Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Iván Fischer

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Sinfonie Nr. 5 d-Moll op. 107 („Reformations-Sinfonie“)

Pause

Richard Wagner
Auszüge aus „Götterdämmerung" („Sonnenaufgang", „Siegfrieds Rheinfahrt", „Siegfrieds Tod", „Trauermarsch" und „Brünnhildes Schlussgesang")

The Konzerthausorchester's program under the baton of honorary conductor Iván Fischer is permeated by the theme of German-Jewish identity and anti-Semitism. The program begins with Mendelssohn's “Reformation Symphony”, which he wrote in 1819/20 as the second of his five symphonies. It was not printed until around 30 years after his death, as the son of an important German-Jewish family, who was baptized at the age of seven, struggled with the work. The second half of the program is devoted to excerpts from Richard Wagner's “Götterdämmerung”: “There are many echoes of Mendelssohn in Wagner's music,” wrote musicologist Hansjörg Ewert in “ZEIT”. The composer “envied Felix Mendelssohn, who was four years his senior, for his abilities and his cosmopolitanism, but later dismissed any possible resemblance to him.” The extent to which not only personal rivalry but also Wagner's anti-Semitism played a significant role in this relationship is the subject of extensive music-historical research.