Eröffnungskonzert »Heroes! 75 Jahre Grazer Philharmoniker«

The season begins playfully and cheekily with the tone poem Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks: Richard Strauss leads us acoustically through the pranks of the shrewd anti-hero in fast-forward. The Graz Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by its chief conductor Vassilis Christopoulos, then plays its way through further emotional states with Gustav Mahler’s songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Baritone Johannes Martin Kränzle, an opera star who is sought after globally from New York to Bayreuth, creates a musical image of human life in all its facets as a no less gifted lieder singer. It is no coincidence that Beethoven’s famous Eroica is in E flat major, as the key is considered sublime and solemn. The musicians of the Graz Philharmonic have every reason to celebrate this year: the orchestra can look back on 75 years of existence and thus on three quarters of a century of musical tradition, which it is delighted to continue in this concert.