Concerto Brandenburg Foto: Peter Theis New Year's Eve Concert in Kaiser‐Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin: Concerto Brandenburg
Berlin, Kaiser‐Wilhelm‐Gedächtniskirche — Main Hall
About the Event
The New Year's Eve 2024 concert by Concerto Brandenburg at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is dedicated entirely to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. And so this year's motto is: All Mozart!
The program, conducted by Christian‐Friedrich Dallmann, includes the first movement of Symphony No. 33 in B‐flat major (KV 319) and the popular Symphony No. 40 in G minor (KV 550). In addition, the traditional New Year's Eve gala concert at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church offers three solo highlights. The young Austrian soprano Lea Bodner will sing the arias 'Excultate Jubilate' from the motet of the same name for soprano and orchestra (KV 165) and 'Et incarnatus est' from the Credo of the Great Mass in C minor (KV 427). Sebastian Heindl, organist and cantor at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church since March 2023, will also be featured. He will play one of Mozart's most popular pieces on the fortepiano: the Rondo Concertante in D major (KV 382) for piano and orchestra.
Soloist:
Soprano Lea Bodner began her diploma studies in singing at the Tyrolean State Conservatory with Maria Erlacher‐Forster in 2015. She also completed a bachelor's degree in singing in cooperation with the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and successfully completed both studies in Innsbruck and Vienna.
Among other things, she is passionate about early music. That is why Lea is studying for a master's degree in historical performance practice with Michael Schade at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
At the same time, she began the bachelor's degree program in instrumental and vocal pedagogy a year and a half ago. As part of this, the soprano is taking voice lessons with Tanya Aspelmeier.
She has received further musical inspiration from masterclasses with Edita Gruberová, Emma Kirkby, Juliane Banse and Margreet Honig. In addition, the soprano was awarded a scholarship by the Richard Wagner Association in Bayreuth in 2018.
The singer presents herself in a versatile way, both in concert and in the field of church music. For example, in June 2024 Lea performed together with Ulrike Hofbauer and other soloists as part of a concert series of Monteverdi's Vespers in Salzburg and Upper Austria. In addition, she has been working as a vocal pedagogue at the Musikschulwerk Tirol since June 2023.
Soloist:
Sebastian Heindl has been organist and cantor at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin since March 2023. He plays the Schuke organ of the Memorial Church in church services and concerts, conducts the chamber choir “Ensemble Memoria”, which he founded, and is responsible for the entire church music program at the Memorial Church.
Sebastian Heindl was born in Gera in 1997 and received musical training as a child and teenager in the St. Thomas's Boys Choir in Leipzig. He then studied church music at the Leipzig University of Music with Prof. Martin Schmeding and Prof. Thomas Lennartz.
His musical influences range from classical music to punk, prog rock like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and techno. He has attracted a great deal of attention through his success in international competitions. In 2019, he was the youngest finalist to win the Longwood Gardens Organ Competition in the United States, which is considered one of the most prestigious organ competitions worldwide.
In the 2023/2024 season, Sebastian Heindl is nominated as a “Rising Star” — an initiative of the European Concert Hall Organization (ECHO), in which the major concert halls of the continent have joined forces to shape the future of the music world. Since 1995, they have been selecting the best young artists every year to send them on tour across Europe.
Orchestra:
Concerto Brandenburg was founded in Berlin in 1998. Its repertoire includes music from the Baroque to the Romantic period with a focus on works by Baroque composers of the Berlin School, whose revival the ensemble is particularly dedicated to.
In addition to technical virtuosity, the interpretations in the sense of historical performance practice achieve a special sensitivity for the character of the musical work and an approach to authentic sound experiences that is now highly valued by wide circles of music connoisseurs. The choice of instruments, bows and strings and the use of historical tunings are just as important as the knowledge gained from the study of music theory sources, original manuscripts and printed music. The tonal results are convincing — they inspire both musicians and listeners.
Changing instrumentations adapted to the literature are characteristic of Concerto Brandenburg: following the individuality of the musical work, the performance varies from quartet to various chamber music and baroque orchestral instrumentations — with a colorful continuo group typical of the time in the instrumentation of cello, bassoon, double bass, lute and harpsichord — to a large romantic orchestra. Concerto Brandenburg works with renowned performers such as Christine Schornsheim, Ludger Remy, Alexander Bader and Doerthe Maria Sandmann. Conductors in recent years have included Jörg‐Peter Weigle, Christoph Stöcker, Florian Merz and Christian‐Friedrich Dallmann. The CD recording 'Prussian Baroque' with works by Friedrich II, J. J. Quantz, Christoph Schaffrath, C. H. Graun and C. P. E. Bach.
Practical Information
There will be 2 concerts on New Year's Eve. At 3:30 pm and at 8:00 pm. Please select your time in the ticket box.
Cast / Production
Concerto Brandenburg on historical instruments
Lea Bodner, soprano
Sebastian Heindl, fortepiano
Christian‐Friedrich Dallmann, artistic director
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is a Protestant church affiliated with the regional congregation of the German Evangelical church. Located in Berlin on the famous Kurfurstendamm ,the remaining spire of the old church, damaged in World War II is a well-known landmark of West Berlin, nicknamed the 'Hollow Tooth' by Berliners. The current church, and chapel tower, built in the early 1960s, are sometimes called 'the lipstick and the powder compact' for their respective shapes, and are notable for their extensive use of stained glass. The damaged remnants of the 1890s church were not lost, but have been collected into a memorial hall on the ground floor of the church as a reminder of past events.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Perhaps the most important composer of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer of the late 18th century. Born in 1756 in Salzburg, he showed prodigious musical talent from childhood. Beginning at five years of age, he composed more than 600 works, including concertos, symphonies, religious works and operas before his premature death at the age of 35. Hi influence over successive generations cannot be overestated - Ludwig van Beethoven wrote of Mozart "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years”. Despite the immense success of his compositions, and the acclaim he received across Europe, Mozart achieved little financial security and rwas buried in an unmarked grave in Vienna's St Marx Cemetery.
Address
Kaiser‐Wilhelm‐Gedächtniskirche, Breitscheidtplatz, Berlin, Germany — Google Maps
