Winter Concerts with Stuttgart Philharmonic

This winter, Dan Ettinger leads the Stuttgart Philharmonic in four dynamic programs featuring highly regarded orchestral repertoire by Liszt, Brahms, Strauss, and more.

On January 28, the orchestra will pair with pianist Andy Feldbau for Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, a highly demanding work for solo piano and orchestra. The program will also include Liszt’s Eine Faust-Sinfonie in drei Charakterbildern (A Faust Symphony in Three Character Pictures), a programmatic symphony based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous novel Faust, which will feature tenor Martin Muehle Tenor and the figure humaine kammerchor.

The program of the concert on February 3 will include Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante for Cello and Orchestra, showcasing the breathtaking virtuosity of cellist Alexey Stadler. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade will also be played, a vibrant and colorful symphonic suite that evokes the exotic tales of the Arabian Nights.

Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major and Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra are programmed for the evening of February 28. Featuring violinist Shlomo Mintz, Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major is a lyrical and technically demanding work that has become a staple of the violin repertoire, while Also sprach Zarathustra is a tone poem inspired by the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche that features a powerful and iconic opening fanfare.

On March 8, the soprano Ricarda Merbeth will join the orchestra for “The Dance of the Seven Veils” and the final scene from Richard Strauss’ Salome. The evocative opera, based on the Oscar Wilde play of the same name, is a controversial and sensuous depiction of the biblical story featuring some of Strauss’ most dramatic vocal and orchestral writing.  Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique will also be performed by the orchestra, a programmatic work that vividly depicts the emotional journey of an artist consumed by unrequited love.