2021 2022 SEASON & SUBSCRIPTION
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CONTENTS
DEAR AUDIENCE It is the interaction between musicians and audience whereby music acquires meaning and magic. Welcome to a new season, one where we can come together and enjoy live music in the Concert Hall. A symphony orchestra is a large, distinctive organism. More than 100 musicians have dedicated their lives to creating music together at the highest level – with all that requires in the way of daily concentration, countless hours of practice and a common striving to reach the greatest degree of perfection when the lights are dimmed and the concert starts. But if you ask any of the musicians in the Danish National Symphony Orchestra what ultimately creates the unforgettable moments during a concert, it is not only on stage that these occur. They come from the contact with you in the audience – this is where the magic arises and the music acquires meaning. At a concert of classical music, it might perhaps seem as if the musicians and the conductors have all their attention focused on each other on stage. But the truth is that they also experience an intense contact with the audience, who help to colour and shape every single stroke and every single movement in the music. It is precisely for this reason that we have missed you so badly during the period when we had to perform concerts without any audience at DR Koncerthuset. It has been fantastic to notice the great interest shown in the concerts broadcast on radio and television throughout the lockdown, but every single moment we have yearned to feel the particular tension and the shared experience of the music – something that only occurs when we can feel each other’s presence and concentration on either side of the edge of the stage.
For that reason, the orchestra and I are more than usually excited as well as grateful to be able to welcome you to a new season of concerts which will be a reunion with all that we have had to do without as well as a new beginning, with the prospect of memorable experiences, surprises and magical moments – something which many of us are probably more than usually receptive towards after the long concert break of the winter and spring. We at the Danish National Symphony Orchestra are lucky enough to have a great number of subscribers with whom we have a close relationship and to whom we offer a series of exclusive advantages. That particularly applies to the new season, where we are presenting a number of extraordinary measures and special conditions for subscribers, so as to welcome them back to the concert venue. It is crucial to us that everyone can enjoy the music and the atmosphere at the concerts under optimum conditions, and this naturally involves a focusing on safety and security during the coming season – for both audience and performers. On behalf of the orchestra, Chief Conductor Fabio Luisi and the season’s many guest artists I would like to offer you a warm welcome to the new season at DR Koncerthuset – we are looking forward to seeing you immensely! Kim Bohr, Chief Executive and Artistic Director, DR Koncerthuset, Ensembles & radio channels – P2, P5 and P8
Kim Bohr
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Season
2021-22
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Individual performers & team players
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When sound is a passion
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Welcome to DR Koncerthuset
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Contact us If you have any questions, you are welcome to call our customer service centre on tel: +45 35 20 62 62 Monday-Friday 12.00-1600, or to visit DR Koncerthuset in person Monday- Friday, 12.00-16.00. You can also contact us by mail: drkoncerthuset@dr.dk Read more about the season at: drsymfoniorkestret.dk Front page photo: Martin Rosenaur, Ritzau/Scanpix
Photo: Agnete Schlichtkrull, Annika Byrde, Ritzau/Scanpix
Photo: Agnete Schlichtkrull
Welcome
SEASON
2021 2022
SEPTEMBER Luisi & Abrahamsen
Thursday 2 September 2021, 19.30 Friday 3 September 2021, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160 The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Fabio Luisi Soloist: Golda Schultz, soprano Abrahamsen: 10 Pieces for Orchestra (world premiere, DR commission) Mahler: Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen, Das irdische Leben, Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen Mahler: Adagio from Symphony no. 10
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor Fabio Luisi open the season with the world premiere of a new major work by Hans Abrahamsen and symphonic music by Mahler. Two composers who have a great deal in common and that both have a special significance for The Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Hans Abrahamsen has worked for many years on his new orchestral work, which, after its first performance at DR Koncerthuset will also be performed by several orchestras abroad. The simple title ’10 Pieces for Orchestra’ covers a breathtaking musical journey – from the most sensitive poetry to violent volcanic eruptions.
Hans Abrahamsen and Gustav Mahler share a preference for the large-scale symphony orchestra, and both are fascinated by what exists ‘on the far side’ of reality. Mahler expresses this profoundly movingly in the last piece he wrote, the great Adagio from the unfinished Symphony no. 10. In Mahler’s orchestral songs one hears his narratives of life and death in miniature format. The soloist is Golda Schultz from South Africa, a wonderful lyrical soprano who performs on the leading opera stages of the world, including The Met and the Salzburg Festival. This evening she is singing for the first time at DR Koncerthuset. 3
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SEPTEMBER Thomas Dausgaard
Petr Popelka
Marin Alsop
Dausgaard & Transformation
Thursday 9 September 2021, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160 The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Thomas Dausgaard Soloists: Gert Mortensen, percussion, Gert Sørensen: percussion Line Tjørnhøj: ØR (world premiere, DR commission) Per Nørgård: Bach to the Future Brahms/Schönberg: Piano Quartet in G minor An evening full of musical transformations. Bach’s well-known preludes are transformed into kaleidoscopic music for percussion and orchestras in Per Nørgård’s richly coloured Bach to the Future, with two of Denmark’s best percussionists as soloists. Line Tjørnhøj’s new work continues the process on Nørgård’s music – and Brahms’ Piano Quartet is transformed into a large-scale symphony in Schönberg’s version.
Popelka & The Emperor Concerto Thursday 16 September 2021, 19.30 Saturday 18 September 2021, 15.00 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Petr Popelka Soloist: Martin Helmchen, piano Beethoven: Piano Concerto, no. 5, ‘The Emperor’ Dvořák: Symphony no. 6 The excellent German pianist Martin Helmchen returns to DR Koncerthuset, this time with Beethoven’s majestic Emperor Concerto. The conductor, Petr Popelka, known from the Malko competition, presents us with moods from the Czech landscapes in his fellow-countryman Dvořák’s passionate Symphony no. 6.
