Philippe Herreweghe conducts Beethoven and Eisler

International Arts Centre – De Singel, Antwerpen, Belgien
musical performance
Orchestre des Champs-ÉlyséesCollegium Vocale Gent
musical director
Philippe Herreweghe
soprano
Eleanor Lyons
alto
Sophie Harmsen
tenor
Ilker Arcayürek
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A pamphlet against the madness of war. A programme cannot be much clearer than that. Gegen den Krieg by Hanns Eisler, written during WWI, consists of 24 variations for choir, all set to poems, by his good friend Bertolt Brecht. Philippe Herreweghe links this music to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. This iconic work is also brimming with extramusical meaning. In the finale of his Ninth, Beethoven set part of Friedrich Schiller’s famous Ode to Joy to music. The melody, simple in origin, was developed by Beethoven with increasing complexity, culminating in the famous finale. He was thus able to express the message of human redemption in Schiller’s ode. ‚Alle Menschen werden Brüder!‘ [All people shall be brothers!]. A call for unity that resonates through history as an echo from the past.
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introduction Mark Delaere / 19:15 / Blue Bar

thu 20 mar 2025 – 20:00
Blauwe zaal

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