Live on NDR Kultur – Kent Nagano and Jan Vogler with the Philharmonic State Orchestra (April 2023)

After the acclaimed world premiere at New York’s Carnegie Hall on 22 April, Kent Nagano, Jan Vogler and the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg will present the German premiere of Sean Shepherd’s new work for for cello, (children’s/youth) choirs and orchestra based on a cycle of poems by the poet Ulla Hahn as well as works by Brahms and Beethoven at the International Musikfest Hamburg at the Elbphilharmonie. This will be followed by another performance at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie on 30 April and at Dresden’s Kulturpalast on 5 May.

NDR Kultur will broadcast the concert live from the Elbphilharmonie on Friday, 28 April 2023 at 8pm CET.

The Dresden Music Festival launches an artistic and academic Wagner Project with the Dresden Festival Orchestra and Concerto Köln (March 2023)

As part of a comprehensive artistic and academic project, the Dresden Music Festival will explore the original sound of Richard Wagner, starting in 2023. The project’s mission is to present an annual concert performance of one part of Richard Wagner’s opera tetralogy »Der Ring des Nibelungen« by the Dresden Festival Orchestra and Concerto Köln under the baton of Kent Nagano, using historical instruments and the linguistic style of the time of its creation. The performance of Richard Wagner’s »Das Rheingold« at Dresden’s Kulturpalast on June 14, 2023 marks the project’s official launch.
The project under the artistic leadership of Festival Intendant Jan Vogler and conductor Kent Nagano will bring together Wagner experts and performers from all over the world in Dresden.

»The Dresden Music Festival is proud to deliver new impulses from Dresden to the world with this visionary project. I am sure that this new ›Ring‹ from Dresden and the musicological research involved will have a lasting influence on the reception and interpretation of Wagner’s music,« says Jan Vogler, Intendant of the Dresden Music Festival.

»From the instruments to vocal style and the general treatment of words – much of what we experience today during typical Wagner performances differs from the customs at Wagner’s time. We look forward to delving into the fascinating musical world of the 19th century together with our audience, which also includes asking critical questions that are necessary when it comes to a person such as Wagner,« says Kent Nagano, Artistic Director of the Wagner Project and Conductor Laureate of Concerto Köln.

The »Rheingold« premiere on June 14 will be accompanied by a comprehensive Wagner program. Under the leadership of the project’s academic curator PD Dr. Kai Müller, musicians from both orchestras will offer a workshop concert on the evening before the premiere, illustrating academic aspects of historical performance practice with musical examples. On the day of the premiere, the Kulturpalast will host an exhibition with several stations on Wagner’s oeuvre, short lectures in the foyer and a Wagner Café, from 12 noon onwards.

Cast of »Das Rheingold« on June 14, 2023 in Dresden:
Derek Welton (Wotan)
Dominik Köninger (Donner)
Mauro Peter (Loge)
Tansel Akzeybek (Froh)
Katrin Wundsam (Fricka)
Nadja Mchantaf (Freia)
Gerhild Romberger (Erda)
Daniel Schmutzhard (Alberich)
Thomas Ebenstein (Mime)
Tijl Faveyts (Fasolt)
Tilmann Rönnebeck (Fafner)
Ania Vegry (Woglinde)
Ida Aldrian (Wellgunde)
Eva Vogel (Floßhilde)

New CD by Jan Vogler released on Sony (February 2023)

Cellist Jan Vogler’s new recording for Sony Classical features the world premiere recording of Enrique Casals’ Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in F major and also includes Edouard Lalo’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in D minor – together with the Moritzburg Festival Orchestra, the CD commemorates the 200th anniversary of Édouard Lalo’s birth and is also a tribute to Pablo Casals, who became world famous as a cellist and is also the brother of Enrique Casals, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death.

READ MORE

“Ring” project in historically informed performance practice (December 2022)

The year 2023 marks the beginning of a major musical and scientific project in Dresden to research and perform Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” in historical performance practice. With the opening concert and premiere of “Rheingold” in Dresden on 14 June 2023, the Dresden Festival Orchestra together with Concerto Köln under the artistic direction of Kent Nagano will perform Richard Wagner’s “Ring” in a historically informed perspective.

