Thomas Hengelbrock Balthasar Neumann Choir Balthasar Neumann Ensemble Johanna Wokalek
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THOMAS HENGELBROCK BALTHASAR NEUMANN CHOIR BALTHASAR NEUMANN ENSEMBLE JOHANNA WOKALEK 20 21 CONTENTS 08 THE BIK AND ITS ARTISTS 16 BALTHASAR NEUMANN CHOIR & ENSEMBLE 18 BEETHOVEN AT THE SHMF 19 SEASON OPENER IN DORTMUND 20 MOZART IN HAMBURG UND SALZBURG 21 RENAISSANCE IN FONTAINEBLEAU 22 BRAHMS IN BADEN-BADEN & ON TOUR 23 MASS IN B MINOR ON TOUR 21 24 MÜLLER-WIELAND IN DRESDEN 25 BEETHOVEN IN BOLOGNA / 26 ISRAEL IN EGYPT IN FONTAINEBLEAU & ON TOUR 27 FAURÉ IN BASEL 28 NOZZE DI FIGARO IN AIX-EN-PROVENCE 29 IDOMENEO IN MUNICH 30 THOMAS HENGELBROCK 42 JOHANNA WOKALEK 48 BALTHASAR NEUMANN ACADEMY 50 PARTNERS & FRIENDS 20 56 INFORMATION AND CONTACT 58 CALENDAR DEAR FRIENDS OF MUSIC, It is a particularly great pleasure to be able to present our season flyer We have developed concepts that will allow us to perform all of our to you this year! planned concerts for this season – with all of our musicians and with the That we are able to do so at all is truly not matter of course; as freelance highest possible safety for all involved – of course, provided that there artists and unsubsidized ensembles, we are among those who have are no further restrictions placed upon us. been the hardest hit economically by the global crisis of the last few months. We want to sing, we want to play! Indeed, we must! We received no financial support – either from governmental bodies For you! (since choirs apparently were not deemed worthy of assistance) or from And for ourselves. most of the institutions where we would have performed during the clo- More than ever, we all know how important music is – how it makes us sures due to the pandemic. happy, comforts us, and lifts us up. To us, music is more important than most material things. Without spiritual and emotional nourishment, there However, help was at hand, and help came from the heart: can be no shared life and no common future. • from our wonderful sponsors and patrons, who guided us We are entering our new season with confidence, despite the difficulties through these difficult months with great sympathy and love, that lie before us. Magnificent works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and • from our fantastic staff, who rose up to meet even the greatest many others await you. challenges with courage, imagination, and passionate com- mitment, and who made the seemingly impossible become And we are awaiting you, our audiences, in certitude and safety, but also possible, with joy and with the inimitable passion and experience of togetherness • from our musicians themselves, who want to sing and play which has made the Balthasar Neumann Choir and Ensemble so unique above all else, and who submitted uncomplainingly to all of the for so many years. I look forward to seeing you. difficult conditions imposed upon them, in order to be able to perform together again. Sincerely, Thomas Hengelbrock DEAR FRIENDS, DEAR MUSIC LOVERS, We are beginning our new season with confidence because, as Thomas Perhaps our greatest pleasure in the past few weeks, however, was that Hengelbrock has already described, our health and hygiene protocols our choir was also able to sing again! Freelance singers have been some allow us to make music together. Moreover, we have already been able of the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Choirs are still almost to perform live on stage! completely prevented from performing. However, we were determined We were the only orchestra invited to perform at this year’s Aix-en-Pro- to defy the virus, and in August we recorded an a cappella CD with our vence Festival, and played a concert at the Théâtre de l'Archevêché in entire choir. Here again, multiple rounds of testing, quarantine for parti- early July despite the entire festival having been cancelled. The perfor- cipants, and strict health and hygiene protocols in our hotel allowed us mance, featuring works by Mozart and Beethoven, which was also pro- to sing without social distancing, and provided optimal recording con- duced and live streamed by the ARTE television network, was our very ditions combined with high health and safety standards. first concert after the coronavirus lockdown, and an indescribably mo- ving experience. By performing numerous rounds of tests, which were Now nothing stands in our way: with our Balthasar-Neumann-Health- negative for all participants, and by implementing a strict quarantine for and-Hygiene-Protocols in place, we can carry out our program for the all involved, we were able to play together without social distancing. coming season for choir and orchestra, as originally planned, with all of The cheers for the last movement of Beethoven’s 5th symphony came our musicians. from the bottom of our hearts. What a moment of liberation! Courageous presenters and organizers are standing with us, and hel- ping us develop innovative solutions so that we can make music again as After this stirring concert, we are now more excited than ever for our new we used to, and so that we can create unique moments onstage. season, and for next summer at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. We