CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Staatskapelle Berlin
Daniel Barenboim's performances with the Staatskapelle Berlin mark the 60th anniversary of his Carnegie Hall debut on January 20, 1957.
Performers
Staatskapelle Berlin
Daniel Barenboim, Music Director and Conductor
Wolfram Brandl, Violin
Yulia Deyneka, Viola
Program
MOZART Sinfonia concertante in E-flat Major, K. 364
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7
Event Duration
The printed program will last approximately two hours, including one 20-minute intermission.Pre-Concert Talk
Pre-concert talk starts at 7:00 PM in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with Paul Hawkshaw, Professor in the Practice of Music History, Yale School of Music.At a Glance
Labeled by his contemporaries "the Wagner symphonist," Bruckner actually wrote symphonies that are anything but the Romantic/Wagnerian celebration of self. Instead, they are spiritual quests and homages to God, in whom he fervently believed and whom he sought to glorify in his music. "Each of his symphonies is in reality one gigantic arch that starts on earth in the midst of suffering humanity, sweeps up toward the heavens to the very Throne of Grace, and returns to earth with a message of peace," writes biographer Hans-Hubert Schönzeler.
Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin give us the unprecedented opportunity to experience all nine of these magnificent symphonies over an 11-day span—both the ones we may know well and those we rarely encounter. Tonight's concert features the Seventh Symphony, which was the most warmly received in Bruckner's lifetime and contains a magnificent Adagio movement in memory of Richard Wagner. It is accompanied by Mozart's sublimely beautiful Sinfonia concertante in E-flat Major, K. 364, for violin and viola.
Bios
Staatskapelle Berlin
With almost 450 years of tradition, the Staatskapelle Berlin is one of the oldest
orchestras in the world. Originally founded as a court orchestra by Prince-Elector Joachim
II of Brandenburg in 1570, and at first solely dedicated to carrying out musical services
for the court, the ensemble expanded its activities with the founding of the Royal Court
Opera in 1742 by Frederick the Great. Ever since, the orchestra has been closely tied to
the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.
Many important musicians have conducted the orchestra: Gaspare Spontini, Felix
Mendelssohn, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Felix Weingartner, Richard Strauss, Erich Kleiber, Wilhelm
Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan, Franz Konwitschny, and Otmar Suitner are just a few of
the conductors who have influenced the instrumental and interpretive culture of the
Staatskapelle Berlin. The works of Richard Wagner--who himself conducted the Königlich
Preußische Hofkapelle in 1844 at the premiere of Der fliegende Holländer and in
1876 during preparations for the Berlin premiere of Tristan und Isolde--have
represented a pillar of the repertoire of the Staatsoper and its orchestra for some
time.
Daniel Barenboim has served as the orchestra's general music director since 1992, and in
2000 the orchestra voted him chief conductor for life. The orchestra has received acclaim
worldwide for its performances in the great European music centers, as well as in Israel,
Japan, China, and North and South America. Highlights of recent seasons include
performances of the symphonies and piano concertos of Beethoven in Vienna, Paris, London,
New York, and Tokyo; cycles of the Schumann and Brahms symphonies; a 10-part cycle of
Wagner's stage works; a three-part performance of Wagner's Ring cycle in Japan;
and a 10-part cycle of the symphonies and orchestral songs of Mahler. Concert tours in
recent years have taken the orchestra to Bucharest, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Milan, Paris,
Madrid, Barcelona, Helsinki, Basel, Tokyo, Sendai, Osaka, Nagoya, Kawasaki, Kanazawa,
Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Shanghai.
The Staatskapelle Berlin was named Orchestra of the Year in 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, and
2008 by the journal Opernwelt, and in 2003 the orchestra was awarded the
Furtwängler Prize. The orchestra's recording of the complete Beethoven symphonies in 2002
was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque; its 2003 recording of Wagner's Tannhäuser
won a Grammy Award; and its 2007 live recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 9 was awarded an
Echo Prize. The ensemble's most recent recordings include Elgar's symphonies nos. 1 and 2,
Strauss's Four Last Songs (with Anna Netrebko) and Ein Heldenleben, and
the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius violin concertos with Lisa Batiashvili, all conducted by
Daniel Barenboim.
In the Orchesterakademie, founded in 1997, young musicians receive the opportunity to
gather professional experience in both opera and concert performance, mentored by members
of the Staatskapelle. Furthermore, many musicians volunteer at Musikkindergarten Berlin, an
initiative of Daniel Barenboim. Staatskapelle members also dedicate themselves to working
in chamber music formations as well as in the ensemble Preußens Hofmusik, which focuses
primarily on Berlin's rich musical tradition since the 18th century. Visit
staatskapelle-berlin.de for more information.
