Tickets for the Hamburg International Music Festival go on sale

Hamburg, 21 November 2023: The next edition of the Hamburg International Music Festival from 26 April to 2 June 2024 is centred around the theme »War and Peace«. Once again this year, some of the biggest names in the classical music scene will be performing at the high-profile festival in the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle, including Sir Antonio Pappano, Christian Thielemann, Sir Simon Rattle, Janine Jansen, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Daniil Trifonov, Lang Lang and the Kronos Quartet. Jordi Savall unfolds a musical panorama of the Thirty Years’ War, and Alan Gilbert conducts Arnold Schönberg’s choral work »Peace on Earth« and the melodrama »A Survivor from Warsaw«. Vladimir Jurowski conducts Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony, which was composed in summer 1943, and Teodor Currentzis conducts Benjamin Britten’s »War Requiem«. Naghash Ensemble Armenia comes to Hamburg with a programme called »Songs of Exile«, and the Dakh Daughters from Ukraine issue a protest against Russia’s invasion of their homeland. Kent Nagano realises an original-sound »Walküre« by Richard Wagner in the Elbphilharmonie and an elaborate new production of Olivier Messiaen’s opera »Saint François d’Assise« with more than 250 performers. Tickets are available now at www.elbphilharmonie.de

Each year, the Hamburg International Music Festival gives the musicians performing there an opportunity to realise very special projects and programmes. These are presented both by the major Hamburg orchestras – the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Ensemble Resonanz and Symphoniker Hamburg – and by the numerous national and international guests. For the opening concert (26/27 Apr), Alan Gilbert has selected Arnold Schönberg’s late-Romantic choral work »Peace on Earth«. As part of the grand opening, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra is joined by the star baritone Thomas Hampson for Kurt Weill’s »Walt Whitman Songs«, the words for which Whitman penned during the American Civil War. The concert comes to a close with Charles Ives’s Fourth Symphony, which blends numerous tempos, keys and rhythms to create one spectacular musical collage.

Olivier Messiaen’s importance for music after 1945 can hardly be overstated. With his only opera »Saint François d’Assise« he left a mighty legacy: more than 250 performers and five hours of music ranging from asceticism to ecstasy. Kent Nagano and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra now present three performances of an elaborate production on the Elbphilharmonie stage. The top-class cast of singers includes Johannes Martin Kränzle as Saint Francis of Assisi and Anna Prohaska as The Angel (2/6/9 Jun). The festival also offers opportunities to hear Messiaen’s orchestral work »L‘ascension« (8 May), and his »Quatuor pour la fin du temps« (19 May), which he composed in 1941 as a prisoner of war. Then, on 25 May, Paul Jacobs plays the full-length organ work »Livre du Saint Sacrement«.

Vladimir Jurowski and his Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB), which has just marked its 100th anniversary, perform Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony (1943), an anti-war work that also bears witness to the plights of individuals under dictatorships (4 May). Alan Gilbert and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra perform Arnold Schönberg’s melodrama »A Survivor from Warsaw«, followed by Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (3/5 May). Under conductor Mikko Franck, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra also plays »The Wound-Dresser«. In the work, John Adams set Walt Whitman’s poem of the same name – which recounts the poet’s experiences as an army nurse during the American Civil War – to music (9 May). The London Symphony Orchestra and its new chief conductor Sir Antonio Pappano are performing with exciting soloists on two evenings. The Dutch violinist Janine Jansen plays Barber’s Violin Concerto, and Alison Balsom explores jazzy territory with Wynton Marsalis’s Trumpet Concerto. With his project orchestra Utopia, Teodor Currentzis interprets Anton Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony (18 May). As an epilogue to the music festival, Benjamin Britten’s »War Requiem«, a key work of the 20th century, also brings to an end Currentzis’s era as chief conductor of the SWR Symphony Orchestra (16 Jun).

From the piano, Sir András Schiff conducts a programme with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, in which Joseph Haydn meets his admirer Johannes Brahms (28 May). Sir Simon Rattle and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra play the final three Mozart symphonies (16 May). For a concert performance of Richard Wagner’s opera »Die Walküre«, Kent Nagano explores the playing and singing techniques of the 19th century – not with ›his‹ Hamburg State Opera, but with Concerto Köln, the Dresdner Festspielorchester and an outstanding cast of singers (1 May). Christian Thielemann and the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden make a foray into the French repertoire, performing colourful tone paintings by Debussy and Ravel. Global star Lang Lang is the soloist for the latter’s Piano Concerto in G Major (1 Jun). Daniil Trifonov and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Jakub Hrůša look across the pond towards New York: George Gershwin’s famous Concerto in F is juxtaposed with Sergei Rachmaninov’s »Symphonic Dances« (13 May). »The Great Dictator«, Charlie Chaplin’s timeless film manifesto against totalitarianism, is being shown on the big screen in the Elbphilharmonie on 28 April, with the Symphoniker Hamburg providing live musical accompaniment.