Alsop & Scheherazade Thursday 23 September 2021, 19.30 Friday 24 September 2021, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Marin Alsop Soloist: Jan Lisiecki, piano Brahms: Piano Concerto no. 1 Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade The beautiful Scheherazade told tales to the sultan in Arabian Nights, and her stories have been set to richly coloured music by the Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov. In Brahms’ dramatic Piano Concerto no. 1, the narrator is one of the leading present-day pianists, Jan Lisiecki, from Canada, and this evening’s conductor is the American Grammy-winner Marin Alsop.
‘When I am at a concert, I sense a particular contact between the musicians and the audience – sometimes it seems as if everyone in the hall is holding their breath at the same moment. Experiencing great music and musicianship together with others cannot be replaced by sitting in front of loudspeakers.’ Kim Kruse Petersen, subscriber
ABRAHAMSEN
2 & 3 September 2021 Luisi & Abrahamsen
I LISTEN BEFORE I COMPOSE
Photo: Ulla Carin Ekblom, Agnete Schlichtkrull, Mathias Creutziger, Adriane White, Lars Skaaning
As a child, Hans Abrahamsen became inspired to compose by listening to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. He now writes music for the world’s leading orchestras. The Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen has reached the highest pinnacles of the international music scene, with commissions from such orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra in USA. His very first musical experiences were when, as a child and teenager, he listened to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. ‘In my childhood home we used to listen to the Thursday concerts on the radio every week and even when young I used to go to concerts as well. The more I listened to the orchestra, the further I ventured into the world of music, and in 1970 I wrote my very first pieces for orchestra, which were performed by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra when I was just over twenty years old.’ ‘Listening means everything to me as a composer. When I listen to performances or recordings of my own music, I always discover something new. Music that I have written intuitively can suddenly show itself to contain certain exciting patterns that I can use as a basis for further work. That is also the case with my new orchestral pieces, which the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is giving a first performance of at the opening of the season.’ ‘I can remember many musicians from earlier generations of The Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and I also have a close relationship to a great many of the musicians who are at present in the orchestra. It is something special to think of the fact that the personality of the orchestra and its distinctive sound – which I have known all my life – will continue to exist for decades and generations. This never ceases to inspire me.’ 5
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SEPTEMBER Vasily Petrenko
Petrenko & Rachmaninov
Thursday 30 September 2021, 19.30 Friday 1 October 2021, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160 The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Vasily Petrenko Soloist: Valentine Michaud, saxophone Ravel: La Valse Glazunov: Saxophone Concerto Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances An evening full of brilliant orchestral sounds that unites the most beautiful facets of French and Russian music under the leadership of the energetic Vasily Petrenko. Glazunov’s Saxophone Concerto is a charming, late-Romantic gem, with the young French Valentine Michaud as soloist, and Ravel and Rachmaninov pay tribute to the lustre of the old world in music that makes the orchestra dance.
OCTOBER Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Saraste & Bruckner’s Eighth
Exquisite-sounding choirs – heroes & villains
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Jukka-Pekka Saraste Bruckner: Symphony no. 8
The Danish National Concert Choir The Danish National Junior Choir The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Eamonn Dougan
Thursday 7 October 2021, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
Bruckner’s Symphony no. 8 is one of the gigantic symphonies that have ever been written, and it takes up an entire concert evening. To Bruckner, the symphony was an image of the transition between life and Paradise, and on this occasion the Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste leads us into the heavenly dimensions of music along with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.
Saturday 9 October 2021, 14.00 & 17.00 DKK 410, 310, 220, 170, 160, 95
Sailors and soldiers, witches and angels, tyrants and heroes. Enjoy the richness of sound when the Danish National Concert Choir, the Danish National Junior Choir and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra invite you to a concert where heroes and villains meet in lovely choral works by such composers as Mozart, Wagner, Grieg, Puccini, Orff and Verdi.
Stanislav Kochanovsky
Bomsori Kim
‘We musicians have truly missed having an audience, so I am greatly looking forward to starting the new season. I always look forward especially much to our concerts with Luisi. Something special happens with the orchestra when we play under him, because everyone gives 100%.’ Eva Steinaa, 1st solo oboist
Kochanovsky & Symphonie fantastique
Photo: Tarlova, Kim M. Leland, Niko Nikolas, Kyutai Shin, PR Photo, Jeppe Carlsen
Thursday 14 October 2021, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Stanislav Kochanovsky Soloist: Antoine Tamestit, viola Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande, suite Bartók: Concerto for Viola and Orchestra Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique Wonderful images are conjured up by the French music of Fauré and Berlioz. The legend of Pelléas et Mélisande possesses a melancholy beauty, while Berlioz lets his nightmares loose in Symphonie fantastique. Yet another Frenchman, Antoine Tamestit, is the soloist in Bartók’s swansong, his viola concerto, which contains both sadness and vitality.
Luisi & Brahms’ First Thursday 28 October 2021, 19.30 Friday 29 October 2021, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Fabio Luisi Soloist: Bomsori Kim, violin Nielsen: Violin Concerto Brahms: Symphony no. 1 Experience the South Korean virtuoso violinist Bomsori Kim as soloist in the Carl Nielsen Violin Concerto – one of the composer’s most original works one that self-assuredly and humorously displays his highly distinctive personality. Bomsori Kim has recorded several albums for Deutsche Grammophon and has also been called ‘one of our age’s most exciting and dynamic violinists’. A profile that fits Nielsen’s lively music perfectly and that can be experienced for the first time at DR Koncerthuset. Fabio Luisi and The Danish National Symphony Orchestra are also performing Brahms’ dramatic 1st Symphony, which has been one of the orchestra’s signature works for almost a century.