Continuing the “Wagner Readings” initiated in 2016 by Kent Nagano, Concerto Köln and the Kunststiftung NRW, a relaunch of the project will take place together with the Dresden Festival Orchestra as part of the Dresden Music Festival. With the new location in Dresden – the city where Wagner spent his childhood and youth, the premiere site of three operas and the starting point of the conceptual history of the “Ring” – groundbreaking impulses can be expected in the development and implementation of this performance workshop. A unique feature is the scientifically based reconstruction of the instrumental, vocal, linguistic and stage practice of Wagner’s time, for which renowned musicians and scholars from various disciplines are working closely together.

Dresden Music Festival 2023 from 18 May to 18 June (November 2022)

The Dresden Music Festival 2023 will take place under the motto “BLACK AND WHITE” from 18 May to 18 June 2023.

We are looking forward to a lively and diverse 2023 festival season. Dramatic and stirring contrasts, tender nuances, and connections formed through music will all rouse discussions around our theme BLACK AND WHITE“, says Jan Vogler, director of the Dresden Music Festival.

With 63 events at 22 venues in Dresden, Jan Vogler and his team present a varied and interesting program – what to expect at the 46th Dresden Music Festival can be found in the brochure.

The Dresden Music Festival hit the ground running with a dazzling 45th season (June 2022)

The »MAGIC« of the Dresden Music Festival has unfolded its full charm in the past four and a half weeks. Musical highlights, standing ovations, and dancing guests in the concert halls: With the first full-scale edition since the start of the pandemic, director Jan Vogler and his team managed to send audiences home in a euphoric mood. Since May 11, around 42,000 guests have flocked to 65 concerts in 25 venues in Dresden. Despite a late start to the ticket pre-sales and the decision to open venues to full capacity at short notice, seat utilization reached 85 percent. The success of the Dresden Music Festival is also reflected in ticket revenue, which amounted to near 1,4 million Euros.

… read more here.

Long Night of the Cello on ARTE Concert (June 2022)

Starting tonight, the Long Night of the Cello from this year’s Dresden Music Festival will be available across Europe on ARTE Concert. Divided into three parts, Nicolas Altstaedt, Santiago Cañón-Valencia, Pablo Ferrández, Zlatomir Fung, David Geringas, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, ShekuKanneh-Mason, Anastasia Kobekina present, Harriet Krijgh, Mischa Maisky, Ivan Monighetti, Edgar Moreau, Johannes Moser, Daniel Müller-Schott, Miklós Perényi, Kian Soltani, Jan Vogler, and Pieter Wispelwey showcase the multifaceted nature of the instrument.

The streams as well as the program of the individual parts can be found here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

New recording Pop Songs with Jan Vogler, Omer Meir Wellber and the BBC Philharmonic (May 2022)

Cellist Jan Vogler explores hits of the past four centuries together with Omer Meir Wellber and the BBC Philharmonic on the new CD Pop Songs which will be released by Sony on 6 May. The idea of a recording to tell the story of the “pop song” came to Jan Vogler

during the pandemic, when every day – deprived of the daily live encounter with great music – we were all singing and whistling to ourselves catchy tunes from the last four centuries. Realizing the project with the creative Omer Meir Wellber and the fabulous BBC Philharmonic was an intense reminder of the intensity and radiance these ‘hits’ have retained over decades and centuries. The cello – with its vocal range from baritone to coloratura soprano – is a versatile narrator of this thrilling story.

The new arrangements for cello and orchestra range from Monteverdi to Michael Jackson, from Mozart to the Beatles. The second force behind the recording is conductor Omer Meir Wellber, with whom Jan Vogler had long discussions about the right arrangement and approach to each piece. The two sought the specific expression for each song and asked themselves what actually made the numbers so popular.

Further insights can be found in the booklet.

Dresden Music Festival 2022 under the motto MAGIC from 11 May to 10 June (February 2022)

The Dresden Music Festival 2022 will take place under the motto “MAGIC” from 11 May to 10 June with a special program which explores the multifaceted perspectives that Intendant Jan Vogler and his team stand for in Dresden since 2008.

Especially now, artists, as well as our audience, have become deeply aware of the significance of art and culture. I am looking forward to a remarkable lively and creative year that will release tremendous amounts of inspiration and energy which will enchant many people,” says Jan Vogler, Intendant of the Dresden Music Festival.

What to expect in the 66 concerts, festival debuts and world premieres of the 45th Dresden Music Festival can be found in the program brochure.

READ MORE
GDPR Cookie Consent with Real Cookie Banner