The Portuguese jazz pianist Júlio Resende remembers the peaceful Carnation Revolution 50 years ago, which saw the autocratic regime in Portugal overthrown (1 May). The Naghash Ensemble of Armenia, with its programme »Songs of Exile« (14 May), keeps the memory of the 1915 Armenian genocide alive, and the seven members of the Dakh Daughters perform »Ukraine Fire« – an intensive total artwork protesting the Russian invasion of their homeland (15 May). With »A Flow of Protests and Kindness«, the NDR Bigband – performing one set with the Iranian-Canadian singer Golnar Shahyar and one with the Syrian clarinettist Kinan Azmeh – conceives the utopia of a music that can heal wounds (19 May). The globally acclaimed free-jazz band Irreversible Entanglements led by the extraordinary Camae Ayewa, aka Moor Mother, plays music in opposition to the oppression of women, discrimination against people of colour, ignorance of colonial crimes, and numerous other ills and abuses (29 May). The mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital combines David Bruce’s »Cymbeline«, which was specially composed for him, with works by Bach, Haydn and Béla Bartók, as well as traditional music from Bulgaria, Turkey and from Avital’s native Israel (15 May). Shamanistic ritual music and folk-song traditions from Korea, danceable and made accessible with elements from folk and pop: that is the sound of ADG7, a band that loves to have a good time in colourful stage outfits (23 May). Brad Mehldau is without doubt one of the greatest jazz pianists of our time. On 11 May, Mehldau performs in a traditional piano trio with the young bassist Felix Moseholm from Denmark and the Spanish drummer Jorge Rossy.

Sofia Gubaidulina has long been a leading figure in modern classical music, and is now, at the age of 92, one of the world’s most-performed composers. This year, the Hamburg International Music Festival is dedicating a spotlight to the Tatar-Russian composer who lives near Hamburg. Her often sombre, overwhelming soundscapes feature in a number of concerts, including a Frankfurt Radio Symphony performance of Gubaidulina’s latest orchestral work »The Wrath of God«. Before that, the Latvian violinist Baiba Skride plays Gubaidulina’s Third Violin Concerto »Dialogue: I and Thou«, which was inspired by Martin Buber’s book of the same name (8 May). Gubaidulina’s »Canticle of the Sun« is based on the prayer by Saint Francis of Assisi, which is the oldest known work of Italian literature. In Chorwerk Ruhr, one of Germany’s best choirs is coming to Hamburg to perform the extraordinary piece. The solo part is played by the French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras (26 May). On one spotlight evening, members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra present Gubaidulina’s Bassoon Concerto as well as works for cello ensemble (30 May). Her String Quartet No. 4 is on the programme when the Kronos Quartet performs highlights from its enormous music library on 14 May as part of »KRONOS – Five Decades Celebration«. Also on the programme is »Different Trains« by the minimal music legend Steve Reich, a piece the world-famous quartet premiered many years ago.

The Arditti Quartet is also celebrating its 50th anniversary with a grand concert. In a marathon of two 70-minute sessions, the icons of New Music pack in the most exciting pieces the contemporary music scene has to offer: from the video-animated sounds of Olga Neuwirth and Elliott Carter’s challenging String Quartet No. 3 to the timbral experimentations of Rebecca Saunders, to whom the Elbphilharmonie is dedicating an extensive spotlight this season. In conversation, the musicians also share rare insights into their work (11 May). For his lieder recital, the Austrian bass Günther Groissböck has selected a programme centred around the themes of death and impermanence. He is accompanied by Malcolm Martineau (9 May). In the programme »Humanity in War«, Thomas Quasthoff reads from First World War letters and diaries. In alternation, the award-winning young Amatis Piano Trio performs musical segments, reflecting the mood of the individual texts (25 May). The grande dame of the piano Elisabeth Leonskaja plays all three Brahms sonatas in one evening in the Grand Hall (7 May).

Three programmes go back to the early to mid-17th century. With music by Baroque forebears such as Samuel Scheidt, the Hathor Consort remembers the Thirty Years’ War in their programme »Against the Repulsiveness of War« (17 May). Engaging with the history of the same destructive war, Jordi Savall performs music by composers ranging from Heinrich Schütz to Arvo Pärt (10 May). Voces Suaves and Capricornus Consort Basel perform Monteverdi’s »Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi« – profound songs about love and war (24 May).

