Music in springtime

In the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, one of Europe's most beautiful concert halls with a rich tradition, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin (German Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, or "DSO") and principal conductor Ingo Metzmacher performed the last two concerts of a much noted tour of Europe in the first part of 2010, leading the orchestra to six European cities, including Brussels (where they performed in the Beaux Arts Palace) and Warsaw.

The Warsaw concerts were part of the 14th annual Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival. Both appearances, in Brussels and in Warsaw, were presented by Deutsche Welle. The programs included masterpieces of the orchestral repertory from the early 20th century: the Symphony No. 7 by Gustav Mahler and Igor Stravinsky's complete music to the ballet "The Firebird." The soloist in Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 was Kirill Gerstein, born in Russia. Making his home part time in Germany, Gerstein is a professor at the Stuttgart Music Academy.

The DSO was in top form at the concerts. Both scores, by Mahler and Stravinsky, specify a full-scale orchestra, and both were rendered with great intensity and verve in sumptuous sound textures, including great extremes ranging from brash to soft.

Mahler's Symphony No. 7, composed at Lake Woerther in Austria in the summer months of 1904 and 1905, includes moments ranging from deep desperation to sublime calm. "The musician," wrote Mahler, "is like a sleepwalker. He doesn’t know the path he is following, but he moves in the direction of the faraway light - whether it be an eternally beaming star or a seductive ghost light!"

Stravinsky first arrived in Paris as a 28-year-old to be present at the world premiere of his first ballet "L'oiseau de feu"” (The Firebird). The initial version of the commissioned work originated in the years 1909 and 1910 as a ballet in two scenes. The literary basis was two Russian fairy tales about a "good firebird" and the "immortal Emperor Kashchei." Two years after the premiere, Stravinsky compiled the first version into an orchestral suite. In Warsaw, the DSO played the complete ballet music.

Concerts in Warsaw

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7 in E Minor

played by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, Ingo Metzmacher conducting

Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat Minor

Franz Schubert / Franz Liszt: Erlkoenig (King of the Elves), encore

played by the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, Ingo Metzmacher conducting

Kirill Gerstein (piano)

Concert in Brussels

Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird (complete ballet music)

played by the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, Ingo Metzmacher conducting