The whole world isanenigma
Enigmas have always nourished the human imagination. In the modern world we think of the code-breaking heroics of Alan Turing and his colleagues. We revel in the complexities of a detective mystery, in the exhilaration of searching for the key to unlock it. The music we love is a tangle of riddles and puzzles. Possibly waiting for us to solve it. But perhaps not knowing the answer is what we should truly cherish.
Our 2024 / 25 season will end with Elgar’s great masterpiece, the Enigma Variations. Its hidden theme has teased us for over a century. Do you have a theory of what its secret is? That is just one of the many enigmas we’ll encounter. What of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos? We don’t know why the composer chose these six specific concertos as a gift to Christian of Brandenburg. Just as compelling is the story of what happened over the next 200 years: the disappearance and rediscovery of the manuscript, its publication, then nearly being blown up in World War I before the advent of the recording industry made them the icon they are today.
Even without the stories these pieces would stand as testament to the human imagination. But they add to our appreciation of the work as expressions of our humanity.
Then there is the enigma of Greatness. Baroquebusters (on 9 January) is more than a Greatest Hits Jukebox; it will explore why certain pieces grabbed their first listeners and have embedded themselves in the public consciousness ever since. At the opposite end of the spectrum, in March Das Jahr (The Year) shines a light on a composer, Fanny Mendelssohn, whose remarkable talents have been hidden from us for 200 years, almost in plain sight.
The fabled tale of Beethoven scratching out the dedication to Napoleon on his ‘Eroica’ Symphony speaks volumes of the enigmatic nature of heroism. Today’s liberator is tomorrow’s villain. His Violin Concerto highlights the heroic nature of performance. Each soloist adds their name to the hallowed litany of past warriors: Joachim, Heifetz, Zukerman.
Perhaps the greatest enigma contained in music is its ability to decode human sentiment – our fears, hopes and beliefs – all without words. What we might label as the Mystery of Faith. Bruckner translated holiness into cathedral-like structures; bemusing yet also dazzling.
In the last 300 years no work has approached the ultimate enigma, humanity’s relationship with the divine, more profoundly than Bach’s St Matthew Passion. At the end we are left waiting for conclusion, a classic cliffhanger as the chorus declares: “Therefore, command that now the tomb be guarded until the three days pass, so none of his disciples come forth and steal him hence and to the people say: ‘He is risen from the dead,’ for thus will the final deceit be worse than the first one!”. We are reminded of sceptical interrogation even in the face of what Bach and his congregation considered ‘self-evident’ truths.
Is there an underlying truth in all this music? Probably not. Yet in coming together to share in it we might find a secret key: one that unlocks the door to joy, generosity and, of course, Enlightenment.
7.00pm
Sunday 13 October
Queen Elizabeth Hall
We mark the 200th anniversary of Anton Bruckner’s birth with principal guest artist Adam Fischer. The Symphony No. 5 embraces the range of human experience, from humour to the sacred.
BRUCKNER
Symphony No. 5 (1878 version)
Adam Fischer conductor
5
7.00pm
Wednesday 13 November
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Bach’s groundbreaking ‘Six Concertos for several instruments’ puts the collective virtuosity of the OAE in the spotlight. Revel in the complete set in all its ‘imperfections’ and ‘daring combinations’!
JS BACH
Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1 – 6
BAROQUE
7.00pm Thursday 9 January
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Julia Bullock brings the vocal fireworks to an evening celebrating the Greatest Hits of the 18th Century. A baroque-tastic exploration of why the masterpieces of the time became so popular and remain so today.
Presented from the stage, music to be performed includes ‘Spring’ from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Pachelbel’s Canon, and The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and The Fireworks Music by Handel… plus arias and songs by Handel, Lully, Purcell, Rameau and Strozzi.
the year
7.00pm
Sunday 23 March
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Olga Pashchenko showcases Fanny Mendelssohn’s cycle of 13 piano pieces describing the passage of a year, within a reimagining for period instrument orchestra by four contemporary composers: Roxanna Panufnik, Electra Perivolaris, Freya Waley-Cohen and Errollyn Wallen.