What does freedom mean for society? Can each individual be free yet still live in peace with other people? Through drama, dance, movement, song and music, young and creative Hamburg residents seek answers to these and similar questions in the Elbphilharmonie community project »Imagine Freedom«. The workshops are led by director Mable Preach, and the participants draw inspiration from joint excursions, song lyrics, current political debates and music. The end result – a performance based entirely on the ideas of the community – can be experienced in two closing concerts on 1 June.

The Hamburg International Music Festival is a joint festival by HamburgMusik, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Hamburg State Opera, Ensemble Resonanz, Symphoniker Hamburg, Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette, NDR Vokalensemble, NDR das neue werk, NDR Bigband, Hamburger Camerata and Lukulele.

Supported by the Förderkreis Internationales Musikfest Hamburg and the Stiftung Elbphilharmonie.

Fr, 26.4.2024, 20 Uhr / Sa, 27.4.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
NDR ELBPHILHARMONIE ORCHESTER / THOMAS HAMPSON / ALAN GILBERT
Schönberg: Friede auf Erden / Weill: Whitman Songs / Ives: Sinfonie Nr. 4

So, 28.4.2024, 18 Uhr, Kulturkirche Altona
DURUFLÉ: REQUIEM
NDR Vokalensemble / Thomas Cornelius / Klaas Stok

So, 28.4.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
CHARLIE CHAPLIN: THE GREAT DICTATOR
Filmkonzert mit den Symphonikern Hamburg und Timothy Brock

Mo, 29.4.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / JANINE JANSEN / SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO
Boulanger: D’un matin de printemps / Barber: Violinkonzert / Rachmaninow: Sinfonie Nr. 2

Di, 30.4.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / ALISON BALSOM / SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO
Ponchielli: Elegia / Marsalis: Trompetenkonzert / Vaughan Williams: Sinfonie Nr. 5

Mi, 1.5.2024, 17 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
WAGNER: DIE WALKÜRE
Concerto Köln / Kent Nagano

Mi, 1.5.2024, 20.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
JÚLIO RESENDE FADO JAZZ ENSEMBLE
»Sons of Revolution«

Do, 2.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
»DAS ECHO DER ZEIT« / GESPRÄCHSKONZERT
Alan Gilbert im Gespräch mit dem Autor Jeremy Eichler

Fr, 3.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
NDR ELBPHILHARMONIE ORCHESTER / ALAN GILBERT
Schönberg: Ein Überlebender aus Warschau / Beethoven: 9. Sinfonie

Sa, 4.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
GEISTLICHE GESÄNGE – DREI RELIGIONEN, EIN GOTT
Musik aus den christlichen, jüdischen und islamischen Traditionen

Sa, 4.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
RUNDFUNK-SINFONIEORCHESTER BERLIN / CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF / VLADIMIR JUROWSKI
Martinů: Mahnmal für Lidice / Schostakowitsch: Sinfonie Nr. 8 / Werke von Josef Suk

So, 5.5.2024, 11 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
PHILHARMONISCHES STAATSORCHESTER HAMBURG / NILS MÖNKEMEYER / KENT NAGANO
Tarnopolski: Im Dunkel vor der Dämmerung / Beethoven: »Eroica«-Sinfonie

So, 5.5.2024, 18 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
NDR ELBPHILHARMONIE ORCHESTER / ALAN GILBERT
Schönberg: Ein Überlebender aus Warschau / Beethoven: Sinfonie Nr. 9

Mo, 6.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
MAO FUJITA / KLAVIERABEND

Mo, 6.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
PHILHARMONISCHES STAATSORCHESTER HAMBURG / NILS MÖNKEMEYER / KENT NAGANO
Tarnopolski: Im Dunkel vor der Dämmerung / Beethoven: »Eroica«-Sinfonie

Di, 7.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
ELISABETH LEONSKAJA / KLAVIERABEND
Sonaten von Johannes Brahms

Mi, 8.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
GUBAIDULINA: DER ZORN GOTTES
hr-Sinfonieorchester / Baiba Skride / Maxime Pascal

Do, 9.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK / MALCOLM MARTINEAU
Liederabend: »Der Mensch liegt in größter Not«

Do, 9.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
NDR ELBPHILHARMONIE ORCHESTER / MATTHIAS GOERNE / MIKKO FRANCK
Adams: The Wound-Dresser / Bach: Ich habe genug BWV 82 / Strauss: Tod und Verklärung

Fr, 10.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
LE CONCERT DES NATIONS / JORDI SAVALL: »KRIEG UND FRIEDEN«
Musik vom Dreißigjährigen Krieg bis zum Frieden von Utrecht

Sa, 11.5.2024, 17 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
ARDITTI QUARTET MARATHON
Werke von Rebecca Saunders, Iannis Xenakis, Olga Neuwirth u. a.