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NOVEMBER Maria Dueñas
Honeck & Mahler’s First Thursday 4 November 2021, 19.30 Friday 5 November 2021, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160 The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Manfred Honeck Soloist: Maria Dueñas, violin Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 Mahler: Symphony no. 1
Mahler’s 1st Symphony is so original that it even surpasses Beethoven, says Conductor Manfred Honeck. In the symphony the classical Viennese school merges with satire and folk music, and Honeck knows the music as intimately as his other native language. Experience also the Romantic world of dreams in Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with the 18-year-old Spanish star violinist Maria Dueñas as soloist.
Anne-Sophie Mutter & Mutter’s Virtuosi Saturday 13 November 2021, 15.00 DKK 1,200, 1,050, 900, 775, 650, 500
Anne-Sophie Mutter Mutter’s Virtuosi Vivaldi: Concerto for Four Violins, op. 3 no. 10 Unsuk Chin: Gran Cadenza, duo for two violins W.A. Mozart: String Quartet, no. 2 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons The German star violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is once more visiting DR Koncerthuset, this time with her own chamber orchestra, Mutter’s Virtuosi, and Vivaldi’s immortal violin concertos, The Four Seasons. More than 30 years have passed since Anne-Sophie Mutter made her first recording of The Four Seasons. Since then, she has developed her view of the music, now preferring to play it with a small chamber orchestra and without a conductor, so that the music springs directly from the solo violin. For this concert, Mutter is playing with her own chamber orchestra, to which she has given the name Mutter’s Virtuosi. It consists of exceptionally talented young musicians who take master classes with her and tour worldwide. This close musical microcosm makes Mutter’s Virtuosi an unusually close-knit ensemble – with Anne-Sophie Matter as its hub and inspiration.
Photo: Kim M. Leland, Tam Lang Truong, Vladimir Kervorkov, Agnete Schlichtkrull, PR Photo
Anne-Sophie Mutter og Mutter’s Virtuosi
DECEMBER Alondra de la Parra Fabio Luisi
De la Parra & Shostakovich
Thursday 18 November 2021, 19.30 DKK 510, 460, 410, 310, 210, 135 The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Alondra de la Parra Soloist: Kirill Gerstein, piano Thomas Larcher: Piano Concerto (Scandinavian premiere, DR commission) Shostakovich: Symphony no. 6 The Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra brought the concert hall to a boil when she conducted The Danish National Symphony Orchestra for the first time in 2020. Now she is back with strong, intense and surprising music. The Russian-American virtuoso pianist Kiril Gerstein is soloist in a brand-new concerto by Thomas Larcher, while Shostakovich defies tyranny with untamed energy in his Symphony no. 6.
Verdi’s Requiem
Thursday 2 December 2021, 19.30 Friday 3 December 2021, 19.30 DKK 785, 710, 585, 470, 335, 210 The Danish National Symphony Orchestra The Danish National Concert Choir, BBC Singers Conductor: Fabio Luisi Soloists: Hibla Gerzmava, Veronica Simeoni, René Barbera, Mika Kares. Verdi: Requiem Verdi interprets human hope, fear and faith in his great Requiem. There are almost 200 performers on stage in the concert hall when Verdi’s dramatic masterpiece is to be per-
formed by The Danish National Concert Choir, The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and four international song soloists, conducted by Fabio Luisi. The human voice is the most expressive of all instruments. This Giuseppe Verdi was well aware of, and he demonstrated it in a whole series of operas – Aida, Otello, La Traviata, and many more besides. Furthermore, he created a single work that unites the raw drama of opera with humans’ religious considerations: his great Requiem from 1874. The experience opera composer shaped his requiem with major solos for the four soloists, and he made the choir sound like thunder as well as whisper. Verdi’s Requiem is an impressive human drama that has the human voice centre stage.
‘We are really excited about having Alondra de la Parra visiting us again. She was a star hit with us musicians when she conducted Mexican music last season, and now we are getting the chance to experience her view of dramatic music such as that of Shostakovich.’ Gunvor Sihm, 2nd solo violinist
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DECEMBER
JANUARY Elsa Dreisig
Luisi & Nielsen’s Second Thursday 9 December 2021, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Fabio Luisi Soloist: Elsa Dreisig Sibelius and Grieg: Orchestral songs Nielsen: Symphony no. 2, ‘The Four Temperaments’ The young Danish-French star soprano Elsa Dreisig is soloist in beautiful Nordic songs by Grieg and Sibelius to brighten up the winter darkness. For the first time, Fabio Luisi is to conduct Carl Nielsen’s dynamic Symphony no. 2, which portrays the four different human temperaments – the choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic and sanguine.
New Year Gala
Thursday 30 December 2021, 15.00 Thursday 30 December 2021, 19.30 Friday 31 December 2021, 15.30 DKK 1,100, 1,075, 985, 810, 650, 520
Han-Na Chang
Nicholas Collon
Chang & Exhibition Pictures
Collon & The Firebird Thursday 20 January 2022, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
Thursday 6 January 2022, 19.30 Friday 7 January 2022, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Nicholas Collon Soloist: Pekka Kuusisto, violin Sibelius: Serenade nos. 1 and 2 for violin and orchestra Thomas Adès: Märchentänze for violin and orchestra (Danish premiere, DR commission) Stravinsky: The Firebird (complete)
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Han-Na Chang Soloist: Behzod Abduraimov, piano Victoria Borisova-Ollas: … and time is running past midnight … Grieg: Piano Concerto Mussorgsky: Exhibition Pictures Experience two of the most-loved classical works on one and the same evening: Mussorgsky’s Exhibition Pictures – a musical round trip of colourful, Russian settings – and Grieg’s impressive piano concerto – a cornucopia of melodies. The dynamic Han-Na-Chang also conducts a work by the Russian-Swedish Victoria Borisova-Ollas, who is a master of evocative orchestral music.
