Munich Philharmonic: Wagner / Strauss / BartókThomas Guggeis (conductor), Asmik Grigorian (soprano)

Please note:

Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian makes her debut with the Munich Philharmonic on 26 and 27 April. She is standing in for Anja Harteros, who unfortunately had to cancel her participation in the concerts for personal reasons. In addition to the “Four Last Songs” by Richard Strauss, Asmik Grigorian will also interpret the “Liebestod” from Richard Wagner’s opera “Tristan und Isolde” in the Isar Philharmonic.

• Asmik Grigorian, soprano
• Thomas Guggeis, conductor

The prelude to Wagner’s epic opera Tristan und Isolde begins with the most famous chord in opera history, the infamous “Tristan chord” – a dissonant harmony that, like a primordial cell, influenced all of modern music. It also left its mark on Richard Strauss, be it as a composer of operas or as the creator of more than 42 orchestral songs.

Béla Bartók, the progenitor of Hungarian modernism, struggled to gain a foothold in American exile. His “Concerto for Orchestra” describes his inner conflict between the Old and New Worlds. The conductor is Thomas Guggeis, who hails from Bavaria and is Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Berlin since 2020. He will take over as Generalmusikdirektor of the Frankfurt Opera for the 2023/24 season.

Programme

• Richard Wagner: Prelude an “Liebestod” from “Tristan und Isolde”
• Richard Strauss: Selected orchestral songs
  • “Allerseelen”, Op 10/8
  • “Die heiligen drei Könige aus dem Morgenland”, Op 56/6
  • “Waldseligkeit”, Op 49/1
  • “Meinem Kinde”, Op 37/3
  • “Morgen”, Op 27/4
  • “Zuneigung”, Op 10/1
  • “Ruhe, meine Seele”, Op 27/1
• Richard Strauss: „Vier letzten Lieder”
• Béla Bartók: Concerto for orchestra, Sz 116