The concert is “in the spirit of solidarity with Odessa and Ukraine and for peaceful coexistence in Europe,” said the orchestra on Monday in Berlin. Since 1991, the Philharmoniker have been celebrating their birthday on May 1st with a European concert at a special historic location.
This year’s 140th birthday concert was to be held at the National Academic Opera in Odessa. “Due to the attack on Ukraine, another location had to be found,” it said. The Philharmoniker and chief conductor Kirill Petrenko are very grateful to the team at the Great Amber Concert Hall in Liepāja that the concert could be held there at such short notice.
“Together with the Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, a new program has been created that focuses on composers whose musical message is about freedom and self-determination.” Works by Pēteris Vasks, Luciano Berio, Valentyn Silvestrov, Leoš Janáček and Jean Sibelius are to be performed.
The concert will be broadcast live on May 1st at 11 a.m. both in the Digital Concert Hall of the Philharmonic and on Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg on ARD television and on rbbKultur on the radio. (dpa)