WHAT MAKES AN ORCHESTRA SOUND UNIQUE?
On the occasion of the Cleveland Orchestra’s concert
Friday 9.10.2026
Why does the orchestra tune to the oboe’s A? Who decides where the instruments sit, and why can the seating arrangement change from hall to hall, or from work to work? How does acoustics affect not only what the audience hears, but also what the musicians hear among themselves? What exactly is the conductor’s role? When do we applaud at a concert? Taking as our starting point the renowned Cleveland Orchestra and the works by Liszt, Martinů and Brahms it will perform, we uncover the unseen machinery that drives a great symphony orchestra: from musical preparation and tuning, to the placement of instruments, the aesthetics of sound, and interpretative tradition.
TWO SOLOISTS, ONE BREATH
Inspired by the “Beethoven 200” series and two major chamber music recitals at the Megaron: the complete cycle of the ten Sonatas for Violin and Piano performed by Leonidas Kavakos and Enrico Pace (15, 17 and 18 April, Spring Festival), as well as the recital by Janine Jansen and Denis Kozhukhin on 26 April, which includes two of these works, Sonatas No. 3 and No. 10.
Wednesday 14.10.2026
What happens when Beethoven writes for two equal partners? Who leads and who follows? How do they agree on the timing of a phrase, a breath or a sudden change in dynamics without exchanging a single word during the performance? Taking the ten Sonatas for Violin and Piano as our starting point, we trace how the relationship between the two instruments evolves across Beethoven’s output and explore the art of partnership in chamber music: one moment the violin takes centre stage, the next it accompanies, while the piano becomes at times an orchestra and at others a conversation partner. A shared musical world emerges through a constant interplay of initiative, listening and response.
WHEN THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MEETS JAZZ
On the occasion of the concert “Alain Lefèvre Plays Gershwin“
Tuesday 20.10.2026
Can a symphony orchestra swing? What happens when a world built on the score meets a musical tradition in which rhythm, freedom and improvisation take centre stage? Taking as our starting point the concert by the celebrated French-Canadian pianist Alain Lefèvre, we walk down the most famous avenues of American music: from the peerless Rhapsody in Blue and Gershwin’s Concerto in F, to Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, the sounds of the city and jazz flood the concert hall, and classical music becomes part of the pop culture of its time.
CONCERTO vs SYMPHONY
On the occasion of the Vienna Symphony’s concert with soloist Mao Fujita
Thursday 19.11.2026
The Vienna Symphony’s concert with Petr Popelka and Mao Fujita offers an ideal listening ground for two of the most important forms in classical music: in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, piano and orchestra exchange initiative in a continuous dialogue; in Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, the orchestra traces a gripping dramatic journey, from the mournful march at its opening to the triumphant finale. Taking these two worlds of musical narrative as our starting point, we trace the historical journey of the concerto, from the baroque concerto grosso to Beethoven’s bold innovations, and of the symphony, from the revolution of the Mannheim School to Romanticism.
AN AMERICAN’S LOVE LETTER TO EUROPEAN MUSIC
On the occasion of Leonard Bernstein’s operetta Candide with the Camerata Orchestra of the Friends of Music
Thursday 3.12.2026
What happens when a comic operetta decides to speak about war, social inequality and the abuse of power? Taking Leonard Bernstein’s Candide as our starting point, we look at how Voltaire’s satire on the naïve optimism of the 18th century is transposed to McCarthy-era America and becomes politically topical, putting forward laughter as a form of resistance. Operetta, bel canto, jazz, waltz, tango and cabaret coexist in a score that entertains us and challenges us to ask how we might make our world “the best of all possible worlds,” even as everything around us seems to be falling apart.
