Timo Steininger is a member of the horn quartet German Hornsound and is particularly looking forward to May 12. He and his colleagues Christoph Ess, Andrés Eloy Aragón Ayala and Stephan Schottstädt will be performing their program #hornlikes with us:

"In the orchestra, a horn section usually consists of four players and covers many registers: Upper voice, bass voice and the middle parts. I have always enjoyed playing in a well balanced horn section. Our quartet German Hornsound has many orchestral works in its repertoire that we have arranged for that four-part framework. Our programme #hornlikes follows the thread 'What we like to listen to and play'. It goes through different eras and we keep adapting it. Each of us presents one of four parts with his favourite pieces. At the end, this time we also play three our of six pieces that the audience will be able to choose."

Cellist Alexander Kahl is looking forward to the next concerts which the Konzerthausorchester and Chorwerk Ruhr will perform on May 3 and 5 under the direction of Iván Fischer. Our honorary conductor has selected a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach and works by minimalist composer Philip Glass.

"Concerts with Iván Fischer are of course always worth a recommendation. This time I'm particularly excited, because Bach and Glass - that's a juxtaposition that could hardly be more contrasting! I had my own personal Glass experience with the pianist Víkingur Ólafsson when he gave a concert with us featuring only his works. This included three etudes in an arrangement for piano and string quartet. I was allowed to play the cello and fascinated by how Glass manages to create great tension with the smallest repetitive elements. In 'Passion of Ramakrishna', Glass transfers this technique to a completely different genre and composes an oratorio. And this is also successful - despite the minimalist structure, Glass creates an exciting atmosphere through various instrumentations and unusual harmonic combinations, which is sometimes reminiscent of film music. It's allowed to start the cinema in your head!"

Mira Kontarsky works in the orchestra office and is particularly looking forward to a concert on May 10: 

"Visiting from the Academy of St Martin in the Fields always reminds me of a very nice time in London: I spent 6 months as a volunteer in their office over 20 years ago. The concert with Beethoven, Bartók and Schubert is a typical Academy program with the fantastic Julia Fischer as violin soloist. Incidentally, the chamber orchestra is currently on a very special tour because its founder, Neville Marriner, would have been 100 years old in March - thank you, Sir Neville!"

Marketing Director Martin Redlinger played saxophone in a jazz band in his youth and later studied the flute. He not only loves classical music, but all kinds of good music. His hot tip: the Brad Mehldau Trio on May 13.

"You can definitely go to this concert even if you're not a jazz aficionado. Brad Mehldau is an eclectic musician who picks out whatever he thinks is good music. Styles don't matter to him - sometimes he uses a Beatles song, sometimes he improvises more freely, sometimes he includes a Bach invention. Brad Mehldau can improvise in two or more voices, so that one has the feeling of listening to a fully composed chamber music work. How Mehldau can invent such complex structures on the spur of the moment and spin them out leaves me speechless. Added to this is the blind understanding with his fellow musicians - there is no nodding of the head for an entry or to take over the solo part, everything happens completely organically. It really borders on magic at times."

Program Director Dorothee Kalbhenn is looking forward to "Augustin Hadelich's Universe" with our Artist in Residence on May 22 in the Werner-Otto-Saal:

"Our resident artist Augustin Hadelich loves to play - not only the violin, but also complicated, large-scale strategy games to balance out his worklife. In the course of his portrait evening, he reveals why the curriculum of his violin class at Yale University always includes strategy games and what they have to do with his profession as a musician. His salon evening will feature his favourite chamber music works and personal conversations about important inspirations and his path from Italy via Germany to America. He will be joined on stage by musical companions and like-minded people, with whom he will of course also play music - and award-winning game developer Uwe Rosenberg will also be there as a special guest when Hadelich takes us into his very personal universe."