KONZERTHAUS DORTMUND - Raphael von Hoensbroech: My Top Five
Raphael von Hoensbroech, the Artistic Director of KONZERTHAUS DORTMUND, has compiled five of his favourite music works and reveals why he is so fascinated by each of these compositions.
Read more…Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 KV 488 – Mitsuko Uchida & Cleveland Orchestra
Within the inexhaustible cosmos of the piano concertos by Mozart, I actually have a favorite movement: the Adagio from No. 23. Of course, I’ve chosen the recording of Mitsuko Uchida, who conducts the Cleveland Orchestra from the piano. The Mozart-expert has always delighted us with these concerts in our concert hall over the past (and hopefully also the next) few years.
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 29 op. 106 »Hammerklavier Sonata« – Grigory Sokolov
Beethoven left us with an equally incredible piano cosmos. Here as well, it is a slow movement that always moves me deeply: the Adagio sostenuto of the »Hammerklavier Sonata«. I have seldom heard in his live recordings quite how Grigory Sokolov lived and suffered, and then transferred it into the final fugue.
Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Octet op. 20 – Antje Weithaas, Isabelle Faust, Lisa Batiashvili (among others)
Mendelssohn’s youthful octet, which he wrote at the age of 16, comes from a completely different angle, and radiates a firework of musical pleasure. I used to dabble in it on the third violin! A better listen though is the all-star recording that includes, amongst others: Antje Weithaas, the Tetzlaff siblings, Isabelle Faust, and Lisa Batiashvili – all welcome (and already invited again) guests on our concert hall stage.
Tchaikovsky: »Romeo and Juliet« Fantasy Overture – Iván Fischer & Budapest Festival Orchestra
All of life in all its drama and beauty can be found in Tchaikovsky’s »Romeo and Juliet« fantasy. For me, this is an absolute goose-bump composition, most recently performed in KONZERTHAUS DORTMUND at the season opening with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under direction of the young conductor Elim Chan. I recommend the recording with Iván Fischer, whom I very much admire, with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, whose concert on May 16th we had to cancel.
Bach: Mass in B minor BWV 232 – Raphaël Pichon & Ensemble Pygmalion
I can’t avoid closing with Bach. For me ultimately, it is the beginning and end of all music, like Max Reger once said. And to me, his music feels like an inner cleansing or restructuring – a good thing in these times. His Mass in B minor contains everything that I appreciate about Bach’s music – it is not for nothing that it is often described as his opus summum et ultimum. I would like to introduce you to a conductor of the youngest generation, Raphaël Pichon with his Ensemble Pygmalion. To me they are so extraordinary that I invited them for the next season: the highest quality is combined with the deepest understanding of the content of this spiritual work.