In the organizer's words:

Franz Schubert Symphony No. 7 in B minor DV 759 "Unfinished"
Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E major

Since Beethoven's Fifth, numerous works and symphonies have led through the night to the light - per aspera ad astra. Would Franz Schubert have followed a similar path if he had completed the symphony fragment in B minor, as the "Unfinished" should correctly be called? After the abysmal, dark beginning of the work, the second movement already makes its way into the light and contains passages of enraptured beauty that have shed all earthly heaviness. Bruckner's 7th Symphony takes the key of this movement, the radiant E major, as its home key, so that the symphony, metaphorically speaking, already begins in the light. The second movement then marks the zone of gloom and despair. At the end, however, this Seventh closes in glistening light.

There are many connections between Schubert and Bruckner. One obvious affinity lies in their particular flair for creating vast spaces. Especially in the case of Bruckner's Seventh, the most vocal of his symphonies, the eminent importance of cantabile in shaping the symphonic development is striking.

The two pieces are diametrically opposed in terms of their position in the respective oeuvres. The "Unfinished" is the most famous compositional fragment in music history, a futile attempt to write a great symphony, which Schubert abandoned after a few bars of the third movement. Bruckner's Seventh, on the other hand, was acclaimed at its premiere and brought the composer a late, long-awaited triumph.

With Marek Janowski, who celebrated his 85th birthday on February 18, 2024, the Dortmund Philharmonic welcomes not only one of the most distinguished conductors of our time to the podium, but also a former chief conductor. Janowski has conducted almost every orchestra of note from Berlin to Vienna and from New York to Chicago and has conducted at both the Metropolitan Opera New York and the Bayreuth Festival. As large as his conducting repertoire is, the focus of his artistic activity is on the music of German Romanticism, on works by Wagner, Brahms, Bruckner and the composers of the Schönberg school.

• Please note In the Konzerthaus, only bags and rucksacks up to the size of DIN A4 are permitted on the floors. Larger bags must be handed in at the checkroom. For safety reasons, it is also forbidden to bring booster seats for children. Instead, seat cushions are gladly issued to provide a better view for children