This project is supported by Cockayne Grants for the Arts: a donor advised fund held at The London Community Foundation
From intimate grief to monumental crowd scenes, the St Matthew Passion is Bach’s most profound musical testimony. The sorrowful retelling of Jesus’ final hours is sculpted into a gripping drama under the direction of Jonathan Cohen.
JS BACH
St Matthew Passion
Madison Nonoa soprano
Iestyn Davies countertenor
Hugo Hymas tenor
Nick Pritchard Evangelist (tenor)
Thomas Bauer baritone
Florian Störtz Christus (bass-baritone)
Jonathan Cohen conductor
7.00pm Thursday 22 May
Royal Festival Hall
The remarkable Sir András Schiff sprinkles fantasy and magic as he performs the most romantic of piano concertos. Schumann’s only concerto for his own instrument is inspired by his wife Clara’s supernatural virtuosity. Conjured up alongside is Mendelssohn’s impish music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
SCHUMANN
Konzertstück (Introduction and Allegro appassionato) for Piano and Orchestra
MENDELSSOHN
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (excerpts) SCHUMANN
Piano Concerto
Sir
András Schiff fortepiano / director
7.00pm
Wednesday 4 June
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Few pieces are as shrouded in mystery as the Enigma Variations with its hidden theme, the ‘dark saying’ that ‘must be left unguessed’. The electrifying Dinis Sousa conducts the work that made Elgar an international name.
ELGAR
In The South (Alassio)
Sea Pictures
Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma Variations)
Frances Gregory mezzo-soprano
Dinis Sousa
Every day The Bird Catcher must catch a new bird for The Queen. In return she gives him food and drink. But one day, he catches the most beautiful bird who just wants to be free… and that’s when the trouble begins.
ALSO COMING UP IN 2025
A high-spirited family show based on Mozart’s The Magic Flute created by composer James Redwood and writer Hazel Gould (the team behind The Moon Hares and The Fairy Queen: Three Wishes). Suitable for age 7+
Performance details to be announced.
HOW TO BOOK
BOOK ONLINE AT OAE.CO.UK
We issue e-tickets and these are usually emailed from approximately one week before the concert. There are no booking or transaction fees when you book using our website.
DISCOUNTS AND SPECIAL OFFERS
Our Club OAE Season Tickets help you to explore the full range of concerts in our Southbank Centre 2024 / 25 season whilst enjoying up to 25% discount on your tickets.
CLUB OAE SEASON TICKETS
Autumn / Winter ticket: from £25.50 (15% off)
Spring ticket: from £72.00 (20% off)
Full season ticket: from £90 (25% off)
Groups of 10 people or more receive 20% discount on standard price tickets only. To enquire about making a booking please email boxoffice@oae.co.uk
Our 2024 / 25 season concerts are part of the Southbank Centre’s classical music multi-buy offer. For full details and to book using this offer please go to southbankcentre.co.uk/classicalmusic
Booking fees apply online (£3.50) and over the phone (£4). There are no booking fees for in-person bookings, Southbank Centre Members, Supporters Circles and Patrons.
We also have special offers for:
Under 35s: 25% discount
Students: £9 any seat
Excludes Premium and Price Zone A tickets, Baroquebusters and The Magic Flute ON SALE DATES
General booking opens on 23 April for events up to January 2025. For events from February 2025, booking will open in October 2024.
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I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.
UMBERTO ECO
oae.co.uk
IMAGE CREDITS
Anne-Marie Bickerton (cover, pp. 2, 7 & 23), Nikolaj Lund (p.5), Allison Michael Orenstein (p.8), Marco Borggreve (p.10), Chronicle / Alamy Stock Photo, Patrick Allen, Yat Ho Tsang, Azzurra Primavera, Indre Hilara Bylaite, Benjamin Ealovega (all p.13), Samuel Brewer (p.15), Nadja Sjoestroem (p.16), David Rodrigues (p.18), James Wainscoat, lenstravelier, Aarn Giri (p.19)