Winter concerts 2024
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November 30, 7:30 pm, Great Town Hall Passau
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December 01, 5:00 pm, County Hall, Palace Neuburg am Inn, as part of the "Neuburg Live" concert series
Program:
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N. Skalkottas: 5 Greek Dances for strings
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A. Glasunow: Concerto for Saxophone and string orchestra
Soloist: Jakob Matuschek (Passau) -
L. v. Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 „Eroica“
The Sinfonietta Passau under the baton of conductor Eleni Papakyriakou invites you to its second concert series this year: The audience can look forward to an exciting and varied program as part of the 2024 winter concerts in Passau and Neuburg am Inn. In the first part of the concert, the strings of the Sinfonietta Passau will present the "5 Greek Dances" by Nikos Skalkottas, one of the most important Greek composers of the 20th century. Skalkottas, who was a student of Arnold Schoenberg, composed 36 Greek Dances for large orchestra between 1931 and 1936. The composer arranged many of these dances for various ensembles, which are among his most popular works due to their brilliant character. The last work by Alexander Glazunov dates from the same period: his late-romantic concerto for saxophone and string orchestra became a repertoire classic and is nevertheless rarely played. The outstanding young saxophonist Jakob Matuschek from Passau will be the soloist. The second part of the concert will feature Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 "Eroica", a work that is more relevant than ever as a musical manifesto for freedom and democracy.
The 2023 founded Sinfonietta Passau is an ambitious and dynamic symphony orchestra. Music and artistic director is Eleni Papakyriakou. We enrich the music life of the region with a broad repertoire and exciting programs. Sinfonietta Passau fills repertoire gaps of great symphonic music, presents challenging and rarely performed works as well as world premieres.
A great evening: standing ovations for Sinfonietta Passau with Bruckner's 7th and Philipp Ortmeier's "Tree of Life" - You can feel the trust between the orchestra and the conductor. The orchestra is highly motivated, the strings deliver precise transitions and fine pianissimo passages. Thanks to the great wind section, the music can develop powerfully and heartfeltly in the sacred acoustics.
Great musical sensitivity - The conductor succeeds in making the sound layers in this monumental work [Bruckner's 7th Symphony] audible in a finely nuanced way. The musicians follow her meticulously. Papakyriakou's gripping conducting style, paired with precision and temperament, is just the right dose to keep the large ensemble together.
The conductor masters the large orchestra with clear gestures and great calm. She takes the pauses seriously and makes them wonderfully fitting in the room.
Eleni Papakyriakou enthused around 600 visitors to standing ovations with Anton Bruckner's 4th Symphony.
Sinfonietta Passau is a tremendous achievement of a single artistic personality, a giant step for the region´s cultural scene and a clear statement of an exciting young conductor to the classical music world.
Eleni Papakyriakou has the skills to advance to the first league of the female conductors in Germany!
So it's no surprise that she [Eleni Papakyriakou] masterfully handles the rich orchestral colors and tonal textures of the score, while expressing an emotional depth and poignancy.
(Passauer Neue Presse, Rabenstein Kultur Blog, O-Ton Kulturmagazin)
