It is well known that the halls of Casals Forum do offer excellent conditions for playing and hearing chamber music. But they are at least equally suited for the sound of symphony orchestras: The best opportunity to experience rich orchestra sound at Casals Forum will be during Kronberg Festival between September 20th and October 3rd, 2024, when numerous ensembles and soloists will gather at Kronberg to achieve the most fulfilling musical experiences – from Symphony Orchestra to BigBand, every style of music is included.
With two concerts, Hamburg-based „Ensemble Resonanz“ will open Kronberg Festival on September 20th. Along with its „Principal Guest Conductor“ Riccardo Minasi the ensemble presents Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts “Sinfonia concertante” with young solists Stella Chen and Matthew Lipman as well as Mozarts lively “Prague” Symphony, which tells a tale of the “Golden City's” beauties. In the second concert of the day, Jean-Guihen Queyras explores the cello concerto in C major by little known Beethoven contemporary Anton Kraft and Ensemble Resonanz takes you back to the time of French revolution with Ludwig van Beethovens boundary-breaking 3rd symphony, „Eroica“, in the conception of which Beethoven probably had in mind Napoleon as its protagonist and hero.
The sparks are literally sprawling when on 28th and 29th September, prestigious and excellent Chamber Orchestra of Europe will appear at Casals Forum, performing Beethoven's lyrical 4th piano concerto with Grand Seigneur of the piano András Schiff, who will also present Bethovens dark-shadowing piano sonata No 17 in D minor, inspired by Shakespeare's theatre work “the tempest”. COE will also play Bach's 2nd Orchestra suite in B minor, including the famous „Badinerie“, and Felix Mendelssohn's violin concerto in E minor with soloist Stephen Waarts, alumnus and long-time fellow of Kronberg Academy. Dark passions will be ignited in Mendelssohn's „Scottish“ symphony, setting into music the width and roughness of Scottish landscape, and the probably best-loved piano concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach (No 1 in D minor), again with András Schiff at the piano.
In the two closing concerts of the festival on 3rd October with Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, whose 200th birthday the music world is celebrating in 2024, is honored with a performance of his well-known tone-poem “Moldova”. Also on the program: Peter Tchaikovsky's „Rokoko variations“ with cellist Jaemin Han and Max Bruch's 1st violin concerto with soloist Guido Sant’Anna – recipient of the prestigious “Lotto Promotional Prize” at Rheingau Musik Festival 2024.
Not only music but also
Zudem werden beim Kronberg Festival spannende Einblicke in die Hintergründe großer Musikwerke geboten: So etwa bei dem Vortrag „Dvořáks Cellokonzert“ mit Dr. Annette Oppermann vom G. Henle Verlag, der am Mittwoch, 25.09., 14:00-14:45 Uhr im Carl-Bechstein-Saal des Casals Forums stattfinden wird (Vortrag in englischer Sprache). which will be presented in English language.
Im Jahr 2024 hat die Kronberg Academy ihr Festival unter das Motto „Weitergabe des Feuers“ gestellt. Folgend dem bekannten Sinnspruch „Tradition ist nicht die Anbetung der Asche, sondern die Weitergabe des Feuers“, möchte die Akademie bei diesem Festival ein Podium bieten, Feuer und Flamme weiterzugeben: Zwischen den Musikern auf der Bühne, von Alt zu Jung beim Unterricht in den Meisterkursen und natürlich von den auftretenden Künstlern ans Publikum.
Alle oben genannten Konzerte finden im Großen Saal des Casals Forums statt. Das vollständige Programm findet sich auf www.kronbergacademy.de. Der Vorverkauf hat bereits begonnen. Karten sind über die Webseite der Kronberg Academy, per Telefon unter 06173 - 783377 oder Mail unter karten@kronbergacademy.de sowie im Kartenbüro, Beethovenplatz 1, 61476 Kronberg im Taunus zu erwerben.
Full press release can be downloaded here.