21 May 2022,
19:00
Philharmonie
Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon Rattle conductor
Anna Lapkovskaja mezzo-soprano
Works by Joseph Haydn and Igor Stravinsky
An evening with Sir Simon Rattle
Haydn, Stravinsky and Bach in two concerts
A Sir Simon Rattle double bill: on Saturday, 21 May 2022, you can enjoy the former chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker in two concerts featuring composers who were special to him during his tenure. The multi-faceted programme combines Bach cantatas, Haydn’s Symphony No. 102 and a Stravinsky Journey compiled by the conductor himself.
19:00: A musical journey through the life of Stravinsky
The first concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker juxtaposes works by Haydn and Stravinsky. The evening begins with Haydn's Symphony No. 102, which should really be called “The Miracle”. After the concert, a chandelier fell from the ceiling into the auditorium – but because the crowd had gathered around the composer at the front, no one was injured. However, due to an error, the title “The Miracle” now adorns Haydn’s 96th Symphony.
In the second part of the concert, Sir Simon presented a Stravinsky Journey he compiled himself. “It is largely chronological, but begins and ends with excerpts from his last great ballet Agon,” Rattle says about this special selection. “We travel through his opus 2 The Faun and The Shepherdess from 1906 to the Requiem Canticles, his last great work from 1965/66, hearing Cat Lullabies and a Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant along the way.” For Rattle, combining Haydn and Stravinsky is an obvious thing to do: “Our way of playing Haydn is influenced by Stravinsky. The influence of the classical works on each other is not linear, but circular: a musical circle.”
22:00: Into the night with Bach
The second concert this Saturday evening is part of our experimental Late Night series. In cantatas by Bach, Rattle explores existential questions about guilt, death and gratitude for what one has in life together with a top-class ensemble of singers and members of the Berliner Philharmoniker. The concert features soprano Anna Prohaska, an acclaimed regular guest of the Berlin Philharmonie.