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim was born in Buenos Aires in 1942. He received his first piano lessons
from his mother at age five. Later, he studied under his father, who would remain his only
piano teacher. At the age of seven, he gave his first public concert in Buenos Aires. In
1952, he moved with his parents to Israel.
Mr. Barenboim made his international debut at age 10 with concerts in Vienna and Rome,
followed by performances in Paris in 1955, in London in 1956, and in New York in 1957 under
Leopold Stokowski. Since then, he has regularly toured Europe, the US, South America,
Australia, and the Far East.
Since making his conducting debut in 1967 in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Mr.
Barenboim has been in great demand with leading orchestras around the world. He was
principal conductor of the Orchestre de Paris from 1975 to 1989, and music director of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1991 to 2006. Upon his departure, the musicians of the
orchestra named him honorary conductor for life. Since 1992, Mr. Barenboim has been general
music director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. In 2000, the Staatskapelle Berlin
appointed him chief conductor for life. In the 2007-2008 season, Mr. Barenboim began a
close relationship with the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and between 2011 and 2014 was music
director of the famous opera house.
In 1999, Mr. Barenboim, together with Palestinian literary scholar Edward Said,
established the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. He also initiated a project for music
education in the Palestinian territories, which includes a music conservatory and a music
kindergarten. Since 2015, talented young musicians from the Middle East have studied at the
Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin, another initiative founded by Mr. Barenboim. In the fall
of 2016, this university for music and humanities--housed in the former stage depot of the
Staatsoper--started enrolling students in a four-year bachelor program. Also housed in the
same building as the academy is the Frank Gehry-designed Pierre Boulez Hall, which will
enrich Berlin's musical life beginning in March 2017.
Mr. Barenboim is the recipient of numerous awards honoring his peace efforts, and has
published a number of books. Visit danielbarenboim.com for more information.
Wolfram Brandl
Wolfram Brandl was born in Würzburg, Germany, in 1975, and began violin studies with his
father at the age of eight. As a schoolboy, he won prizes at the national Jugend musiziert
competition and was concertmaster of the Bundesjugendorchester. In Würzburg, he pursued his
studies with Max Speermann before moving to Berlin, where he studied with Uwe-Martin
Haiberg after winning a scholarship from the Jürgen Ponto Foundation.
Before becoming first concertmaster of the Staatskapelle Berlin in 2011, Mr. Brandl spent
10 years as a first violinist with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Claudio Abbado and Sir
Simon Rattle. Mr. Brandl is also the first violinist of the Scharoun Ensemble, which
consists of members of the Berliner Philharmoniker. He has appeared with the ensemble at
Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, as
well as at numerous music festivals. The Scharoun Ensemble has collaborated with composers
that have included Pierre Boulez, Krzysztof Penderecki, Heinz Holliger, Thomas Adès,
Matthias Pintscher, Brett Dean, and Jörg Widmann.
Mr. Brandl has made numerous recordings, most recently a CD released by Deutsche
Grammophon--conducted by Daniel Barenboim and featuring Anna Netrebko--on which Mr. Brandl
plays the violin solo in Strauss's Ein Heldenleben.
Yulia Deyneka
Principal violist of the Staatskapelle Berlin, Yulia Deyneka is also a versatile chamber
musician, a professor at the Barenboim-Said Academy, and a frequent soloist with various
orchestras. She has been involved with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra for more than 10
years, and the orchestra's viola section is under her tutelage. As of fall 2016, Ms.
Deyneka became a member of the Boulez Ensemble, a resident in the newly built Pierre Boulez
Hall in Berlin.
Ms. Deyneka began her studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Alexander Bobrovsky;
graduated from Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock, where she studied under Felix
Schwartz; and earned a soloist diploma from Universität der Künste Berlin under Wilfried
Strehle. Chamber music has played an intrinsic part in Ms. Deyneka's artistic development
since her childhood, and continues to be a significant feature of her professional life.
She has collaborated with artists that have included Boris Brovtsyn, Guy Braunstein, Janine
Jansen, Sergei Krylov, Vadim Repin, Denis Matsuev, and Jörg Widmann. She is also in demand
as a guest at many international chamber music festivals.
Together with Daniel Barenboim, Ms. Deyneka has performed sonatas for viola and piano, as
well as other chamber works. Ms. Deyneka considers it her artistic responsibility to pass
on her experience and musical knowledge to young musicians. She is a professor at the
Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin, and is responsible for the members of the Staatskapelle
Berlin's Orchestra Academy. In the 2016-2017 season, she makes her debut as both soloist
and chamber musician at Carnegie Hall and at the Philharmonie de Paris with the Boulez
Ensemble, performing Boulez's Dérive 2. Additional upcoming engagements include
concerts with Lisa Batiashvili, Michael Barenboim, François Leleux, and François-Xavier
Roth.