On 7 and 8 October 2024, Christian Thielemann will celebrate his inauguration as General Music Director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden with the Subscription Concert II at the Staatskapelle Berlin. On this special occasion, he will perform together with pianist Igor Levit, who will return to the Staatsoper as a welcome guest. The concert on 7 October 2024 will be produced in collaboration with ARTE Concert and streamed live on arte.tv and on television on 13 October 2024 at 4.50 pm and will subsequently be available in the broadcaster’s media library. On 7 October 2024 at 8 pm, the opera can also be heard on ARD’s cultural channels as part of ARD Konzert. On 8 October 2024, the Staatskapelle will perform the same programme in the Philharmonie.
Image above: Staatskapelle Berlin Peter Adamik
The programme for this concert includes works from the High and Late Romantic periods as well as a contemporary piece. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s 2nd Piano Concerto, with its lyrical and serious tones, is an outstanding instrumental work of the mid-19th century. In addition, Arnold Schönberg’s opulently scored tone poem Pelleas and Melisande, written at the beginning of the 20th century after the drama by Maurice Maeterlinck, demonstrates its roots in the late Romantic sound world. The performance of the work will also shed light on the 150th anniversary of Schönberg’s birth. Elysium by the young Canadian composer Samy Moussa will also be performed, a colourful orchestral piece that was premiered in the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona in 2021, conducted by Christian Thielemann.
Igor Levit, an artistic and personal friend of Christian Thielemann, will be the soloist in Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The multi-award-winning pianist is celebrated internationally by audiences and critics alike.
Elisabeth Sobotka is introducing a new format at the start of her new term as Artistic Director: On 5 October 2024, all under-30s will have the opportunity to attend the dress rehearsal of the Staatskapelle Berlin’s Subscription Concert II. The standard price of 7 euros will give young people affordable access to high-quality artistic musical experiences.
WHEN?
Inaugural concert: Monday, 07 October 2024 – Tuesday, 08 October 2024
WHERE?
Staatsoper Berlin
Unter den Linden 7
10117 Berlin
