Leipzig (dpa/sn) - After a long break due to the pandemic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus wants to send its orchestra on trips again. "The Asian and European tours are finally taking us out into the world again," said Gewandhaus director Andreas Schulz at the presentation of the new program for the 2023/2024 season in Leipzig on Monday. This should also carry the good reputation of the music city of Leipzig to other countries. A total of 233 events are planned for what is now the 243rd season. The in-house orchestra played 70 of these concerts, and on numerous other evenings the Gewandhaus wanted to welcome guests from outside.
Thomas Adés, born in England in 1961, will also begin his time as a Gewandhaus composer for the new season, which is to be opened by conductor Herbert Blomstedt on September 8th. He will stay in Leipzig for two seasons and is already working on a play that is to be premiered in the trade fair city the season after next. However, he is already familiar with the Gewandhaus stage: Adés made his debut as a conductor with the Gewandhaushaus Orchestra in 2019.
In the 243rd season, a special focus should be on Carl Reinecke (1824-1920), who was Kapellmeister in Leipzig for 35 years. The current Kapellmeister Andris Nelsons will also focus on the works of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847) and Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) in the next season. "Of course we play Mendelssohn every year - he's part of the DNA here. But now we want to play him more compressed and deeper." Both composers connect not only the power in their works but also the intimacy that can be found in their music, said Nelsons. The focus continues a long tradition of performing the works of both composers.
