Dresden (dpa/sn) - Marek Janowski will say goodbye as chief conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic in the coming season and would also like to be remembered with a concert performance of Wagner's "Ring des Nibelungen". For the 83-year-old, this also closes a circle, the Philharmonic announced on Friday when presenting its program. Because the concert performances of the tetralogy at the beginning of the 1980s in the Dresden Kulturpalast - at that time with the Staatskapelle Dresden - are legendary and have established his international reputation as a Wagner conductor. Performances begin on September 30th and end on October 15th.
Janowski's predecessor Michael Sanderling returns to the podium of the city's Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time in the new season. In addition, Kent Nagano, Cristian Mãcelaru, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Vasily Petrenko will conduct the orchestra. Sir Donald Runnicles, Mikko Franck and Andrew Manze make their debuts. The young conductors are represented by Elim Chan, Kerem Hasan, Joel Sandelson and Anna Sułkowska-Migoń. Among the soloists coming to Dresden are the violinists Arabella Steinbacher and Baiba Skride, the cellist Truls Mørk and his colleague Alisa Weilerstein. "Artist in Residence" is the Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi. The Frenchman Thierry Escaich is the guest of honor as "composer in residence" and at the same time palace organist.
With a new website and other offers, the Philharmonie, founded in 1870, has now fully entered the digital age. You can use your smartphone to go straight to your seat, the digital program booklet and podcasts provide information in advance about the concerts, soloists greet the audience via Instagram teaser, the "Wolfgang app" replaces the classic program booklet in some concerts for everyone who wants information want to have quickly and digitally directly in the concert.
Director Frauke Roth sees the Philharmonie in the role of a bridge builder. "Building bridges, in the broadest sense, sums up what the new season is about for us," said the director. One wants to appeal to younger people with new series and pave the way to the concert hall for all generations.
