A Midsummer Night’s Dream in December

One highlight chases the other: This week Ivor Bolton will be in Basel performing Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream starring the German actress Johanna Wokalek and Beethoven's Concerto for Violin op. 61 with Frank Peter Zimmermann.

Feilx Mendelssohn composed the incidental music for William Shakespeare's play to a commission from King Frederick William IV of Prussia. It was first peformed in October 1843 in Potsdam in a production of Ludwig Tieck.Nowadays the music in its entirety is only rarely performed. The staging of Katrin Hammerl with the Sinfonieorchester Basel also uses the text intermezzi by the Austrian author Franzobel.

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New CD out NOW!

Sinfonieorchester Basel Sophia Burgos, soprano Benjamin Appl, baritone Daniel Ottensamer, clarinet Ivor Bolton, conductor

"On their new CD the Sinfonieorchester Basel plays Luciano Berio's arrangements ranging from Bach to Mahler under the baton of Ivor Bolton. A special feature is the bonus CD featuring the first recording of Berio's Beatles songs.

The Italian composer Luciano Berio is known for his experimental compositions and as a pioneer of electronic music. With his dazzling oeuvre he is one of the central characters of music of the 20th century."

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Residency: Ivor and the Dresden Festival Orchestra in Essen

This weekend Ivor Bolton will continue his series of concerts as Artist in Residence at the Philharmonie Essen.

This time he will present the Dresden Festival Orchestra, whose chief conductor he is since the foundation 2012. Declared aim of the orchestra is to revive the sound of the past with instruments of the period of origin of the works, a fine sense for authentic interpretation and - of course - joy of playing.

Dresden Festival Orchestra Martin Helmchen, piano 23.11.2019 Philharmonie Essen

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: »The Hebrides«. Concert...

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Ivor Bolton Triumphs as Handel-Connoisseur

“How should Ivor Bolton start his residency at the Philharmonie Essen in a better way than with Georg Friedrich Händel? Already 25 years ago he celebrated triumphs with Handel’s operas at the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich.” (Westdeutsche Allgemeine WAZ, 5.11.2019)   “Händel dedicated himself twice to St. Cecilia: 1739 in the Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day and 1736 Alexander’s Feast. (…) In Essen the Concerto Köln, ChorWerk Ruhr, three soloists and Ivor Bolton did so. And how! All of them proved in an utmost appealing way to be profound ambassadors of Cecilia so that listening was an immense joy from the...

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Händel with Concerto Köln

Ivor Bolton turns to one of his special fields: the music of Georg Friedrich Händel.

Together with the Concerto Köln he will open the season as Artist in Residence at the Philiharmonie Essen and present the Ode for St. Cecilia's Day HWV 76 and Alexander's Feast or the Power of Music HWV 75. Both works have already been performend together by Händel and treat the same topic: the praise St. Cecilia, patroness of music.

Concerto Köln Emöke Barath, soprano Allan Clayton, tenor Andreas Wolf, bass ChorWerk Ruhr

Georg Friedrich Händel - "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day", HWV 76 Georg...

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