of 1905, a work with something of a Baroque flavour, is not enormously wild and passionate, but is nonetheless beautiful music.

Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg likewise took his bearings from the past: anticipating European rapprochement by several decades, he based his Holberg Suite on sacred and courtly music from the era of Bach and Handel. Grieg himself called the suite a »periwig piece«.

»Jupiter« – the name conjures up sublimity, eternity and grandeur. We do not know exactly how Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 gained its nickname, but the supreme god of ancient Rome is the perfect choice of name: to this day, the symphony remains one of the greatest works in music history. No less interesting are Mozart’s circumstances at the time of the symphony’s composition: he was indisputably past his peak. He had all manner of worries, he was in debt, and he lacked commissions and public appearances, so that it was truly hard for him to make ends meet. Yet this symphony speaks an entirely different language: the »Jupiter« is not merely optimistic in tone, it is nothing short of radiant and brimming with vitality.