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Concert of the symphony orchestra
University Orchestra plays Beethoven's 5th Symphony and Cello Concerto by Elgar
Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 85.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Symphony No. 5 in C minor, op. 67.
The symphony orchestra of the University of Kassel will hold two concerts on February 9 and 10 to mark the end of the semester. This year's program includes two works from the early and late Romantic periods. The musical director is the long-time conductor Malte Steinsiek.
Hardly any sequence of notes is as famous worldwide as the beginning of Beethoven's 5th Symphony: Ta-ta-ta-taaa! "Thus fate knocks at the gate," he himself is said to have said about the opening motif. The suction effect on the listener from the very first bars is all the more astonishing when one knows that Beethoven was already hard of hearing when he composed the work, which was first performed in 1808.
The concert evening will open with the Cello Concerto in E minor by Edward Elgar. The soloist will be Manfred Schumann, cellist in the Kassel State Orchestra.
Elgar also went through a difficult time when he wrote the piece beginning in 1917. His wife was seriously ill, he himself was in failing health, and World War 1 was raging, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Only by retreating to the country house in Sussex does the composer find the strength to work at all. Thus, the melancholy tone of the deeply emotional, even tender music, which is in complete contrast to his pompous and exuberant orchestral music of the first creative period, is not surprising. Wistfulness and farewell resonate in the solo concerto, as if Elgar had suspected that it would remain his last great work.
Admission: 12 euros, 6 euros reduced.
Advance booking: Bauer & Hieber (Ständeplatz 13, Kassel) or by telephone 0561 499 79 77.
About the soloist: Manfred Schumann, born in 1968, has been a member of the Kassel State Orchestra for almost 25 years and, in addition to his work there, is involved in a variety of chamber music activities - including the piano trio Amethyst and the ensemble for early music Consortium Casselanum. He has performed several times as a soloist with the Kassel University Orchestra, most recently in 2016 in the Cello Concerto by Antonin Dvorak.
About the conductor: Malte Steinsiek, born in 1966 in Gütersloh, has conducted the University of Kassel Symphony Orchestra since 1997, and is also the longtime artistic director of the Westphalian Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Gütersloh. In his concert programs, Steinsiek likes to devote himself to lesser-known composers or compositions. His musical openness and versatility can also be expressed in figures: he has conducted over 300 orchestral works by almost 150 composers from the Baroque to the present day.
About the orchestra: The University of Kassel Symphony Orchestra celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2017. It is composed primarily of students, alumni and faculty from the various departments. In weekly rehearsals and two additional rehearsal weekends per semester, the musicians develop challenging programs that they perform at the end of the semester.