Young Euro Classic

“O friends, no more of these sounds! Let us sing more cheerful songs, more songs of joy!” Taking Friedrich Schiller at his word, Young Euro Classic once again offers a unique platform to outstanding youth orchestras from all over the world at the Konzerthaus on Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt.

One prominent example for promoting unity in diversity is the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, which opens the festival under the baton of its principal conductor Christoph Eschenbach on August 18. Another is the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, presenting the brilliant combination of Ingo Metzmacher (conductor) and Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano) on August 31. The I, Culture Orchestra, unites musicians from Poland with their colleagues from the European Union’s Eastern Partnership, e.g. from Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The charismatic violinist Julian Rachlin appears with the orchestra under Andrey Boreyko. The Baltic Sea Philharmonic under the dynamic Kristjan Järvi dedicate themselves to the theme “Waterworks”.

Highly unusual and exciting programmes are the hallmark of the Swedish O/Modernt Kammarorkester, whose innovative director Hugo Ticciati teams up with Indian tabla player Sukhvinder Singh, offering a musical journey from Pēteris Vasks and Arvo Pärt to the Beatles and traditional Indian sounds. No less innovative is the programme of the National Youth Orchestra of Germany “Fairy-Tales and Heroes”. The extraordinary evening “Solo for Idealists” presents winners of the Fanny Mendelssohn Encouragement Award together with the German-Turkish pianist and composer Sinem Altan and her Ensemble Olivinn. At “Classic meets Jazz”, the world-famous jazz trombonist Nils Landgren encounters young musicians from Georgia.

Young Euro Classic encourages orchestras to courageously tackle innovative programmes: Ranging from Olivier Messiaen’s monumental Turangalîla Symphony on opening night to the American Philip Glass, from the Estonian Arvo Pärt to the Japanese Toshio Hosokawa which will be performed by students of the Elisabeth University of Music, Hiroshima. One counterweight for all these contemporary works is Ludwig van Beethoven’s oeuvre, In addition to his Violin Concerto and several overtures, the Symphonies Nos. 7 and 3 will be performed. National youth orchestras also form part of the programme: the excellent Orchestra Français des Jeunes as well as the Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa return and the Moldovan National Youth Orchestra makes its Young Euro Classic debut. On August 24 and 28, we cultivate our cultural friendships with Russia and Turkey.

Two orchestras are debutants at Young Euro Classic: the Asian Youth Orchestra brings together outstanding young musicians from eleven Asian countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. Young musicians from Cuba attend the Cuban-European Youth Academy and play their first concert tour outside their homeland.

Young Euro Classic 2017
August 17 - September 3, 2017
Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt, 10117 Berlin

www.young-euro-classic.de