«What fascinates me is the connection between singing and speaking, which also seems to me particularly important in piano playing. And with Mozart it is literally vital. Mozart, after all, was the great opera composer, but there is also a pronounced singing quality in his instrumental works,» the pianist Alfred Brendel writes in his book Me of All People. Complementing a performance of the opera La clemenza di Tito by the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg at the Grand Théâtre in September, this instrumental side of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s incomparable «cantabile» will be highlighted this season at the Philharmonie. Among the programmes presented by the pianist Kit Armstrong – a student of Alfred Brendel, incidentally – two evenings will be dedicated to the genius from Salzburg: one with orchestral accompaniment, the other featuring chamber works, for which he collaborates with talented members of the world’s leading orchestras, for example Noah Bendix-Balgley, the concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic.
This Mozart season at the Philharmonie also includes two key figures of Mozart interpretation at the piano: Grigory Sokolov gives a piano recital in December, and Maria João Pires performs the august Piano Concerto No. 21 K. 467. Les Siècles and its music director François-Xavier Roth will juxtapose the composer with one of his 20th-century colleagues, György Ligeti, whose opera Le Grand Macabre seems to have been inspired by his famous senior colleague.
Nor will choral music get short shrift, as the Requiem is performed by the Collegium Vocale Ghent under the expert baton of Philippe Herreweghe. The opulent Vesperae sollennes de confessore, will be conducted by William Christie, an expert in historically informed performance practice who returns to direct the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.
Unlike Franz Liszt, who gave one of his last concerts here, Mozart never visited Luxembourg, despite his extensive journeys – but his music will have a stronger presence than usual during the 2023/24 season.
Les Siècles
François-Xavier Roth
direction
Isabelle Faust
violon
Alexander Melnikov
piano
Concert followed by a musical surprise with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov
«Every time we’ve tackled a work with Les Siècles, we’ve had the feeling of being restorers, rediscovering colour under layers and layers of varnish,» music director François-Xavier Roth explains to the online media Wanderer. A particularly bright palette of colours awaits the audience on 18.09., as the conductor followed his usual flair in concocting a multifaceted programme: György Ligeti will meet Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the concert will conclude with an exciting musical surprise. All this using period instruments and featuring the violinist Isabelle Faust in the Hungarian composer’s Violin Concerto and the pianist Alexander Melnikov in Mozart’s Piano Concerto N° 23. Before the concert, the conductor will join us for an Artist talk in French at 18:45 at the Grand Auditorium.
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Leopold Hager
direction
An encounter between giants and generations: that’s the promise of this all-symphonic evening at the Philharmonie. And we’re not just talking about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert headlining the programme… The Austrian maestro Leopold Hager directed our very own Luxembourg Philharmonic for 15 years, back when it was still called the Orchestre Symphonique de Radio-Télé-Luxembourg. 43 years later and at the venerable age of 87, he returns for a moving reunion in the Grand Duchy. The musicians in the orchestra and faces in the audience may be new, but the emotion will be the same when he conducts two favourites of the classical repertoire.
Benoît Hartoin
clavecin
Anne-Catherine Bucher
clavecin, parole
En français
Ce programme autour des sonates à quatre mains de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, qui constituent les premiers chefs-d’œuvre du genre, rassemble des pièces de jeunesse composées pour le duo que Wolfgang formait avec sa sœur Nannerl, et des œuvres de la maturité, monuments à l’écriture proprement symphonique, très influencées par la musique italienne. S’il est certain que la Sonate en ré majeur a été conçue pour le clavecin, dans le cadre intime de l’exécution familiale, comme on le voit sur le tableau de Della Croce (1780), la grande Sonate en fa majeur a été probablement pensée pour le pianoforte. Toutefois, loin de trahir l’esprit de ces compositions grandioses, l’usage du clavecin en souligne la construction à la manière d’un finale d’opera buffa italien.
