Isabelle Faust spielt Dvořáks Violinkonzert

On July 1, 2026, Hans Werner Henze would have turned 100. As one of the most important German composers of the 20th century and founder of the Munich Biennale, he collaborated with the Munich Philharmonic on numerous occasions. With the performance of “Sebastian im Traum,” one of his last orchestral works, the orchestra pays tribute to the composer, who passed away in 2012. Inspired by the often enigmatic and visionary poems of Georg Trakl, Henze creates a floating, dreamlike soundscape in his “Salzburger Nachtmusik”—at times delicate and lyrical, at other times somber and turbulent. Isabelle Faust and Petr Popelka open the concert evening with Antonín Dvořák’s Violin Concerto. In this work, which dates from his Slavic creative period, the Czech national composer turned to the Bohemian musical tradition with particular devotion and intensity. Igor Stravinsky’s richly colored orchestral suite to “The Firebird” also bears strong references to his native folklore. With archaic folk music echoes and progressive rhythms, the Russian composer laid the foundation for his later avant-garde developments in this “breakthrough work.”

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK
Violin Concerto
HANS WERNER HENZE
“Sebastian in a Dream”
IGOR STRAVINSKY
“The Firebird”

Conductor PETR POPELKA
Violin: ISABELLE FAUST