Programme Guide

At the beginning of the 1970s Herbert von Karajan invited the young Mariss Jansons to come to Berlin to be his assistant but the Soviet authorities would not permit it – a “terrible disappointment” for Jansons. In the meantime, the Cold War is over and the Latvian conductor is now a regular and much valued guest with the Berliner Philharmoniker. In this concert, he conducts Verdi’s Messa da Requiem.

Probably nowhere else do the worlds of the opera house and the concert hall overlap more seamlessly than in this Requiem – the melos, fury and sentiment of Italian music theatre are refined with all the means of symphonic choral and orchestral sound. At the time of its premiere, this concept irritated some, yet even Brahms – not exactly a fan of Verdi – opined: “Only a genius could write such a work.”

For this performance the solo parts were taken by four outstanding young opera singers. They were joined by the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks – a “deluxe ensemble” (New York Times), of which Jansons has been the principal conductor since 2003.