A performance of Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony under the direction of chief conductor Alan Gilbert was planned for the live stream on 22 May as part of the Hamburg International Music Festival. Although Alan Gilbert is recovering well from his Covid-19 illness, he is unfortunately not be able to conduct the concert. As a replacement for the live stream, a recording of a concert stream by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra from December 2020 will be broadcast: Alan Gilbert conducted Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, Anna Prohaska sang the soprano part. In the first half of the concert, Gautier Capuçon performed Antonín Dvořák’s cello concerto.
French cellist Gautier Capuçon is considered one of the world’s leading representatives of his instrument. After a long break he returns to the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and performs what is perhaps the most popular cello concerto of all time under the direction of chief conductor Alan Gilbert: the B minor concerto by Antonín Dvořák.
Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony follows the cello concerto: after his sprawling third, Mahler consciously kept his fourth symphony »classic« – both in terms of dimension and orchestration – and yet achieved the gripping intensity that one is used to from the composer with fewer resources. In the fourth movement, a »child« tells of the »heavenly life«; this role is taken on in Hamburg by the soprano Anna Prohaska, who is in demand on opera and concert stages around the world.
Note: All Hamburg International Music Festival 2021 concerts are available to stream free of charge. Once premiered, each concert stream can be accessed for the whole festival period.
Performers
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra
Gautier Capuçon violoncello
Anna Prohaska soprano
conductor Alan Gilbert
Programme
Antonín Dvořák
Concerto for violoncello and orchestra in B-flat minor, Op. 104
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 4 in G major for large orchestra and soprano
Supported by the Kühne Foundation, the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media, Stiftung Elbphilharmonie and the Förderkreis Internationales Musikfest Hamburg
