Marek Janowski in conversation with Christian Stadelmann (15 min.)

For a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s famous Requiem in January 2017, the Berliner Philharmoniker secured the services of conductor Marek Janowski to replace the indisposed Riccardo Chailly. Janowski had already performed the work not long before with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, whose highly successful chief conductor he was from 2002 to 2016. This concert marked Janowski’s return to the Berliner Philharmoniker for the first time after an absence of more than 20 years. Christian Stadelmann, leader of the second violins in the orchestra, talks to the conductor about the religious issues raised in the requiem, the question of whether Verdi’s composition is a sacred work or rather an opera in disguise, and about the particularly moving moments of the piece.