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Chœur Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
Fabio Biondi
direction
Jeremy Ovenden
Tito
Anna Malesza-Kutny
Vitellia
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Chœur Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
Fabio Biondi
direction
Jeremy Ovenden
Tito
Anna Malesza-Kutny
Vitellia
Orchestre des Champs-Élysées
Collegium Vocale Gent
Philippe Herreweghe
direction
Mari Eriksmoen
soprano
Eva Zaïcik
Mezzosopran
Ilker Arcayürek
ténor
Samuel Hasselhorn
baryton
Arthur Stockel
clarinette
Membres de la Luxembourg Philharmonic Academy
Yun-Yun Chiang, Yu Kai Sun, Phoebe Rousochatzaki, Clara Szu-Yu Lin
violon
Javier Martin de la Torre, Julia Vicic
alto
Caroline Dauchy, Carol Salgado
violoncelle
The members of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Academy, frequent participants in the performances of the Luxembourg Philharmonic, also give chamber music concerts at regular intervals. 01.12. brings an opportunity to get to know the new academicians, who started with the 2023/24 season, in a programme which will culminate with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet. This was written for the clarinettist Anton Stadler, a close friend of Mozart’s. On 01.12., Arthur Stockel, principal clarinet of the Luxembourg Philharmonic, will play the demanding solo part.
Grigory Sokolov piano
NOTE: We are delighted to inform you that Mr. Sokolov is making a swift recovery and has just confirmed that he will be able to perform on our stage this coming Monday! The tickets you purchased for 10.12.2023 remain valid for this new date.
Please note that unfortunately, the «résonance» event scheduled for 10.12.2023 cannot take place on 18.12.2023. We look forward to welcoming you at the start of the concert at 7:30 pm at the Grand Auditorium on 18.12.2023.
The Philharmonie’s Information & Billetterie is at your disposal for any further information you may require, Mondays to Fridays from 10:00 to 18:30.
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Renaud Capuçon
direction, violon
Greet 2024 in style with a concert of classical favourites. Items on the programme include Mozart’s invigorating overture to the opera Le nozze di Figaro, exuberant Central European dances by Brahms and Dvořák, romantic numbers by Elgar and Fritz Kreisler, and Johann Strauss’s irresistibly playful Tritsch-Tratsch Polka. Plus: star violinist Renaud Capuçon conducts the Luxembourg Philharmonic whilst also appears as soloist! Expect flair and fun on this memorable evening.
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie
direction
Julia Wischniewski
soprano
Mélodie Ruvio
alto
Outside, Carnival may have been unleashed, but at the Philharmonie, the devotional atmosphere of Passiontide, which begins the following week, gets a preview. On 08.02., William Christie, one of the high priests of his profession and Artist in residence this season, conducts Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s majestic Vesperae solennes de confessore. After-wards, Christie leads the Luxembourg Philharmonic in the rarely-heard oratorio version of Joseph Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross, anticipating Holy Week, the high point of Passiontide.
Semion Gavrikov, Nelly Guignard
violon
Maya Tal, Grigory Maximenko
alto
Niall Brown
violoncelle
Mozart’s Quintet in G minor is one of his tragic masterpieces, with a slow movement so beautiful that it moved the composer Tchaikovsky to tears. Brahms’s String Quintet N° 2 is contrastingly exuberant – albeit with gentle episodes – and culminates in a spirited and folklike finale. After the concert, audience members will have a chance to meet the musicians – members of the Luxembourg Philharmonic over a drink.
Organised by the Frënn vun de Lëtzebuerger Philharmoniker
The concert will be recorded on radio 100,7 and broadcast on April 28, 2024.
Céline Moinet
hautbois
Sebastian Manz
clarinette
Sophie Dervaux
basson
Miléna Viotti
cor
Schumann Quartett
This was how Joseph Haydn described Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Kit Armstrong leads a group of remarkable musicians in two events celebrating Mozart’s genius. Highlights of the intimate first concert include the sparkling Piano Quartet in G minor and the beautiful Quintet for Piano and Winds, one of the composer’s own favourites among his pieces.
Jasmine Choi
flûte
Céline Moinet, Adrian Verdugo Críado
hautbois
Sebastian Manz, Boglárka Pecze
clarinette
NN
basson, basson, cor
Miléna Viotti
cor
Two of his greatest piano concertos are at the heart of this second concert curated by Mozart expert Kit Armstrong. The Concerto N° 23 in A major is notable for its elegance and tunefulness while the Concerto N° 24 in C minor is contrastingly dark and dramatic. The programme also features the lovely Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola – one of Mozart’s key Salzburg compositions – and the noble Masonic Funeral Music.