NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / Joshua Bell / Alan Gilbert

Upheaval and change

The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and its chief conductor Alan Gilbert are joined by this year’s artist in residence Joshua Bell for a start to the 2023/24 season that is literally »elemental«: at the opening night, the Grammy prizewinning violinist gives the first performance of a suite for violin and orchestra that he commissioned from five well-known American composers. Under the title »The Elements«, Jake Heggie, Jennifer Higdon, Edgar Meyer, Jessie Montgomery and Kevin Puts have written short pieces 6–8 minutes in length devoted to earth, water, fire, air and ether – the five elements, in other words, that form the basis of Greek philosophy as practised by Aristotle and also of traditional natural philosophy and medicine.