Music City Hamburg

• History of a Music City

• The Elbphilharmonie Concerts

• Hamburg's Orchestras and Concert Promoters

• Music Education in Hamburg

© Nils Hansen

Music in all its diversity has traditionally played a large role in Hamburg. Hamburg’s orchestras guarantee a musical life of the highest quality, highlights also include guest performances by outstanding international orchestras and musicians, from the realm of classical music and way beyond.

History of a Music City

Hamburg, a centre of trade, has always attracted and produced great musicians – a fact which would never have been conceivable without the enthusiasm and generosity of Hamburg’s citizens. As early as 1678, when the Opera on Gänsemarkt was established, it was not only the first civic-municipal opera, but also the largest stage in Northern Europe – George Frideric Handel was active here, among others. Both Georg Philipp Telemann and, after him, his godson Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, greatly influenced cultural life in the mid-18th century in their role as music directors. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Johannes Brahms are both sons of Hamburg, born in 1809 and 1833 respectively. During his tenure as Music Director of the Hamburg Stadttheater in the 1890s, Gustav Mahler created a new musical form, a synthesis of Lied and symphony. After World War II, it was György Ligeti who contributed mainly to making Hamburg a centre of modern classical music.

Hamburg’s concert-hall tradition began with the Tonhalle and Conventgarten, built in 1842 and 1853 respectively, the latter influencing musical life in Hamburg over a period of 90 years until its destruction during World War II. In 1908, the Laeiszhalle, at that time the most modern concert hall in Germany, was opened in Hamburg – a legacy of Hamburg shipowner Carl Heinrich Laeisz, realised through the involvement of his widow Sophie Christine. Martin Haller and Emil Meerwein, already renowned as the architects of the Hamburg Town Hall, built the neo-Baroque concert hall, which wrote music history from day one: legendary names such as Richard Strauss, Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky, and Paul Hindemith performed and conducted their own works here.

Hamburg, the German capital for musicals, has always been at the forefront of the non-classical scene. The Beatles jumpstarted their career in 1962, performing at the Star Club on the Große Freiheit. Udo Lindenberg and his Panikorchester have rocked in Hamburg since the 1970s. German hip hop stars Fettes Brot and Jan Delay, singers like Ina Müller and Annett Louisan all stand for North German charisma. Bands such as Blumfeld or Tocotronic strongly influenced what is known as the »Hamburg School« in pop.

The Elbphilharmonie Hamburg emphasizes the spectacular development of Hamburg’s musical life. Once again, the dedicated commitment and generosity of Hamburg’s citizens have contributed to the realisation of this project.

The Elbphilharmonie Concerts

With the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg gains one of the finest concert halls in the world. Yet a spectacular shell alone does not make the city a centre of music – the music programme within is what counts. The organisational threads come together in the hands of Christoph Lieben-Seutter, the General and Artistic Director, who gives the Elbphilharmonie its distinct artistic profile and ensures that the old Laeiszhalle and the new Elbphilharmonie Hamburg do not compete with each other but unite in presenting a complementary range of programmes.

Christoph Lieben-Seutter, formerly head of the Konzerthaus of his native Vienna, has introduced a brand new concert series to Hamburg – the Elbphilharmonie Concerts. Even though the Elbphilharmonie is still under construction, why wait to get the music programme off the ground? This new concert series has already given a strong impression of how musical life in Hamburg is prospering and developing parallel to the new concert hall. For now, concerts take place at the magnificent Laeiszhalle and other venues throughout the city: at Kampnagel Kulturfabrik, for example, in Hamburg churches, in the clubs along the Reeperbahn or in schools in the outlying district of Mümmelmannsberg. The Elbphilharmonie is everywhere, now.

Everything the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg symbolises as a building – a spectactular vision and a striking concept in combination with both tradition and modernity – is reflected in the Elbphilharmonie Concerts programme. Around 100 concerts per season cover virtually every style and genre of music. Since the highly acclaimed opening concert with young Venezuelan star conductor Gustavo Dudamel, top orchestras from all over the world have been coming and going. International soloists reveal their most intimate musical side in chamber music concerts; charismatic artists in residence such as Mariss Jansons, Thomas Hampson and Piotr Anderszewski accompany the Elbphilharmonie Concerts with their own personal style.

By far the most distinctive feature of the Elbphilharmonie Concerts series is its range of variety with room for even the most unusual artistic ideas. Festivals are centred around instruments such as the accordion or focus on the fascinating musical cultures of countries such as Finland or Turkey. Innovative concepts such as cross-genre performances or a series featuring outstanding jazz music are equally at home here.

Just as the Elbphilharmonie Plaza is open to the public, the new Elbphilharmonie Concerts are open to everyone, too. That explains why concert tickets are available for the price of cinema tickets; why a new concert series has been created especially for newcomers to classical music; and why there is a wide range of musical educational events on offer featuring concerts for babies, children, teenagers and young adults. The Elbphilharmonie Hamburg has already taken up its work.

Hamburg’s Orchestras and Concert Promoters

The spectacular concert hall will be the new home of the NDR Symphony Orchestra, one of Germany’s leading orchestras, and the future orchestra in residence at the Elbphilharmonie.

