On Jan. 21, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, music director François-Xavier Roth and stage director Calixto Bieito will present a semi-staged concert production of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s 1965 opera Die Soldaten at the Elbphilharmonie. This rarely heard work is a largely autobiographical account of Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz, upon whose 1776 play it was based. https://www.elbphilharmonie.de/en/whats-on/zimmermann-die-soldaten/20233
Since 1968, the London Sinfonietta has championed new music, often offering commissions. In a program called Decades on Jan. 24, the ensemble celebrates some of the pieces they’ve helped bring to fruition, including works by Oliver Knussen, Tansy Davies, Hannah Kendall, Tōru Takemitsu, and Thomas Adès. Geoffrey Paterson conducts. https://londonsinfonietta.org.uk/whats-on/decades
Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford died in 1924, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland is marking that centenary by performing some of his works throughout their season. The first Stanford 100 concert takes place Feb. 2 and features his Clarinet Concerto with soloist Carol McGonnell. Mihhail Gerts will also conduct Brahms’ Fourth Symphony. https://bit.ly/45tBrQR
Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski’s Om fotspår och ljus (Of Footprints and Light – Helsinki Variations) will receive its U.K. premiere with the London Symphony on Feb. 4. Another Finn is on the program: Jean Sibelius, whose Symphony No. 2 will be conducted by Thomas Søndergård. Leif Ove Andsnes is the soloist for Beethoven’s Fifth Piano […]
The Bavarian State Opera is creating a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame, directed by Benedict Andrews and conducted by Aziz Shokhakimov. Brandon Jovanovich stars as Hermann. The production runs Feb. 4-20. https://www.staatsoper.de/en/productions/pique-dame/2024-02-04-1800-14096
