For Violinist Linda Fichtner the concert in the Small Hall on May 7 is one that you should not miss:

“In the Konzerthaus Kammerorchester, I play with colleagues who share my passion for chamber music. For all of us, this ensemble is a labor of love.

Often, many of us are also part of the Konzerthausorchester during a concert week with the chamber orchestra. Switching from the Great Hall to the Small Hall after daily rehearsals to prepare our programme in parallel requires some extra energy and time. But after every chamber orchestra concert, we know why it was worth it! 

Once again, we’re performing a fantastic programme: Three early symphonies by Joseph Haydn will take center stage—‘Le matin,’ ‘Le midi,’ and ‘Le soir’ form a little cycle. I love Haydn more and more, and I’m very excited because Michael Erxleben, my former teacher at the University of Music, will be working  with us. His teaching was more than inspiring for me, and I owe him a great deal in terms of musical education and ideas. In addition, our Artistic Director Sayako Kusaka will also be performing in this project. What a treat - two concertmasters in a chamber orchestra concert. I’m incredibly looking forward to it!“

nyone who’s ever wanted to get a glimpse into the daily life of a musician’s household should mark their calendar for a concert on May 8 at the Werner-Otto-Saal, recommends our principal timpanist Mark Voermans. That’s when he and his wife Maren (aka Schlagwerk Voermans) will perform their “Drumcom – An Evening with the Voermans” for the first time:

“‘Drum’ stands for our instruments, including the marimba, vibraphone, drums, and cymbals—in other words, plenty of percussion—and ‘Com’ stands for comedy. We’ll perform a little drama about the everyday madness that ensues when a long-married couple invites guests over for dinner. We’ve choreographed the familiar, sometimes absurd routines that arise with rhythm, wit, and timing to classical music from various eras. There’s chopping, stirring, seasoning, putting the casserole in the oven, setting the table... everyday objects are also put to use, from ladders and brooms to glasses and dish brushes. We’ve also built a bottlephone out of tuned PET bottles, for example. Scenic elements and music blend together and complement each other. I’m very excited that it’s finally getting underway, because the preparation—which director Dirk Engler guided us through—was quite a long process.“

Violist Katja Plagens is looking forward to the chamber music matinee on May 24:

“This past summer, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin became the 43rd member of the ‘Orchestras of Change’ initiative, as we, too, view ‘climate, nature, and species conservation as part of our cultural mission.’

In our first concert as part of this initiative, and in keeping with the UN’s ‘International Year of Grasslands and Pastoralism,’ we will perform works that explore the coexistence of humans and nature.

Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ was already arranged for string sextet by one of the composer’s contemporaries. Performing the symphony in this version feels a bit like having the place to ourselves: suddenly we’re playing melodies for horn, clarinet, or bassoon—and there’s no conductor standing in front of us. For Klughardt’s ‘Schilflieder,’ however, we have a true woodwind player with us in our oboist Nadine Resatsch. In between, we’ll share a bit about the initiative’s concerns and goals.”