Livestream: Sir Simon Rattle – without audience

Programme

Henry Purcell
Funeral Music for Queen Mary

Georg Friedrich Haas
in vain

Sir Simon Rattle, Conductor

Howard Arman, Rehearsal Conductor Choir

Duncan Ward, Rehearsal Conductor Orchestra

Zoro Babel, Light design

Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

about the programme

At the end of the 17th century Henry Purcell, the organist of the Chapel Royal, was given the task of writing a funeral piece for the recently deceased young Queen Mary II, a piece capable of doing justice both to the political ramifications of this event and to the feelings of the mourning nation. Is it absurd if Sir Simon Rattle proclaims precisely this work to be a masterpiece of the 21st century, a work that pursues no other aim than to express in sound the vanity and ephemerality of existence? But there is more: Georg Friedrich Haas, with in vain, has created an extravagant, even excessive composition that adheres to no standards or norms. He leads us through day and night, through heights and depths, through extremely slow and maniacally fast soundscapes, but always inscribing a circle. Every earthly effort is doomed to failure, but what a failure it is! Experiences of lowliness and sublimity lie close together in this timeless hour. The music unites the urge to overwhelm with extreme moments of motionlessness. As in the Baroque Era, but with modern-day resources, Georg Friedrich Haas has fashioned a piece that reminds us how tiny the human being is – and how beautiful music can be.

PART OF THE MUSICA VIVA CONCERT SERIES

This concert is part of the musica viva concert series. Founded by the German composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann in 1945 in Munich, musica viva is still one of the world’s most famous events for future-oriented and contemporary music, where many experimental works and performances for orchestra and chamber music receive their premiere.

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BRSO-concerts without live audience until april 5, 2021

On February 10, 2021, the Federal Chancellor and the heads of government of the federal states decided to extend the prohibition of events until March 7, 2021, among other measures to contain the corona pandemic. The orchestra’s anticipation of being able to play in front of a live audience again after Lockdown is great. Unfortunately, it is extremely unlikely that this will be possible before Easter. Therefore the BRSO has decided not to give concerts in front of a live audience up to and including April 5 (Easter Monday).

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