Elbphilharmonie Visions

After the first edition was postponed in 2021 because of COVID-19, the new format is now finally ready to go. Initiator and NDR chief conductor Alan Gilbert describes it as a »snapshot of the contemporary music world«. At the same time, the diverse programme clears up some long-outdated preconceptions: »Lots of people believe that contemporary music doesn’t speak to them. But the spectrum of contemporary styles is so huge that it’s impossible to make generalisations in this regard. Music is just as rich and diverse as humanity itself.«

That is demonstrated beautifully by the opening concert featuring an epic oratorio by the Australian composer Brett Dean, which thematises humanity’s destructive influence on our planet. And a new work by the Swedish composer Lisa Streich, recipient of the Claussen-Simon Composition Prize, is also on the programme.