2021/22 Season

It’s really starting again! From international orchestras to the major stars of the classical music scene, from world music artists to top jazz and pop acts – everyone is excited about performing live in front of an audience again. The new season has something for everyone: from exciting »Reflektor« weekends with Max Richter, Anoushka Shankar and John Zorn to composer spotlights and festivals, and a long-awaited Elbphilharmonie debut by legendary conductor Zubin Mehta. What’s more, the Elbphilharmonie is celebrating its fifth birthday with a whole week of events in January 2022.

No, the Elbphilharmonie is not an opera house. But the venue does have plenty to offer opera enthusiasts, and that in the genre’s purest form. The advantage of concert performances – purely musical productions – is that you can concentrate entirely on the music. The programme ranges from Monteverdi’s »L’Orfeo« to Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s »Die Soldaten«.

The lively and diverse contemporary music scene has figured prominently in the Elbphilharmonie’s event calendar from the very beginning. And the full spectrum of contemporary music can be experienced again this season – from trios to large orchestral concerts.

In the halls of the Elbphilharmonie, it’s not only the major symphonic repertoire that comes into its own. The full beauty of early music is also revealed here – another incentive for high-quality original sound ensembles and top soloists from around the world to come to Hamburg.

Experience the great voices of our age: lieder singers and opera stars such as Asmik Grigorian, Jonas Kaufmann and Ian Bostridge present varied aria programmes and intimate recitals – always supported by the most experienced lieder accompanists and first-class ensembles.

Khatia Buniatishvili once called the piano a »symbol of musical solitude«. And, indeed, music hardly gets more focused than when a single individual sits at the keys of a grand piano. In the many piano recitals this season, Buniatishvili and her famous colleagues demonstrate how the sound can occasionally replace an entire orchestra.

The recital halls in the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle are both perfect for chamber music and song recitals. In the intimate ambience of the recital halls, audiences get even closer to the artists and can follow the interaction on stage particularly well.

We present the big names of tomorrow: as always, the six »Rising Stars« can be experienced as part of the festival. In the popular series »Teatime Classics«, young artists guarantee a delightful Saturday afternoon. And the »Autumn Debuts« – varied morning concerts in the Elbphilharmonie Recital Hall – are new this season.

Along with the Elbphilharmonie itself, the organ in the Grand Hall is also celebrating its fifth birthday this season. Titular organist Iveta Apkalna marks the occasion with a special performance, and there are also concerts with Rising Star Thomas Ospital, Stephen Tharp and Naji Hakim.

»Europe or America?« The best answer to the question jazz fans love to debate is: Europe AND America. The USA is where you’ll find the origins of jazz – that’s where the source of the magic lies. Many of the great improvisors this season also come from the motherland of jazz.

The world is sound: the acts performing in the »Around the World« series go to work with a fresh, contemporary approach to tradition. In contrast, the ensembles performing in the »World Classical Music« series have all devoted themselves to the respective classical traditions of their countries.

Pop and electronica also belong in a 21st-century concert hall. Hot Hamburg artists are given a stage in the »Made in Hamburg« series. Sound magicians, synthesizer gods and modular tinkerers continue to perform in the series »ePhil«, which has moved from the Resonanzraum in St. Pauli to the Elbphilharmonie.