Philharmonic Chamber Music Concert

In the brilliant verse narrative, the wealthy but simple Hans meets a bird endowed with magical powers, whose song is of unparalleled beauty. Hans snares the bird with the intention of presenting it to the king in order to receive a handsome reward. However, he releases the bird when it promises him three golden teachings that will make him the richest man in the land. In the end Hans loses everything and is left with nothing but barren sand. Wieland’s poetic descriptions of nature, his keen sense of irony, his way with words and, above all, the highly emotional (and topical) argument between Hans and the subversive magical bird – all this is interpreted through music to profound effect. In the second half of the concert we get the chance to experience Beethoven’s phenomenal orchestration, which is a particular feature of his late quartets, in that work of this genre Beethoven regarded as his biggest achievement.« (Markus Tollmann)