‘The Firebird’ is a fairytale were Stravinsky throws magic dust into the eyes of the orchestra in the tale of the magical bird and the sorcerer. This evening’s soloist also has magical powers – the Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto is both the soloist in the two highly evocative serenades by his fellow-countryman Sibelius and in two fairytale dances by the British composer Thomas Adès.
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Anja Bihlmaier True to form, DR Koncerthuset invites you to the traditional New Year Gala on the last days of the old year. The orchestra is in festive mood and will offer you classic New Year tunes, musical surprises and, not least, bubbles, canapés and the traditional Danish marzipan ring cake.
‘Fabio Luisi turned all traditional thinking on its head in his interpretation of Carl Nielsen […] His fluid, international interpretation has a built-in sense of drive.’ Politiken
Carl Nielsen’s collected symphonies with The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi will be issued by Deutsche Grammophon from April 2022.
Photo: Simon Fowler, Morten Krogvold, Chris Christodolou, Martin Rosenaur, Ritzau/Scanpix
A HISTORIC COLLABORATION
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra
In the 2021-22 season, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi are launching a project that will be a milestone in the history of the orchestra: a new recording of all of Carl Nielsen’s symphonies for the legendary Germany record company Deutsche Grammophon. ‘I am incredibly glad on behalf of both the orchestra and myself for the enormous mark of recognition involved in recording for Deutsche Grammophon. But I am particularly glad that via this new collaboration we are helping to add Carl Nielsen to the international canon of the great composers of the 20th century – where he undoubtedly belongs,’ Fabio Luisi says. ‘The musicians of the Danish Symphony Orchestra have had Nielsen’s music in their blood for several generations, whereas I have only recently begun to explore his musical language. It is perhaps precisely that combination that has added an international impact to our interpretations.’ More than anything else, Luisi is looking forward to the absorbing task of making the actual recordings with the orchestra. ‘The close relationship which the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and I have to each other means that we can attain something very special musically. Via Nielsen’s music we have found a new common path, and the work on the recordings for Deutsche Grammophon will deepen our relationship even more during the coming season.’
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
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JANUARY
FEBRUARY
Fabio Luisi
Antonello Manacorda
Luisi & Nielsen’s Fourth Thursday 27 January 2022, 19.30 Friday 28 January 2022, 19.30
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Fabio Luisi Soloist: Augustin Hadelich, violin Beethoven: Violin Concerto Nielsen: Symphony no. 4, The Inextinguishable The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor Fabio Luisi are a strong combination when it comes to Carl Nielsen’s music, and this season they are performing three of Nielsen’s symphonies as a warm-up for their recording series with Deutsche Grammophon. Here we feature the powerful symphony The Inextinguishable, the composer’s masterpiece about the radiant human will to live that triumphs over the forces of the dark. Light is also celebrated in Beethoven’s famous Violin Concerto, with a dear guest, Augustin Hadelich, as soloist.
Monika Malmquist, violinist
Manacorda & Brahms’ Second Thursday 10 February 2022, 19.30 Friday 11 February 2022, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Antonello Manacorda Soloist: Lucas Debargue, piano Schönberg: Chamber Symphony no. 2 Beethoven: Piano Concerto no. 3 Brahms: Symphony no. 2 For the first time, one can experience the sensational French pianist Lucas Debargue at DR Koncerthuset. The 30-year-old pianist is a highly personal musician, well-known for his strong presence on stage, and this evening, together with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, he is performing Beethoven’s stormy Piano Concerto no. 3, with its unique blend of light and darkness.
Photo: Per Morten Abrahamsen, Kim L. Leland, Nikolaj Lund, Priska Ketterer, Nicolas Futtrup, Kim M. Leland, Lars Svankjær
‘The concert with Luisi and Nielsen’s Fourth will be something special for me. Nielsen is my favourite composer, and the violinist Augustin Hadelich is a truly fantastic musician. No matter what he plays, it is totally virtuoso, delectable and natural at one and the same time. The whole orchestra is wild about him.’
MARCH Barbara Hannigan
Hannigan & Mahler’s Fourth
Thursday 3 March 2022, 19.30 Friday 4 March 2022, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160 The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor and soloist: Barbara Hannigan Haydn: Symphony no. 64, Tempora mutantur Lukas Foss: Time Cycle for Soprano and orchestra Sofia Gubaidulina: Time and the Bell – from Hommage à T. S. Eliot R. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra A unique evening with the phenomenal Barbara Hannigan, bringing together her talents as singer and conductor. As probably the only artist in the world, Hannigan is able both to conduct the orchestra and be the soprano soloist in Mahler’s great Fourth Symphony.
