Britten’s “War Requiem” with the National Youth Orchestra of Germany
The National Youth Orchestra of Germany, whose patron the Berliner Philharmoniker became in 2013, consists of highly gifted young musicians between the ages of 14 and 19. In this concert, the orchestra, together with the Orchestre Français des Jeunes, presents Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem – a powerful, poignant plea for international understanding which in this performance is expressed by soloists and choirs from Germany, England, France, Poland and Belgium.
Exactly a decade ago, the Berliner Philharmoniker made it their mission to regularly invite some of the best youth orchestras from around the world to Berlin. This includes the National Youth Orchestra of Germany. The professional training to become a professional musician still lies ahead for its members – if they decide to do so at all, for the intention to take up a career as a musician is by no means a prerequisite for admission to the orchestra. High technical ability, a love of music, and the desire to be a team player are sufficient to become a part of an orchestra which Sir Simon Rattle described in their guestbook in 2015 as follows: “You are sensationally good!”
But this is not the only reason you should not miss any of the Berlin guest performances by the National Youth Orchestra of Germany: due to the strict age limits, the members of this orchestra, which delights audiences with its infectiously vital performances, change constantly – so each of its concerts is in both senses a “unique” experience. The programme for this concert includes Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, premiered in 1962, a unique work in the history of 20th century music: written for three vocalists, a boy’s choir, a mixed chorus, a chamber orchestra and a symphony orchestra, it is nothing less than a highly complex and immediately poignant musical contribution to the European idea of international understanding – and who better to represent this than an orchestra of young musicians supported by an internationally acclaimed trio of vocalists?
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