Musical works that raise questions, reveal secrets and may not provide answers, but open the heart with their intensity. A concert programme that is not least about doubt and searching, but above all about the joy of being able to ask questions – this is what the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra presents in its last concert before Christmas.
The concert opens with Charles Ives’ visionary work »The Unanswered Question«, in which a lonely trumpet poses its questions to the room while strings and woodwinds lose themselves in different dimensions. A piece that has been regarded as a musical metaphor for the search for meaning since its creation. This is followed by Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade after Plato’s »Symposium«, a passionate musical exploration of the great ideas about love. The demanding solo part is performed by violinist Josef Špaček, a welcome guest with the symphony orchestra and celebrated for his flawless technique and expressive playing.
The concert concludes with Edward Elgar’s famous »Enigma Variations« – a work full of personal dedications, hidden messages and orchestral splendour. Between British humour and deeply felt introspection, the music unfolds, preserving its mysteries while touching the listener directly. Under their former principal conductor Jeffrey Tate, who died in 2017, the symphony orchestra regularly devoted itself to music from the United Kingdom – a tradition they are happy to continue today. British conductor Adam Hickox, who combines analytical clarity with passionate energy in his interpretations, makes his concert debut with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra with this multi-layered programme.
PERFORMERS
Symphoniker Hamburg orchestra
Josef Špaček violin
Adam Hickox conductor
PROGRAM
Charles Ives
The Unanswered Question
Leonard Bernstein
Serenade nach Platons »Symposion«
Edward Elgar
Enigma Variations, Op. 36