PULSAR festival 2022: TRIO Friday 11 March 2022, 19.30 DKK 100
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra The Danish National Concert Choir The Danish Radio Big Band Simon Steen-Andersen: TRIO (Danish premiere, DR commission) For the first time in Denmark one can experience one of our time’s wildest and most original musical works: TRIO by Simon Steen-Andersen. The music was written for no less than three ensembles: a choir, a big band and a symphony orchestra. An extra dimension in the work is a visual collage of film clips with which the music blends. The Danish composer Simon Steen-Andersen lives in Berlin, and is now considered to be one of the leading present-day composers worldwide. His speciality is to combine live music with video, performance and electronics in new, completely surprising ways. After a number of spectacular works, the 44-year-old Simon Steen-Andersen has surpassed himself with the large-scale work TRIO, which had its first performance in Germany in 2019 and was a sensation. TRIO is a complete fusion of live music and multimedia. Film clips by conductors and musicians have been incorporated into the music in virtuoso fashion, with a choir, a big band and a symphony orchestra playing and singing on stage. TRIO was written on the initiative of DR in cooperation with the German Südwestrundfunk (SWR). It is a monumental and gripping work – overwhelming, imaginative and also highly humorous. TRIO is a milestone in Danish music. Simon Steen-Andersen’s music has been performed at such venues as Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Bayreuth Festival. Season 2021-22 offers a premiere at Staatsoper Berlin and performances in countries including Finland, Spain, Switzerland and Germany.
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MARCH Valentina Farcas
Marie-Ange Nguci
‘I love playing Verdi’s Requiem. The music is fantastic, and the large choir has an enormous dramatic effect. Ever since playing the work for the first time when I was very young, it has been something unique to me, something I always look forward to playing.’ Lasse Mauritzen, 1st hornist
Luisi & Mahler’s Second
Luisi & Tchaikovsky’s Sixth
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra The Danish National Concert Choir Conductor: Fabio Luisi Soloists: Valentina Farcas, soprano, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, mezzo-soprano Mahler: Symphony no. 2, ‘Resurrection’
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Fabio Luisi Soloist: Marie-Ange Nguci, piano Nielsen: Symphony no. 6 Mozart: Piano Concerto no. 21, ‘Elvira Madigan’ Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 6
The Resurrection Symphony is one of the most overwhelming musical works one can experience in a concert hall. Mahler’s intoxicating vision of eternal human life caused him to compose a major symphonic work full of drama, hope and beauty. Here you have a new opportunity to experience the Danish National Concert Choir, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi in the visionary work that many audiences had to forgo during the last season because of the corona lockdown.
A concert with the final word from two great composers of symphonies. Both Tchaikovsky and Carl Nielsen wrote a Sixth Symphony as their final one – two highly different works that close the door on life in their own distinctive dramatic way. Between the two symphonies, one can enjoy Mozart’s immortal ‘Elvira Madigan’ concerto, with the new name among French pianists, Marie-Ange Nguci, as soloist.
Thursday 24 March 2022, 19.30 Saturday 26 March 2022, 15.00 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
‘I have really missed feeling the atmosphere in the concert hall. When I sit down in my fixed seat in the hall, I have this feeling of freedom. Then I feel ready to dispense completely with everyday life and at the same time to be challenged and moved.’ Anne Moritz, subscriber
Photo: PR Photo, Caroline Doutre, Jeppe Carlsen, Agnete Schlichtkrull
Thursday 17 March 2022, 19.30 Friday 18 March 2022, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
THE DANISH NATIONAL CONCERT CHOIR – A symphony of singing voices 9. oktober 2021 Exquisite-sounding choirs
2, 3 & 4 December 2021 Verdi’s Requiem
11 March 2022 PULSAR festival 2022: TRIO
17 & 18 March 2022 Luisi & Mahler’s Second
Experiencing a symphony orchestra can in itself be overwhelming. But yet another dimension is added to the music when the orchestra merges with a choir in the major works for choir and orchestra. Ever since 1932, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra as had close links with the Danish National Concert Choir and, according to its artistic director, Michael Emery, there is a special atmosphere when the choir and orchestra work together: ‘There is a strong sense of community between our singers and musicians at DR, because they have experienced so many large concerts, recordings and foreign tours together. This results in an extremely high work ethic and a special mutual understanding that I feel radiates out past the edge of the stage.’ According to Michael Emery, there is a special type of choir sound which the audience in the concert hall can experience when the large works for choir and orchestra are on the programme: ‘The members of the Danish National Concert Choir are able to use their voices instrumentally, which means that their sound really can merge with that of the orchestra. This results in an incredible richness of sound and an optimal balance between choir and orchestra – both in the great high moments and right down into the subtlest of nuances. I personally find it fantastic when all of the 74 singers sing extremely quietly – it gives me gooseflesh every time!’
14 & 15 April 2022 Parsifal I & II
About the Danish National Concert Choir
• Had its debut in 1932 as ‘The State Radio Choir’ • Consists of 74 professional singers • Has recorded more than 40 albums for such companies as Decca, Chandos and Dacapo Records • More than 50 concert tours in Europe, USA and Australia • Numerous international prizes and awards, including Gramophone Critics’ Choice of the Year (2020)
‘When the Danish National Concert Choir let their slim, precise voices fill the hall, the music was given an extra lift.’ Politiken, 2020 15
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APRIL Herbert Blomstedt
‘I really look forward to playing under Herbert Blomstedt again. Only a few times in my life have I had the feeling that I was no longer an individual but part of a larger organism that breathes and vibrates as one. That feeling I have had on several occasions when Blomstedt was conducting.’ Joel González, 1st solo double bass player
Blomstedt & Bruckner’s Fourth Thursday 31 March 2022, 19.30 Friday 1 April 2022, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
No one can rival the legendary Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt, who has appeared with The Danish National Symphony Orchestra ever since the 1950s and who is now its honorary conductor. Every concert with Blomstedt is an event, and this time he has selected music by two favourite composers, Schubert and Bruckner, where each note is in perfect balance. Herbert Blomstedt is a phenomenon: at the age of 94 he is still going strong and appears with world-leading orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Fortunately, DR Koncerthuset is visited annually by him, for Blomstedt has known the Danish National Symphony Orchestra longer than any other conductor. The wonderful thing about Herbert Blomstedt is that he does not repeat himself, but delves ever deeper into the great musical masterpieces. He studies the score time and time again to try and arrive at the optimal interpretation. At this concert he has chosen two of the central classical symphonies by Schubert and Bruckner, which he finds inexhaustible. In the 1970s, Herbert Blomstedt was chief conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and it is always one of the highlights of the year when he returns to his former orchestra. It is memorable every time for musicians and audience alike.
