Concert information
Info
Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony is considered by many to epitomise romanticism in orchestral music. The first call of the horns is typical of the era – evoking a sound world that is at once warm, idyllic and full of yearning. Two further Romantic works will also be performed: Carl Maria von Weber’s overture to the fairy-tale opera Oberon and Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with its combination of heartfelt expression and overwhelming virtuosity. Himari, who comes from Japan and is just 13 years old, makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker as soloist. Conductor Sebastian Weigle, who is standing in for Zubin Mehta, also makes his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Artists
Berliner Philharmoniker
Sebastian Weigle conductor (replacing Zubin Mehta)
Himari violin
Programme
Carl Maria von Weber
Oberon: Overture
Henryk Wieniawski
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 in F sharp minor, op. 14
Himari violin
Interval
Franz Schubert
Symphony No. 8 in C major, D 944 “Great”
Additional information
Duration ca. 2 hours and 15 minutes (incl. 20 minutes interval)
Main Auditorium
47 to 149 €
Introduction
19:15
Series K: Concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker
Main Auditorium
47 to 149 €
Introduction
19:15
Series M: Concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker
Main Auditorium
47 to 149 €
Introduction
18:15
Series N: Concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker
Biographies
Sebastian Weigle
Since the 2019 season, Sebastian Weigle has been the principal conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. His engagements have taken him to numerous renowned opera houses, including those in Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Hamburg, Zurich, the Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Tokyo. In concerts, he has conducted prominent orchestras such as the radio orchestras of Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony, major Scandinavian orchestras, and internationally in Tokyo, Chicago, and Melbourne.
From 2008 to 2023, Sebastian Weigle was the General Music Director of the Frankfurt Opera. Additionally, from 2004 to 2009, he served as chief conductor at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. In the summer of 2007, he made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival with a new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Born in Berlin, Sebastian Weigle studied horn, piano, and conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler. In 1982, he was appointed principal hornist of the Staatskapelle Berlin.In 1987, he founded the Berlin Chamber Choir and was the artistic director of Neues Berliner Kammerorchester. In 1993, he became the chief conductor of the Junge Philharmonie Brandenburg, and from 1997 to 2002, he served as Staatskapellmeister at the Berlin State Opera.
Himari
Himari has been playing the violin since she was three years old; she performed with a professional orchestra for the first time three years later. Since then, she has been riding a wave of enthusiasm from Japan to the rest of the world. She has won a total of 42 first prizes at various competitions – mostly with special honours. In 2019, she took part in the International Summer Academy Mozarteum Salzburg and was the youngest participant in the Academy’s concert at the Salzburg Festival, where she was honoured for her outstanding performance; in 2022, she was accepted as one of the youngest students at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Himari is now 13 years old. She made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Marin Alsop at the New Year’s Eve Celebration less than three months ago, and is now giving her first concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker. She is regarded as the most promising violinist of her generation. “But if you listen to Himari and close your eyes,” says Ida Kavafian, her teacher at the famous Curtis Institute, “you can’t tell her age at all. Himari has an older personality, and she is an astute musician.”
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