Sun, 20 Dec 2026 19:30

Xuanhan Xu

Boulanger / Mendelssohn Bartholdy / Ysaÿe

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Tickets €24 €24

Doors open 18:30
Start 19:30
Interval

Cellist Xuanhan Xu is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig under Prof. Peter Bruns. Her extraordinary talent was recognized early on: at the age of thirteen, she began her studies with Prof. Gustav Rivinius. She is one of the most award-winning young cellists of her generation, having won, among other prizes, first prize at the Pablo Casals International Award for Young Cellists (2020) and the David Popper International Cello Competition (2013). Since 2024, she has been a scholarship recipient of the Instrument Fund of the German Music Foundation; in 2025, she was awarded the Germany Scholarship.

Together with pianist Seunghun Shin, Xuanhan Xu presents a program that impressively showcases the cello’s versatility, ranging from sonic poetry to virtuosity and expressive intensity. The evening opens with Nadia Boulanger’s rarely heard Trois Pièces, featuring a finely nuanced musical language—music of great intimacy that oscillates between impressionistic color and clear lines.

Mendelssohn’s Sonata in D major leads into a world of Romantic expressiveness: melodic lines, dialogic lightness, and a lively interplay between cello and piano characterize this work. After the intermission, the cello takes center stage alone. In Eugène Ysaÿe’s Sonata for Solo Cello, a highly virtuosic musical language unfolds, full of tension and inner drama—a work that explores the instrument’s limits. The program concludes with Beethoven’s Sonata in A Major—a masterpiece of architectural clarity and poetic depth, in which classical form and individual expressiveness are uniquely combined.

Performers

Xuanhan Xu violoncello

Seunghun Shin piano

Programme

Nadia Boulanger
Trois Pièces for Violoncello and Piano

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Sonate für Violoncello und Klavier D-Dur op. 58

– Interval –

Eugène Ysaÿe
Sonate für Violoncello solo c-Moll op.28

Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata for Violoncello and Piano in A major, Op. 69

Promoter: Dyee Events & Communication GmbH

Location : Elbphilharmonie
Kleiner Saal

The Recital Hall, designed in contrast to the Grand Hall in the classic »shoebox« style, offers seating for up to 550 people.

Arrival time

The Elbphilharmonie is a special building situated in a special place. Allow for plenty of time for getting to the Elbphilharmonie and the way to the concert area. We suggest visitors arrive at the Elbphilharmonie Plaza not later than 30 minutes before the start of the concert or event. Late seating is not guaranteed and latecomers may not be admitted to the concert hall.

Concert tickets for the Grand and Recital Halls authorise a visit to the Plaza from two hours before the start of the concert or event. Visitors to the Kaistudios require a separate Plaza ticket to visit the Plaza.

Admission times:

Events without pre-concert talk:
Recital Hall Foyer: 60 minutes before the start of the event
Recital Hall: 30 minutes before the start of the event

Events with pre-concert talk:
Recital Hall Foyer: 90 minutes before the start of the event
Recital Hall: 15 minutes before the start of the talk

If a pre-concert talk is offered for this event, it is noted above under PROGRAMME.
Getting here

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
Platz der Deutschen Einheit
20457 Hamburg

The Elbphilharmonie can be easily reached by bus, underground, bicycle and ferry.

The nearest stops include:
Underground line U3: Baumwall
Underground line U4: Überseequartier
Bus 2, 111: Am Kaiserkai (Elbphilharmonie)
Bus 6: Auf dem Sande (Speicherstadt)
Ferry 72 (from Landungsbrücken pier): »Elbphilharmonie« pier
StadtRAD (bicycle sharing system) stations: U Baumwall (Elbphilharmonie) and Am Kaiserkai / Großer Grasbrook

Multistorey car park in the Elbphilharmonie (open 24/7, 435 parking spaces):
Please note that visitors to the Elbphilharmonie should use the entrance marked »Elbphilharmonie«. The entrance »Elbphilharmonie Hotel« is reserved for »The Westin Hamburg« hotel guests.

Please find more information about prices and advance booking of the discounted flat rate on this page: arrival by car
Finding your seat

All visitors enter the building via the main entrance; access to the concert hall is via the Plaza, the public viewing platform on the 8th floor of the Elbphilharmonie. The Plaza can be reached from the entrance area via the Tube (long escalator) or lifts. Your tickets will be checked twice: at admissions in the main entrance area and on the Plaza in front of the staircase to the Grand or Recital Hall. Stairs and lifts lead from the Plaza to the concert hall foyers.

The Recital Hall is situated on the 10th floor and can be accessed via a stairway or lift.
Cloakroom

The cloakrooms are located in the foyer (fee: € 2). Jackets and handbags may be taken into the hall.

Walking-stick umbrellas, bags sized A3 (42 x 30 cm) or above, luggage and other bulky items must be stored in the lockers (largest size 27 x 87 x 47 cm) located in the corridor leading to the ticket shop on the ground floor (on the right-hand side of the entrance area).

Strollers and prams can be left with the admissions personnel on the Plaza. Wheeled walkers can be handed in at the hall entrances.
Toilet Facilities

Facilities for guests of the Recital Hall are located in the Recital Hall Foyer.

An accessible toilet is located in the foyer.
Coughing, clapping, chatting – Tips for your concert visit

A concert at the Elbphilharmonie is a unique experience for both audience and artists. Guests and musicians alike rave about the precise acoustics in the Grand Hall. You can hear every note, even from the highest balcony.

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true: even presumably quiet noises from the audience are clearly audible in the entire hall. We therefore ask our visitors to take the following recommendations into consideration: Tips for your concert visit
Photography and video recordings

It is forbidden to take photographs or record videos during a concert or event. Video recordings and photography are permitted for private purposes only on the Plaza and in the foyers as well as before the start or following an event in the concert hall, provided that you respect the privacy of other visitors and do not interfere with regular business operations. Employees may not be photographed or filmed.

Photography, audio or video recordings of concerts and events are strictly prohibited.

Event-related video recordings or photographs for editorial or commercial purposes must be authorised by the Press Office of the Elbphilharmonie.
Accessibility

All halls and spaces are accessible for visitors with disabilities. More information at www.elbphilharmonie.de/en/accessibility.

Lifts to the Plaza are located in the tunnel on the right-hand side of the Tube (long escalator). From the Plaza, access to the Grand and Recital Hall foyers is via lifts, also located to the right. Please note: cloakrooms for visitors to the Grand Hall are only located on the 11th floor. From there, the upper floors can be accessed via further lifts.

Xuanhan Xu

Description

Performers

Programme

During your visit

Elbphilharmonie Plaza

Food and Drink

Coughing, clapping, chatting