For almost 60 years, the Landesjugendorchester Hamburg has been a fixture of Germany’s young musical talent scene. In their concert, around 80 musicians explore the tension between industrial noise and the songs of whales, between humanity’s destructive power and its harmony with nature – a reflection on our relationship with the environment, our responsibility and the hope for harmony.
Alexander Mosolov’s »Iron Foundry« transforms the world of industrial labour into a musical event: pounding rhythms, metallic colours and relentless repetitions make the machine itself the protagonist, sketching the destructive force of industrial conquest. Dmitri Shostakovich’s ballet music from »The Bolt« likewise depicts a grotesquely exaggerated world of factories and mechanised mass movement.
Set against this is music that seeks a different relationship with the world. Jean Sibelius’s »Finlandia« brings together nature, landscape and the human striving for freedom in a powerful musical awakening. In Johann Sebastian Bach’s Double Concerto, in an arrangement for accordion and violin, the solo voices meet not as rivals but as equals – a musical dialogue between Omer Meir Wellber, accordionist and music director of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, and its concertmaster, Konradin Seitzer.
Alan Hovhaness’s »And God Created Great Whales« opens up a space for a profound encounter between humanity and nature: original humpback whale songs enter into dialogue with the orchestra. Here, nature is not merely depicted but literally given a voice. The patron of the Landesjugendorchesters Hamburg is Hamburg’s First Mayor, Dr Peter Tschentscher. The ensemble is supported by the Landesmusikrat in der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg e. V. and funded by the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media.
PERFORMERS
Landesjugendorchester Hamburg orchestra
Konradin Seitzer violin
Omer Meir Wellber accordion
Johannes Witt conductor
PROGRAM
Jean Sibelius
Finlandia op. 26
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto in D minor, BWV 1060
- Interval -
Alexander Mossolow
Iron Foundry
Alan Hovhaness
And God Created Great Whales op. 229/1
Dmitri Schostakowitsch
Suite from the ballet »The Bolt« Op. 27a
Charles Ives
The Unanswered Question
