Principal trombone player Helge von Niswandt recommends to enhance the pre-Christmas cheer with our traditional December concert featuring Konzerthaus Brass Berlin – this year on December 5, featuring a transatlantic swinging Christmast in a quintet lineup.

“Not only does the USA produce many outstanding brass ensembles, it also produces many original compositions of Christmas music for these ensembles. We wanted to give this music its own concert and combine it with arrangements of European music from the USA, such as Luther Henderson's jazz arrangement ‘Well Tampered Bach’. German Ingo Luis, on the other hand, has arranged German Christmas carols in swing or Latin versions. The concert is rounded off with a few ‘relaxed’ works of American modernism.”

Principal trumpeter Peter Dörpinghaus’s is looking forward to the Konzerthaus Kammerorchester concert on December 11, in which he will perform as a soloist alongside our other principal trumpeter, Sören Linke:

“Every season, the Konzerthaus Kammerorchester invites principal wind or brass players from the orchestra to perform as soloists at one of its concerts. This time, the concert takes place during Advent, so the trumpet is naturally a perfect fit. We will be playing a work for two trumpets and strings by Petronio Franceschini, an Italian Baroque composer. It is very festive, but also quite virtuosic.

Among other works, the Kammerorchester has chosen Igor Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite for this evening. There, the only trumpet, which has quite some prominent parts, will be played by my fellow principal Sören Linke. 

We are always glad when we have the opportunity to play with our Kammerorchester. I have known Tobias Feldmann, who will be our guest concertmaster, since we played together in the German National Youth Orchestra. It is always particularly enjoyable to make music with close friends. It's also a great challenge to stand in front of the orchestra for once instead of sitting behind it.”

Our principal harpist Ronith Mues recommends a concert by her harpist colleague Xavier de Maistre with the Festival Strings Lucerne on December 15:

“The tranquil sound of the harp resonates with the shared desire of many people during Advent to reflect on the past year. This does not necessarily involve imagining a sky full of harp-playing angels. In the West, this is a time for contemplation, whether you are Christian or not. 

Xavier is an outstanding harpist who enjoys expanding the repertoire of our instrument with various artists such as castanet player Lucero Tena and tenor Rolando Villazón. In this concert, he plays works by Boïeldieu and Handel, which are among the classics for the harp. The Handel concerto in particular is one we encounter time and again in our harpist lives. But when we play it, we have the freedom to choose individual embellishments, as was customary in the Baroque era. Handel wrote it for both harp and organ. This may have inspired the arrangement of the second Handel concerto on the programme, which was originally an organ concerto.”

Elisa Beck is our new dramaturge for the Junge Konzerthaus and has a highly entertaining seasonal tip for the whole family on December 20:

“I'm especially looking forward to the family concert at Christmas because for me, it's my first big one of that kind here at the Konzerthaus. Conductor Tom Seligman has once again put together a very entertaining program—I can already reveal that it won't just be Christmassy: there will be a snowball fight in the hall, we'll be having a blast with the orchestra on stage—and maybe the audience will even conduct... In any case: have fun!”