Vadim Repin and Eivind Gullberg Jensen

Gullberg Jensen, chief conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, made his first appearance at the conductor’s stand with the Berliner Philharmoniker in this concert. A particular challenge of this concert was the wide-ranging expressive spectrum of the evening’s programme. Sofia Gubaidulina’s Offertorium is – notwithstanding several electrifying passages for the soloist – a contemplative work which both conceptually and thematically looks back to Bach’s The Musical Offering. Sibelius’s First Symphony is, on the other hand, a work of unrestrained emotion, with Scandinavian colours merging with Tchaikovsky-inspired expressiveness.