Sa, 11.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO

So, 12.5.2024, 11 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
NDR ELBPHILHARMONIE ORCHESTER / MATTHIAS GOERNE / MIKKO FRANCK
Adams: The Wound-Dresser / Bach: Ich habe genug BWV 82 / Strauss: Tod und Verklärung

Mo, 13.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
ORCHESTRA DELL’ACCADEMIA NAZIONALE DI SANTA CECILIA / DANIIL TRIFONOV / JAKUB HRŮŠA
Gershwin: Cuban Overture & Klavierkonzert / Rachmaninow: Sinfonische Tänze

Di, 14.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
THE NAGHASH ENSEMBLE ARMENIA
»Songs of Exile – Lieder aus der Verbannung«

Di, 14.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
KRONOS QUARTET
Reich: Different Trains / Gubaidulina: Streichquartett Nr. 4

Mi, 15.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Hauptkirche St. Michaelis
AVI AVITAL / CHAARTS CHAMBER ARTISTS
Bach / Bruce / Haydn

Mi, 15.5.2024, 20.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
DAKH DAUGHTERS
»Ukraine Fire« – Internationales Musikfest Hamburg

Do, 16.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
MAHLER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA / SIR SIMON RATTLE
Die drei letzten Sinfonien von Mozart

Fr, 17.5.2024, 20 Uhr Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
NDR ELBPHILHARMONIE ORCHESTER / STEFAN ASBURY
Varèse / Abazari / Ustwolskaja

Fr, 17.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Laeiszhalle Großer Saal
MUSIK IM DREISSIGJÄHRIGEN KRIEG
Hathor Consort / Dorothee Mields / Romina Lischka

Sa, 18.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
UTOPIA / TEODOR CURRENTZIS
Bruckner: Sinfonie Nr. 9

So, 19.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
SITKOVETSKY PIANO TRIO / PABLO BARRAGÁN
Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps

So, 19.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
NDR BIGBAND / GOLNAR SHAHYAR / KINAN AZMEH / WOLF KERSCHEK
»A Flow of Protests and Kindness«

Do, 23.5.2024, 20.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
ADG7 – KOREAN SHAMANIC FOLK-POP

Fr, 24.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
VOCES SUAVES / CAPRICORNUS CONSORT BASEL
»La Guerra d’Amore«

Sa, 25.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
AMATIS PIANO TRIO / THOMAS QUASTHOFF
»Die Menschlichkeit im Krieg«

Sa, 25.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
PAUL JACOBS / ORGELKONZERT
Messiaen: Livre du Saint Sacrement

So, 26.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
CHORKONZERT: SONNENGESANG / FIGURE HUMAINE
Chorwerk Ruhr / Jean-Guihen Queyras / Elbtonal Percussion / Florian Helgath

So, 26.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Laeiszhalle Großer Saal
HAMBURGER CAMERATA / SAMUEL HASSELHORN / GÁBOR HONTVÁRI
»Hey Haydn, What About Peace?«

Di, 28.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
ENSEMBLE RESONANZ / SAEROM PARK / DIRK ROTHBRUST
Portrait Rebecca Saunders

Di, 28.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Laeiszhalle Großer Saal
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF EUROPE / SIR ANDRÁS SCHIFF
Brahms: Variationen über ein Thema von Haydn & Klavierkonzert Nr. 2 / Haydn: Sinfonia concertante

Mi, 29.5.2024, 20.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
IRREVERSIBLE ENTANGLEMENTS
»Protect Your Light«

Do, 30.5.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
PORTRAIT SOFIA GUBAIDULINA
Mitglieder des NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchesters

Fr, 31.5.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
NDR ELBPHILHARMONIE ORCHESTER / JESS GILLAM / MARIN ALSOP
Beethoven: Leonoren-Ouvertüre Nr. 3 / MacMillan: Saxofonkonzert / Prokofjew: »Romeo und Julia«-Suiten

Sa, 1.6.2024, 17 Uhr / Sa, 1.6.2024, 19.30 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
IMAGINE FREEDOM
Abschlusskonzert des Community-Projekts

Sa, 1.6.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
SÄCHSISCHE STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN / LANG LANG / CHRISTIAN THIELEMANN
Ravel / Debussy

So, 2.6.2024, 17 Uhr / Do, 6.6.2024, 17 Uhr / So, 9.6.2024, 17 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
MESSIAEN: SAINT FRANÇOIS D’ASSISE
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg / Kent Nagano

So, 16.6.2024, 20 Uhr, Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
BRITTEN: WAR REQUIEM / TEODOR CURRENTZIS
SWR Symphonieorchester