ACHT BRÜCKEN Lunch

The Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne enjoys building bridges between tradition and our present time in its concert programmes. Similarly, the world-class French violist and former professor at the Cologne Music Academy Antoine Tamestit commands an extraordinarily broad repertoire, ranging from the baroque era to our own days. Together, soloist and orchestra perform the final piece from Morton Feldman’s autobiographically entitled cycle »The Viola in My Life« – fragments of tender viola melodies hover over the static, subtly moving ensemble sounds so characteristic for the American composer. Then there is a completely different composer self-portrait: Richard Strauss’ tone poem »Ein Heldenleben« with its opulent orchestration. Finally, another piece of programme music with possible autobiographical features: the narrow village life evoked in the ballad »The Fiddler’s Child« was well-known to the Czech composer Leoš Janáček from his own childhood. The rehearsal, open to the public, gives a preview of this programme in all its contrasts (May 8, 11 am, May 9 and 10, 8 pm, Kölner Philharmonie).