The UdK Berlin Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mario Venzago for the first time at the Philharmonie Berlin.

Program

Benjamin Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem op. 20
Richard Strauss: Konzert für Oboe und Orchester D-Dur AV 144
Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben op. 40

Leonid Surkov, Oboe
UdK Symphony Orchestra
Michael Schønwandt, conductor 

Commissioned by Emperor Jimmu for the 2600th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Empire, the Sinfonia da Requiem op. 20 was rejected by Benjamin Britten because of its Christian titles Lacrymosa, Dies Irae and Requiem Aeternam and premiered in New York in 1941. The music takes up traditional elements in key and instrumentation, whereby the wildly chasing Dies Irae works specifically with a motif of tone colors and the last movement sounds like a sublime lullaby.
Richard Strauss' Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra in D major AV 144 and Ein Heldenleben op. 40, composed almost 50 years earlier, could hardly be more different. In op. 40, completed in 1898, Strauss used striking symphonic characters of heroism, employing Wagnerian clichés such as the nasal sounds of woodwind instruments for the voice of criticism as well as well-worn gender roles for hero and companion. The neoclassical oboe concerto premiered in Switzerland in 1946, on the other hand, is far removed from any such programmatic approach. Even if it is not explicitly political music, both works are testimonies to the before and after of Strauss' involvement in National Socialism.

Tickets without advance booking fees are available at the following times at the concert hall box office of the Berlin University of the Arts:

Concert hall box office opening hours (Hardenbergstraße/corner of Fasanenstraße)
Friday, November 14: 12:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Monday, November 17: 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.