Photo: Kim M. Leland, J.M. Pietsch
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Herbert Blomstedt Schubert: Symphony no. 3 Bruckner: Symphony no. 4, ‘Romantic’
Parsifal I
Thursday 14 April 2022, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160 The Danish National Symphony Orchestra The Danish National Concert Choir Conductor: Adam Fischer Soloists: Stephen Milling, Julian Hubbard, Johan Reuter, Anja Kampe, Markus Suikohnen, a.o. Wagner: Parsifal, Act I
Parsifal II
Friday 15 April 2022, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160 The Danish National Symphony Orchestra The Danish National Concert Choir Conductor: Adam Fischer Soloists: Stephen Milling, Julian Hubbard, Johan Reuter, Anja Kampe, Markus Suikohnen, a.o. Wagner: Parsifal, Acts II and III
Wagner’s opera Parsifal deals with the Holy Grail and the mystery of Easter. At two concerts, on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, The Danish National Symphony Orchestra is performing the entire opera in concert form, conducted by the Wagner expert Adam Fischer and with the Danish world-famous singers Stephen Milling and Johan Reuter in the roles of Gurnemanz and Amfortas. Parsifal has a special status among Richard Wagner’s operas. Wagner regarded it as being a sacred work, which meant it was separate from all of his other operas. The trance-like nature of the music, its long duration and the enigmatic action all make Parsifal a very special experience. The story is based on an old legend, full of Christian symbolism. At the centre is the Holy Grail from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. The grail is guarded on a mountain by the Knights of the Grail, who suffer under the burdensome task. As prophesised, the young Parsifal comes to deliver them. Parsifal is being performed by The Danish National Symphony Orchestra under Adam Fischer over two evenings, on precisely Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, which fits the symbolic action of the opera. An Easter performance that will be the opera event of the year at DR Koncerthuset!
Experience all of Parsifal Buy a concert package with both performances and get a 15% discount – for more information, go to drkoncerthuset.dk. You can also combine the concert package with a subscription series.
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MAY Valentin Uryupin
Corinna Niemeyer
Uryupin & Faith
Niemeyer & Saint-Saëns
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Valentin Uryupin Soloist: Vadim Gluzman, violin Sofia Gubaidulina: Offertorium Franz Schmidt: Symphony no. 4
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Corinna Niemeyer Soloist: Sarah Aristidou Stravinsky: Le chant du rossignol, suite Delage: Quatre poèmes hindous Saint-Saëns: Songs Saint-Saëns: Symphony no. 3, ‘Organ’
Thursday 28 April 2022, 19.30 Friday 29 April 2022, 19.30 DKK 510, 460, 410, 310, 210, 135
The Israeli virtuoso Vadim Gluzman is soloist in one of our time’s greatest violin concertos, Offertorium by Sofia Gubaidulina. It is a work with religious overtones, as is Franz Schmidt’s gripping Fourth Symphony, which is a requiem for the composer’s daughter. The concert is conducted by the Russian Valentin Uryupin, who has won several international conductor competitions.
Thursday 5 May 2022, 19.30 Saturday 7 May 2022, 15.00 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
The conductor Corinna Niemeyer leads the Danish National Symphony Orchestra through brilliant music by Saint-Saëns and Stravinsky. In the large-scale Organ Symphony by Saint-Saëns the huge organ of DR Koncerthuset blends with the orchestra, and Stravinsky retells the fairytale of the Nightingale in one of his most sumptuous works. You can also enjoy listening to the soprano Sarah Aristidou sing beautiful, sensual Hindu songs by the impressionist Maurice Delage.
Thomas Søndergård
Søndergård & Prokofiev Thursday 12 May 2022, 19.30 DKK 560, 510, 460, 395, 260, 160
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Thomas Søndergård Soloist: Johnny Teyssier, clarinet Stravinsky: Pulcinella, suite Mozart: Clarinet Concerto Prokofiev: Symphony no. 6 Mozart’s much-loved Clarinet Concerto with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra’s own Johnny Teyssier is the key work this evening, with music ranging from joie de vivre to melancholy. Stravinsky is in carnival mood in the ballet music Pulcinella, while Prokofiev in his almost filmic Sixth Symphony gazes out of the landscapes of war with fanfares, drum-rolls and captivating melodies.
Photo: Martin Bubandt, Simon Pauly, Evgeny Eutyukov
APRIL
DR2 and DRTV
Explore the music Throughout the season you can follow the Danish National Symphony Orchestra on radio, TV and the orchestra’s digital platform.
DR2 sends excerpts from the Danish National Symphony Orchestra concerts on most Sunday evenings. You can also see or re-see the concerts on DRTV – whenever it suits you.
NY SÆSON MED DR SYMFONIORKESTRET VELKOMMEN TIL SÆSON 2021-22 LÆS DET NYE MAGASIN HER
Velkommen til en ny koncertsæson med DR Symfoniorkestret, chefdirigent Fabio Luisi og en række fremragende danske og internationale gæstekunstnere.
PA R S I FA L
DR LYD
KOCHANOVSKY & SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE
Go exploring using the digital app DR Lyd (DR Sound), where you can listen to all of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra concerts and the intro-programme ‘The Foyer’ on P2 – whenever it suits you.
