Programme:
Tan Dun: Nine »Ode to Compassion« (commissioned composition on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor op. 125

As the conclusion of his symphonic works, Beethoven’s Ninth has taken on a special status: premiered in Vienna in 1824, its final movement included a choir and solo singers for the first time with its setting of Friedrich Schiller’s ode »To Joy«. As the anthem of the European Union, »Freude schöner Götterfunken« has long become the Leitmotiv for peace and understanding between nations – a message, which (unfortunately) couldn’t be more topical today! The National Youth Orchestra of Germany and the World Youth Choir celebrate the 200th anniversary of its first performance with a major international project: They pair Beethoven’s Symphony with a newly commissioned work by the Chinese-American composer Tan Dun, »Nine Ode to Compassion«, combining elements of classical and modern music, as well as Asian and European musical styles. In a dialogue between the Chinese poet Qu Yuan (ca. 340–278 BC) and Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) (as well as between Tan Dun and Ludwig van Beethoven), a new forward-looking light is cast on the most significant symphony in music history – for intercultural understanding and the reflection on »the beauty of humanity, the beauty of the spirit, the beauty of the earth« (Tan Dun).

Bundesjugendorchester
Iris Hendrickx Soprano
Jo-Pei Weng Alto
Xavier Moreno Tenor
Johannes Schendel Bass
World Youth Choir  
Jörn Hinnerk Andresen Conductor

Tickets: € 50 / 40 / 30 / 20 (concessions 20 %)

supported by the Nicolaus Heinrich Schilling Stiftung