Jörg Widmann on "Tanz auf dem Vulkan" (10 min.)

In May 2018, Sir Simon Rattle performed one of his last programmes as chief conductor with the Berliner Philharmoniker which in addition to symphonies by Brahms and Witold Lutosławski also included the world premiere of Jörg Widmann’s Tanz auf dem Vulkan. The work was part of the tapas series which presented short pieces by major contemporary composers. In this introduction, Widmann himself talks about the sense of trust he felt working together with Sir Simon and the Philharmoniker, and the specific relationship between humour and seriousness which play a major role in his approximately seven-minute work. On the one hand, the title is a humorous allusion to the position of chief conductor of the Philharmoniker, while on the other, it also refers to the politically turbulent times in which we live in the 21st century.