14. OKT ‘21 KL: 19.30
LÆS MERE
LUISI & NIELSENS 2. 9. DEC ‘21 KL: 19.30
PARSIFAL 14. APR ‘22 KL: 19.30
LÆS MERE
LÆS MERE
SE ALLE ARRANGEMENTER HER
Concert news in your inbox Register for our newsletter at drkoncerthuset.dk and be the first to receive news about the season, new concerts and exclusive offers – directly in your inbox.
DR Lyd also features lots of exciting podcasts that bring you close up to composers and artists – together with P2’s wellmotivated and knowledgeable hosts, including Mathias Hammer.
Facebook YouTube See videos and concert recordings with all DR’s choirs and orchestras on the DR Koncerthuset YouTube channel.
Follow the Danish National Symphony Orchestra on Facebook – and get closer to the orchestra, with images from concerts and tours, videos, and much more besides.
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Individual performers & team players
DR Symfoniorkestret består af 106 musikere, som alle er højt specialiserede instrumentalister. Men der er stærke fællesskaber i de forskellige instrumentgrupper, som tilsammen udgør det store orkester.
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra is known for having many strong personalities in the woodwind section. It has been that way for generations, according to the bassoonist Dorte Bennike: ‘Woodwind players include some of the best-known and most exposed musicians in the orchestra, because they have so many major solos. At the same time, we have to function well and sound good as a group, despite the fact that the instruments are quite varied. This requires an enormous amount of flexibility,’ Dorte Bennike says. ‘In the Danish National Symphony Orchestra we have a long tradition for playing with a pronounced, personal expressiveness in our woodwind players. It is a requirement of ours that we get past the footlights, both individually in solos and as a group.’
Photo: Agnete Schlichtkrull
Woodwind players with personality
The broad brass sound It calls for a good physique is one is to fire up under the musical climaxes that involve a broad brass sound. But the musicians in the brass section of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra are particularly interested in listening to each other. ‘In the old days, there was a focus on other things in the music, and the playing style of the brass section was more soloistic than it is today,’ Karl Husum, 3rd trumpetist, explains. ‘Today, we try to harmonise our sound with each other more as well as with the musical whole. We have also been given a huge lift from playing here in DR Koncerthuset’s Concert Hall. The particular acoustics make it possible for us to fine-tune the nuances in our sound, so that we are now able to produce a more homogeneous brass sound.’
String players centre-stage
At the heart of the orchestra – in a semicircle round the conductor, sit the string players – the largest instrumental section. Helle Hanskov Palm, who plays 1st violin, says: ‘The string section of The Danish National Symphony Orchestra includes people of many different backgrounds and nationalities, but we are all used to working intensely on our sound – both separately and together with the orchestra.’ ‘It is natural that conductors have considerable focus on the strings, because our sound is so crucial to the overall expression of the orchestra. When Luisi conducts us, something magical happens to the sound of the strings – it almost becomes radiant. And in general, Luisi makes great demands of us in the string section, but also gives us a great deal. And this means that we give something extra when he is there,’ Helle Palm explains.
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When sound is a passion
At the side of the stage in the Concert Hall there is a technical facilities room hidden away, the size of the cockpit in a spacecraft. But a great deal more technology is needed when the sound of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is to be transmitted every week to listeners and viewers.
loudspeakers. He personally knows a number of the musicians in the Danish National Symphony Orchestra from his studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. ‘Sometimes the musicians almost queue up to come inside the producer room and listen to the recordings. It really is an exciting process to help both the conductor and the musicians achieve the optimum recording – and at the
To capture the sound of a large symphony orchestra requires not only a vast numbers of microphones, cables and soundtracks. Artistic flair is also needed to lead the recordings and create the absolutely right sound picture around the orchestra. Bernhard Güttler is one of Europe’s most coveted producers of classical music and he heads most of the transmissions and recordings with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. ‘In actual fact, my background is just as much musical as it is technical. I sang and played the piano as a child, but at the same time I was fascinated by science. As early as 16, I decided to become a recording producer, because the profession is a symbiosis between two worlds – those of music and science.’ ‘Studying to become a recording producer takes place at a classic academy of music, so
alongside the technical and theoretical disciplines we were close all the time to the artistic process that must always be the focal point of a producer room,’ Bernhard Güttler explains. As a professor in Germany he now helps train new recording producers. He emphasises that creating fine sound is not an end in itself. ‘As a producer my role should preferably be invisible. I must get the orchestra and the artists on stage to radiate out from the loudspeakers while ensuring that the sound picture remains as natural as possible for the listener. It is not a question of finding the perfect sound but of capturing the intensity and the presence on stage.’ As DR, Bernhard Güttler collaborates closely with the recording engineer Mikkel Nymand, who is responsible, among other things, for the positioning of microphones in the Concert Hall and the sound-mix the listeners hear from the
The musicians in the Danish National Symphony Orchestra Clarinet Johnny Sabatier Teyssier Pedro Franco Lopez Klaus Tönshoff Søren Elbo
1st Violin Christina Åstrand Johannes Søe Hansen Soo-Jin Hong Vacant Elna Carr Jan Rohard Anders Fog-Nielsen Helle Hanskov Palm Per Friman Sarah McClelland Tine Rudloff Sabine Bretschneider-Jochumsen Sophia Bæk Trine Yang Møller Runi Bæk Patricia Mia Andersen Monika Malmquist Egholm Anna Zelianodjevo Johanna Qvamme Kern Westerberg
Listen to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra
• Live on P2 Thursdays, 19.20, re-broadcast on Sundays, 12.15 • Find earlier concerts on the app DR Lyd – search for ’P2-koncerten’ • Listen to recordings and albums via your streaming services
Photo: Kim Kruse Petersen, Per Morten Abrahamsen
same time enhance the experience for the listeners at the other end,’ Mikkel Nymand says. ‘Many of those who listen to our recordings here from the Concert Hall actually listen on their computers of smartphones. So the sound we produce has to function on all platforms. I personally listen to the music on both phone and computer to ensure that everything is working well – every time,’ Mikkel Nymand adds.