The history of the orchestra begins with its founding in June 1945 and the appointment of Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt as Principal Conductor. Among the NDR Symphony Orchestra’s many distinguished principal conductors, one in particular stands out – Günter Wand, who directed the orchestra from 1982 to 1991 and continued to work closely with it as Honorary Conductor for a subsequent 10 years. Until his death in 2002 Günter Wand continued to influence the orchestra’s artistic work, the highlight of which was an internationally acclaimed interpretation of Bruckner’s symphonies. In 1998 Christoph Eschenbach was appointed Principal Conductor. He dedicated his five-year tenure to great cycles of work, particularly that of Gustav Mahler. The tradition of appointing internationally renowned maestri as principal conductors continued with the appointment of Christoph von Dohnányi in 2004. Dohnányi strengthened the orchestra’s international reputation with successful guest performances at the leading concert halls of Europe as well as tours abroad to Asia, South America and the USA. Since 2004 Alan Gilbert, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, has worked as the Principal Guest Conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra also works closely with many other famous conductors, among them Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Gielen and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Thomas Hengelbrock will succeed Christoph von Dohnányi as Principal Conductor beginning with the 2011/2012 season. Open to virtually all music styles, he will surely write a new and exciting chapter in the history of the orchestra. Continually developing its repertoire and sound culture, the NDR Symphony Orchestra will be perfectly prepared to give the inaugural gala concert when the Elbphilharmonie opens.

Since its founding in 1828, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Hamburg has influenced the sound of the Hanseatic city. The stylistic spectrum of the 125 salaried musicians is without equal in Germany; the international reputation has been established by a successful CD-series with recordings of Bruckner-symphonies in their original versions. Beyond that, the Hamburg Philharmonics are present at various official events and ceremonies of the Hanseatic city. The main focus of the Philharmonics lies on youth work. The Orchestra offers a broad programme for a young audience: school concerts, family introductions to the music performed in the Philharmonic Concerts and the support of the Hamburg Music Kindergarten. They present their traditional Philharmonic Concert series in the Laeiszhalle, and, in the future, in the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. In addition, the orchestra can be heard almost every evening at the Hamburg State Opera. Since 2005 the internationally acclaimed conductor Simone Young has led the Philharmonic Orchestra as Music Director and General Manager of the Hamburg State Opera.

The Hamburg Symphony Orchestra is rising to the German orchestra category A under the direction of internationally renowned Principal Conductor Jeffrey Tate. It will stay at the venerable Laeiszhalle as orchestra in residence. In addition to symphony concerts, children’s concerts, a chamber music series, and the traditional open-air summer concerts in the courtyard of the Hamburg Rathaus, in recent years the Hamburg Symphony has consistently demonstrated a high degree of curiosity, motivation, and flexibility with new and innovative programming ideas. Meanwhile, the Ensemble Resonanz has made a name for itself far beyond Hamburg with its dynamic playing style and orginal programming. Its future home will be in the Recital Hall of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

To experience international orchestras, leading classical musicians such as violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and great pianists such as Lang Lang or Grigory Sokolov, the ProArte Concerts organised by Konzertdirektion Dr Rudolf Goette are the perfect choice. The concert agency has offered classical music of highest quality for almost 80 years. The Elbklassik concert agency presents leading opera stars, such as Anna Netrebko and
Elīna Garanča.

Since 1959, the Karsten Jahnke concert agency is responsible for bringing rock, pop and jazz stars to Hamburg; whereas the Hamburgische Vereinigung von Freunden der Kammermusik presents small, select concerts, regularly inviting the world’s best string quartets to perform in the Laeiszhalle. These and other concert promoters and agencies ensure a huge comprehensive range of music on offer.

Ensembles such as the Hamburg Camerata add to the wealth of Hamburg’s musical life, as do numerous music groups of all kinds, including amateur orchestras and choirs, all of whom perform regularly at the Laeiszhalle or other venues. Without their contribution, the vision of Hamburg as a centre of music would be unthinkable.

Music Education in Hamburg

»Classical music? How booooring!« A widespread preconception which must be vehemently contradicted here and now. Music is fun!

From Hamburg’s main orchestras to the Hamburg State Music School, from the Federal State Council of Music to initiatives such as the Jamliner Bus and The Young ClassX, not to forget Elbphilharmonie Kompass too, everyone has realised long ago that nowadays attractive programming is essential to reach all age groups and to communicate an enthusiasm for music. Because music enriches society – and because music is fun. Promoters in Hamburg have joined forces to create an overall musical programme for children, teenagers and young adults that is unique in Germany.

The Elbphilharmonie’s education programme called Elbphilharmonie Kompass offers concerts for pregnant women and parents with babies (Elfi), an international concert series for children, and it accompanies the mad Dr Sound on yet another round of his adventures in sound research. Pre-schoolers and elementary school pupils attend the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra’s HaSy Concerts, the Hamburg Camerata (Elbwichtel) or the concerts of the NDR (Mit-Mach-Musik) where they take active part in musical activities. Ohrenspitzer (»Perk your ears«), a most original insert in the Philharmonic Orchestra’s programme, turns every concert into a music quiz. The orchestra is also involved with the Musikkindergarten Hamburg. Almost all concert promoters offer special family concerts, some, such as the Ensemble Resonanz , even have a magician.

There is a particularly wide music choice for schools. School classes at all levels are invited to concerts (e.g. the NDR Konzert statt Schule series or ZukunftsMusik, part of the Elbphilharmonie Concert series), or invited to become actively involved in composition and music making (e.g. the Federal State Council of Music’s Klangradar 3000 ). The popular Instrument Sound Museum in the Laeiszhalle (soon moving to the Elbphilharmonie) offers children the opportunity to try out different orchestral instruments on their own.

Most concert promoters can be contacted online through Facebook, where you will also find the latest concert tips. Now try saying that classical music is boring!