Peace, leisure, the opportunity to simply occupy oneself with music: Valery Gergiev, who understands Putin, has been gone for a while, even if the wound seems to be healing rather crookedly. The designated chief conductor Lahav Shani advocates cosmopolitan music-making. The Munich Philharmonic can devote themselves undisturbed to their season, which begins in September, under the motto “Dreams”. And although Shani will not officially take up his position until autumn 2026, he is showing his presence: at the opening concert on Wednesday, September 9th, he will lead the Philharmonic Orchestra from the piano in Bach’s D minor Concerto (BWV 1052), which is also under his direction Play Bruckner’s Ninth.
This names one of the three main topics – Anton Bruckner and his 200th birthday. As the Bruckner Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra does not miss the opportunity to celebrate and, in addition to the Ninth, also presents Bruckner’s F minor Mass (conductor: Thomas Hengelbrock) and, in October, the Eighth under Tugan Sokhiev. So they leave the less canonized works like the “zero” symphony out of the program, which artistic director Paul Müller explains with the absence of a chief conductor. As soon as Shani is there, that will change.
Presented the “Dreams” program: artistic director Paul Müller, cultural advisor Anton Biebl and solo clarinetist Alexandra Gruber.
(Photo: Munich Philharmonic)
The fact that Shani is keen to experiment is shown in his second program, which combines Unsuk Chin with Henri Dutilleux’s violin concerto “The Tree of Dreams” (soloist: Renaud Capuçon) and, with the first symphony by Paul Ben-Haim, who emigrated in 1933, ties in with what is perhaps the most important theme of the Playing time strikes: 80 years of liberation from Nazi terror. Krzysztof Urbański will conduct Henryk Górecki’s Third Symphony in spring 2025, and collaborations with Shani’s other orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, are also planned – a chamber concert and a performance of Mahler’s Sixth. Of course, the Philharmonic can also live out their passion for Mahler, including with his Fifth under Zubin Mehta.
A third focus in the year of the US election is called “American Dreams”. Guests such as John Adams, who conducts his own work, works by Charles Ives (under Barbara Hannigan) and Sarah Gibson are on the program. Paul Müller also proudly presents the soloists and conductors who are returning to Munich: Hilary Hahn, Vilde Frang, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and Giedrė Šlekytė. He is granted it, because after 16 years he will give up his office. A final program presentation that presented competence in Westphalian sobriety.