2nd Violin Teresa La Cour Gunvor Sihm Vacant Bodil Kuhlmann Julie Meile Line Most Marianne Bindel Morten Dulong Anne Marie Kjærulff Andrea Rebekka Alsted Hedvig Oftedahl Vivanco Jonida Tafilaj Stanislav Zakrjevski Christian Ellegaard Benedikte Pontoppidan Thyssen Ida Balslev Viola Michael Grolid Dmitri Golovanov Claus Myrup Gunnar Lychou
Carina Andersson Kristian Fogh Astrid Christensen Katrine Bundgaard Anne Soren Katarzyna Bugala Stine Hasbirk Alexander Butz Magda Stevensson Cello Henrik Dam Thomsen Soo-Kyung Hong Carsten Tagmose Vanja Louro Birgitte Øland Johan Krarup Peter Morrison Louisa Schwab Richard Krug Chul-Geun Park Cansin Kara
Bassoon Audun Halvorsen Sebastian Stevensson Dorte Bennike Aksel Trige Horn Lasse Mauritzen Vakant Dominika Piwkowska Oscar Lejonklo Henning Hansen Jakob Arnholtz Trumpet Michael Frank Møller Laszlo Molnar Karl Husum Andreas Jul Nielsen Trombone Lars Karlin Marek Adam Stolarczyk Brian Bindner Thomas Dahlkvist
Double Bass Joel González Vacant Einars Everss Michal Stadnicki Michael Dabelsteen Henrik Schou Kristensen Gerrit Mylius Ditlev Damkjær Mads Lundahl Kristensen
Tuba Thomas Røisland
Flute Ulla Miilmann Vacant Mikael Beier Russell Itani
Piano/organ Per Salo
Oboe Eva Steinaa Kristine Vestergaard Ulrich Ortmann Sven Buller
Tympani René Mathiesen Niccola Carrara Percussion Gert Sørensen Jakob Weber Egholm
Harp Zachary Hatcher
See photos of all member of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra at drsymfoniorkestret/musikerne 23
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Welcome to DR Koncerthuset
Sunday Salon There is something for all the senses when DR Koncerthuset invites you to a special gastronomic and musical experience. In the Sunday Salon, the audience sit on the stage, close to the musicians, are a part of the conversation when an energetic host along with the musicians dive down into the music. A unique culinary experience – featuring a light, delicious menu – completes the Sunday Salon. For more information, go to drkoncerthuset. dk
Photo: Emma Sejersen
DR Koncerthuset is the venue for the Danish National Symphony Orchestra concerts and has optimum acoustics and a beautiful architectural interior. We look forward to welcoming you to our newly refurbished foyer area, with comfortable furniture, more places to sit and new bars. Our restaurant and bars are presenting an exciting new range this season, with ecology and fresh seasonal vegetables very much in focus. No matter if you are looking for a threecourse menu, small tapas dishes or just a snack, you can count on a delicious après-concert experience. Explore the many offers at drkoncerthuset.dk.
Sales overview
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Become a subscriber with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and get exclusive advantages How to subscribe • Go to drsymfoniorkestret.dk/abonnement • Choose whether you want to sign up for a new subscription or renew your subscription • If you are currently a subscriber, but wish to switch to a different series, you will need to sign up for a new subscription • Follow the remaining instructions on the page, or phone the DR Koncerthuset customer service centre on tel. 35 20 62 62, Monday –Friday, 12.00-16.00 You can also visit DR Koncerthuset in person Monday –Friday, 12.00-16.00.
Same seats For all concerts in your series. 20% discount on the series - and you can buy before everyone else. Priority purchase with 10% discount Once your subscription has been purchased, you then have priority on purchases for all the Danish National Symphony Orchestra concerts throughout the whole season, with a 10% discount. Young Persons discount (U30) - if you are under 30 years of age, you are entitled to 50% off all subscriptions and most individual ticket sales. Switch a concert You can personally decide if you wish to switch a concert ticket from your series to another concert featuring The Danish National Symphony Orchestra. This is free of charge, but must be done at least 14 days prior to the concert. It is unfortunately not possible to switch tickets if the concert you wish to attend is sold out. Photo: Agnete Schlichtkrull
You can purchase subscriptions to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra concerts from Tuesday, 4 May, 11.00 at drsymfoniorkestret.dk/abonnement, or by contacting our customer service centre.
The advantages in brief
The concert activities of the Danish National Symphony Orchestras are made possible via support from, among others, A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal, Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond, Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond, Augustinus Fonden, Carl Nielsen og Anne Marie Carl-Nielsens Legat, Knud Højgaards Fond, Wilhelm Hansen Fonden, Beckett-Fonden, Konsul George Jorck og Hustru Emma Jorck’s Fond, Nordea-fonden, William Demant Fonden and Danish Arts Foundation. Chief Conductor: Fabio Luisi. Chief Executive and Artistic Director, DR Koncerthuset, Ensembles & radio channels – P2, P5 and P8: Kim Bohr. Repertoire Manager: Tatjana Kandel. Head of Development and Operations: Jakob Holtze. Editors: Cecilie Rosenmeier, Lea Strömgren. Front page photo: Martin Rosenauer/Ritzau Scanpix. Graphic design: Bjørn Nørbo Andersen.
