CD recordings from the Elbphilharmonie

On the first Elbphilharmonie recording, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under their then chief conductor Thomas Hengelbrock, perform music by – who else? – Johannes Brahms, the city’s most famous musical son. »This first recording is a sensation of sound« – concerti magazine.

Released on: Sony Classical (13 Jan 2017)
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»For many years it was my favourite piece«, says Krzysztof Urbański about Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, »and maybe it still is.« In any case, it was one of the first works the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra performed under its first guest conductor before an audience in the Elbphilharmonie in February 2017. A Blu-Ray disc with a video recording of the concert is included.

Released on: Alpha Classics (2 Feb 2018)
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On the first organ recording from the Elbphilharmonie, titular organist Iveta Apkalna demonstrates the instrument’s impressive sound spectrum. To do that, she put together a programme of great contrasts, with music from her Latvian homeland as well as works by Shostakovich, Gubaidulina, Janáček, Ligeti and Escaich.

Released on: Berlin Classics (7 Sept 2018)
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The SWR Big Band and the jazz singer Fola Dada present popular swing hits by Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and George Gershwin. A recording of the concert on 20 September 2017.

Released on: SWR Classic (14 Sept 2018)
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The composer Jörg Widmann wrote a colossal oratorio for 300 musicians for the opening of the Elbphilharmonie. On 13 January 2017, Kent Nagano premiered the work with soloists, the large Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, two choirs and a children’s choir – and received rapturous applause for almost 20 minutes after the last note rang out. »Arche« is a comprehensive work about the history of the western world, and the libretto brings together texts from sources as diverse as the Old Testament, Nietzsche, Sloterdijk and Francis of Assisi.

Released on: ECM New Series (5 Oct 2018)
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»One last night«: the David Orlowsky Trio said goodbye to their fans with this live recording from the Elbphilharmonie on 17 November 2018. They had been delighting audiences for 20 years with their mixture of classical music, klezmer and jazz with oriental influences. On this album they now look back over that eventful era and their music.

Released on: Sony Classical (8 March 2019)
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Alan Gilbert took up his post as chief conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in September 2019 – and it wasn’t long before the first recording emerged from the collaboration. In Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony – one of the best-known works of the Romantic symphony repertoire – the orchestra shows its »sensationally evocative and sensual side« (Rondo).

Released on: Sony Classical (6 Sept 2019)
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The Cuban pianist Omar Sosa, a regular star guest of the NDR Big Band, performed in a small line-up with the violinist and singer Yilian Cañizares and the percussionist Gustavo Ovalles in the Elbphilharmonie on 18 October 2018. The live recording is a mixture of Latin American rhythms, catchy melodies and spoken-word poetry.

Released on: Otá Records (15 Nov 2019)
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The musical range of Father John Misty (former drummer with Fleet Foxes) extends from jazz and electronica to mariachi and performances with orchestras – as was the case in Hamburg, where he was supported by the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt for his performance at Elbphilharmonie Summer 2018. The American musician is donating proceeds from the live album, which is initially only available on Bandcamp, to MusiCares’ COVID-19 relief fund.

Released on 23 March 2020
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A selection of albums is available at the Elbphilharmonie Shop on the Plaza.

Last updated: 8.6.2020