Opening concert of the Elbphilharmonie 2017

The citizenry as the builder of the Elbphilharmonie (main article) in Hamburg celebrated the opening of the Great Hall and the entire building on January 11, 2017 . The ceremony for the construction and handover of the keys to the concert hall had already preceded immediately after October 31, 2016 in time for the orchestra rehearsals. Since November 4th the building has been visited by hundreds of thousands, including a ballet performance by Sasha Waltz's company .

The concert “Time becomes space here” (a quote from Richard Wagner's Parsifal ) by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra was the focus of the evening after the opening speeches by the city and national celebrities, the architect and the manager for over 2000 visitors. The NDR orchestra was called "NDR Symphony Orchestra" until 2016.

The program offered a musical journey through time from the Renaissance to contemporary music. It was broadcast live across Europe on various radio and television channels. The program was put together and conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock .

program

The musical contributions to the ceremony and the concert on January 11th:

Opening ceremony

• Ludwig van Beethoven : Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus , op.43, 1801.
• Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy : Overture to Ruy Blas , op.95, 1839.
• Johannes Brahms : Allegro con spirito from: Symphony No. 2 , D major, op.73, 1877.

During this part of the event, various speeches were given in between. After a short break for the various channels and news programs, the ensuite main program came.

Opening concert: "Time becomes space here"

• Benjamin Britten : Pan from: Six Metamorphoses according to Ovid , op. 49, 1951.
• Henri Dutilleux : Appels, Echos and Prismes from: Mystère de l'instant , 1989.
• Emilio de 'Cavalieri : Dalle più alte sfere , from: Intermedien für La pellegrina , 1589.
• Bernd Alois Zimmermann : Photoptosis / Prélude for large orchestra, 1968.
• Jacob Praetorius II : Quam pulchra es , motet for 5 voices and basso continuo. 1606.
• Rolf Liebermann : Furioso , 1947.
• Giulio Caccini : Amarilli, mia bella , from: Le nuove musiche , 1602.
• Olivier Messiaen : Finale from: Turangalîla Symphony for Piano, Ondes Martenot and Orchestra, 1948.
• Richard Wagner : Prelude to Parsifal , 1882.
• Wolfgang Rihm : Reminiscence / triptych and saying in memoriam Hans Henny Jahnn / world premiere / commissioned work by NDR, 2016.
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Finale from: Symphony No. 9 , D minor, op.125, 1824.

One piece dates from the 16th century, two pieces from the beginning of the 17th century, one piece from the 19th century, five pieces from the 20th century and one piece from the 21. With Praetorius the Elder. J. and Liebermann were two composers from the Hanseatic city. The three pieces in the ceremony have their origins “once across” the 19th century.

Contributors

• NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra
  • Thomas Hengelbrock , conductor
• Bavarian Radio Choir
• NDR choir

Soloists:

• Iveta Apkalna , organ
• Pavol Breslik , tenor
• Philippe Jaroussky , countertenor
• Kalev Kuljus , oboe
• Wiebke Lehmkuhl , mezzo-soprano
• Hanna-Elisabeth Müller , soprano (had only jumped in that day)
• Bryn Terfel , bass-baritone

Importance of the concert, reception

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The concert was perceived simultaneously on different levels:

- How does instrumental music and classical singing sound in this hall?

- How is the event space accepted by different audiences?

- Rihm's composition and the references of his composition to early classical music?

- What did the orchestra and soloists do that evening (descriptive music review )?

The good reviews of the spatial sound were in part somewhat limited in the intelligibility of the vocal texts in the seats behind the choir. The good acoustics are emphasized in the upper tiers . This judgment was confirmed two evenings later at a concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra .

Due to a large contingent of free places and the demand for them, there was great interest in Hamburg and the surrounding area in such a program offer. The pay stations for the next quarter of the event were also fully booked before the evening.

Notes on the instruments used

• Ondes Martenot , an early electronic musical instrument (introduced in 1928)
• the harp as a solo instrument
• Concert organ in the great hall
• Cymbal

Web links

• Part 1 and Part 2 of the opening concert on Youtube .
• Opening information
• Program of the Elbphilharmonie Opening (PDF; 2.5 MB)
• Music acclaimed Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Elbphilharmonie. Süddeutsche Zeitung , January 15, 2017, accessed on August 25, 2020 . 

Individual references, comments

1. ↑ https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article340208/Du-siehst-mein-Sohn-zum-Raum-wird-hier-die-Zeit.html
2. ↑ Elbphilharmonie opens on January 11, 2017 , NDR.de, January 12, 2015.
3. ^ Opening concert at Spiegel-Online on Jan. 11, 2016
4. ↑ Reviews:
   Quote from dpa: For more than three hours they explored ... the possibilities of the «Elphi». With compositions from the Renaissance to the 21st century, chief conductor Thomas Hengelbrock delivered something like an acoustic performance show ... on volksstimme.de, January 13, 2016
   That was the big evening in the "Elphi". , on FAZ-net, January 11, 2016