In the organizer's words:

Hans Werner Henze was a decidedly political artist. For him, composing was not a question of style, but "research into consciousness". The Hamburg premiere of his Oratorio volgare e militare Das Floß der Medusa, dedicated to Che Guevara, failed in 1968 in the heated atmosphere of the Vietnam War, emergency laws and the assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke and - fanned by the Springer press - became a scandal.

The work refers to the sinking of the frigate Méduse in 1816, in which passengers left behind struggled for weeks to survive on a raft. In this concert, Sir Simon Rattle devotes himself to the dark, existential music of this once scandalous work.

Before the interval, Jörg Widmann will be the soloist in the world premiere of Olga Neuwirth's Zones of Blue , which was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation Music Prize in 2022.

... more about the program

Program:

Olga Neuwirth [*1968]
Zones of Blue, Rhapsody for clarinet with orchestra [2024]
world premiere

Hans Werner Henze [1926-2012]
Das Floß der Medusa, Oratorio vulgare e militare for soprano, baritone, narrator, mixed choir, nine boys' voices and orchestra [1968/1990]

Performers:

Jörg Widmann clarinet
Anna Prohaska soprano
Georg Nigl baritone
Tölzer Knabenchor
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
WDR Rundfunkchor
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Sir Simon Rattle Conductor
and more

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