Berlin Philharmonic Antonín Dvořák, Hugo Wolf, Franz Schubert

Iván Fischer Conductor – Budapest Festival Orchestra

Thursday night was likely my last Berlin Philharmonic performance – at least for a while. The performance was in Philharmonie Hall where the symphony performed music by Antonín Dvořák, Hugo Wolf, and Franz Schubert.

Berlin Philharmonie Hall – primephonic.com

Dvořák and Schubert have long been favorite composers. I remember trying to conquer a Schubert piece as a young piano student – for me, a daunting experience. Unfamiliar with Wolf, the evening was a lesson in German opera! Goethe’s expression below describes my feelings…

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poet – Weimar-Lese
Iván Fischer Conductor

Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer led the Philharmonic. Fischer studied piano, violin, and cello in Budapest and continued his education in Vienna. His career took off in 1976 when he won a conducting competition in London.

Berlin Philharmonie – Jorge Franganillo get10things.com

In 1983 Fischer co-founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Today he’s the orchestra’s music director. Fischer is a regular guest conductor at major European opera houses. He was Berlin Philharmonic’s Principal Conductor 2012 – 2018 and is now the orchestra’s Honorary Conductor.

Iván Fischer Conductor – Hungarian Free Press

Fischer is also a composer whose works are performed all over the world. He founded the Hungarian Mahler Society and received Hungary’s Golden Medal Award and the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum for promoting international culture.

Antonín Dvořák Composer
Antonín Dvořák Legends for Orchestra

The concert began with Antonín Dvořák symphonies – Legends for Orchestra. Berlin is  where the Czech composer was first recognized internationally. In 1878, Johannes Brahms recommended publishing his Moravian Duets and Slavonic Dances for piano. Years later he produced Legends for Orchestra.

Christian Gerhaher Baritone – Digital Concert Hall
Hugo Wolf Goethe and Mörike Compositions

Several Hugo Wolf operatic compositions followed Dvořák’s symphonies. Popular baritone Christian Gerhaher’s singing captivated the audience. Wolf, known for his “profound poetic insight and imagination,” created them from the poems and ballads of German writers Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Eduard Friedrich Mörike. Portraying their unique “poet personalities” was key to Wolf in “opening musical and poetic horizons” in his compositions.

Hugo Wolf Composer – Austria.info

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German poet Eduard Friedrich Mörike is known for taking “special pleasure in rendering hair-raising and fantastic verses”.

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Moravian Duets and Slavonic Dances – Shazam

Wish I’d had a translation, as titles of the lyrics were interesting – Goethe’s ballads – Der Rattenfänger (The Pied Piper) and Mörike’s Fire Rider. Mörike’s lyric poetry covers a “variety of forms and moods”. The audience was thoroughly absorbed. It was a very German experience!

Eduard Moerike Poet – Augsburger Allgemeini
Christian Gerhaher Baritone

German baritone Christian Gerhaher appears in Germany and abroad as a recitalist and soloist with symphony orchestras in major cities worldwide. He also appears in opera productions, holds the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art, is an honorary professor at the Academy of Music Munich, and teaches international masterclasses. The audience adored his performance of Wolf’s compositions.

Christian Gerhaher Baritone – InstantEncore

Gerhaher attended the Opera School of the Academy of Music in Munich and is an honorary professor at the Munich Academy of Music and Theatre. He and his wife live  in Munich with their three children.

Franz Schubert Composer – BR-Klassik
Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in C Major

The symphony ended with a performance of Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in C Major. Schubert composed the symphony in 1825-26, but it was never performed. Robert Schumann discovered the symphony in 1839 and German composer Felix Mendelssohn produced the work that year in Leipzig. It’s a wonderful, dramatic symphony featuring woodwinds and French horns – skip to the end of the video below for the rousing finale!

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