On Tour: Turin

Turin, Auditorium Giovanni Agnelli
15:00 Uhr

Off to Italy: Once more, we leave our home port of Bamberg by the Regnitz River and travel to Milan and Turin with our Chief Conductor and the pianist Lukas Sternath. We bring with us a programme devoted entirely to Brahms: works that were written while the composer was, himself, on the move. For the moody loner often enjoyed spending the summer months in idyllic vacation spots – perhaps to somehow escape the shadow in Vienna that felt all too overwhelming to him: with Beethoven, he »always felt a giant marching behind him.« Brahms particularly loved taking long walks in the mountains or by the water in the early morning hours, allowing him to compose in a relaxed state afterwards. Indeed, in 1881 the beauties of Italy inspired him to start sketching his Second Piano Concerto, which he completed shortly after during a stay in the Vienna Woods. The audiences and critics were already enthusiastic at the very first performances. Eduard Hanslick, for example, called it a »gem of concert literature«. It is a piece with lyrical moments of tranquillity as well as exuberant virtuosity. Brahms then found inspiration for his Third Symphony during a holiday in Wiesbaden and the surrounding countryside in 1883 – although there was even speculation as to whether something had been »literally eavesdropped on from an Alpine yodeller« in another region. This diverse work earned him great success: the conductor Hans Richard described the symphony in a toast, referring to Beethoven, as a second »Eroica« – and Clara Schumann, deeply moved, raved about what she called its »mysterious magic«.

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Lukas Sternath Piano

Johannes Brahms Symphonie Nr. 3 F-Dur op. 90
Johannes Brahms Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 2 B-Dur op. 83