will be in Aix for several weeks and will present not only opera productions, but We hope you will join us too. also symphonic concerts, education projects, and chamber music. We are looking forward to welcoming you. Best wishes, Christina Schonk BÜRO FÜR BI K INTERNATIONALE BÜRO FÜR INTERNATIONALE KULTURPROJEKTE KULTURPROJEKTE The Office for International Cultural Projects (BIK) implements innovative cultural projects with exclusive artists and institutions throughout the world. It is active as an artists’ agency, programming innovator, production and ar- tistic operations center, tour manager, educational institution, and research institute. The BIK has been headquartered in Freiburg im Breisgau (in southern Ger- many) since its founding by Thomas Hengelbrock 1994. The Hamburg Branch Office is mainly in charge of operational logistics. The BIK acts as manager for the Balthasar Neumann Ensembles, Thomas Hengelbrock, and Johanna Wokalek and plans and implements their pro- jects. As a platform for cooperation and networking, the BIK brings its artists together with other creatives, and produces multi-disciplinary projects, liter- ary and musical events, concerts, and tours. A further sphere of activity of the BIK is the Balthasar Neumann Academy, also founded by Thomas Hengelbrock. The Academy works extensively with various international programs in the field of music education. In addition, the BIK undertakes musicological research of diverse kinds, from developing programs, to historical investigation, to the publication of schol- arly editions in the Balthasar Neumann Edition (EBN) series. BALTHASAR BALTHASAR NEUMANN CHOIR NEUMANN ENSEMBLE The Balthasar Neumann Choir is among the most distinguished choral Founded by Thomas Hengelbrock in 1995, the Balthasar Neumann En- ensembles in the world. Founded in 1991, it was named as one of the semble is one of the world’s leading period orchestras, and is commit- “Best Choirs in the World” by Gramophone Magazine. Whether per- ted to opening up new perspectives of music from diverse eras – from forming works of the 17th century, or new music, passion and a deep the early Baroque to contemporary compositions. understanding of the repertoire are always in the foreground of the The ensemble performs regularly in Europe’s most renowned concert ensemble’s work. halls (including the Dortmund Konzerthaus, the Théâtre des Champs- The artistic excellence, the versatility, and the intensity of the Balthasar Elysées in Paris, and the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona) and Neumann Choir set international standards, and have led to invitations regularly participates in opera productions in Baden-Baden, Paris, Aix- to perform at the most renowned concerts halls and most important fes- en-Provence, and Madrid. The Balthasar Neumann Ensemble holds tivals. The choir makes regular guest appearances at the Schleswig-Hol- numerous artistic residencies throughout Europe, currently including stein Music Festival and at the Munich Opera Festival. The ensemble has in Hamburg, Freiburg, Bologna, at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the toured in China, Mexico and the U.S.A., makes regular appearances in Château Fontainebleau, and at the Festival of Aix-en-Provence. Spain, and has enjoyed great success on international opera stages from Baden-Baden to Madrid and New York. The choir has worked with the Numerous CD-recordings have been hailed as definitive, including Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” and the work of the ensemble has garnered nu- Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, the NHK Symphony Orchestra merous prestigious prizes including multiple ECHO-Klassik Awards and (Tokyo), and the Basel Symphony Orchestra, among others. Renowned the Gramophone Award. guest conductors have included Pablo Heras-Casado, Ivor Bolton, and Howard Arman. - The namesake of the ensembles is Johann Balthasar Neumann (1687–1753). The bellfounder, engineer, and architect understood art as a space where all people could freely develop and express themselves. This freedom was also a hallmark of his thought process, and can be seen in the buildings he created, which were far ahead of his time, and which left his contemporaries speechles. An essential component of his buildings is the interplay of ar chitecture, painting, sculpture, and garden design. THOMAS HENGELBROCK Thomas Hengelbrock is widely considered to be one of the most versatile Like the namesake of his ensembles, the great baroque architect Baltha- and compelling artists of his generation. His work transcends eras and sar Neumann, Thomas Hengelbrock strives to unite diverse art forms: categories, and is always the result of an intensive examination of the musical-literary-theatrical projects form another important focus of his music, as well as of the meaning and essence of the work. artistic output. As an enthusiastic and inspiring discoverer of forgotten compositions, As an opera conductor, Thomas Hengelbrock is active at opera houses Thomas Hengelbrock has dedicated himself to repertoire from early such as the Paris Opéra, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the State Opera of to contemporary music, spanning all genres.