programme
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Die Jahreszeiten
performers
Cappella Amsterdam
Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century
Nicolas Altstaedt conductor
Florian Boesch Simon
Ian Bostridge Lukas
Christina Landshamer Hanne
background
First, we hear the farmers dancing at the wine festival, then the thunderstorm breaks loose. Joseph Haydn used all available means of tone painting in his oratorio Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons). After Die Schöpfung (The Creation) had been such a resounding success, Die Jahreszeiten became his next major work for the concert stage. The lively depiction of nature makes it one of the most popular works of the Viennese composer to this day.
Photo: Nicolas Altstaedt (photographer: Marco Borggreve)
About Nicolas Altstaedt
As a conductor, Nicolas Altstaedt works closely with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and has conducted the chamber orchestras SWR, OPRF Paris, Aurora, and Munich in recent seasons. Collaborations with composers—such as Thomas Adès, Jörg Widmann, Wolfgang Rihm, Thomas Larcher, Fazil Say, and Sofia Gubaidulina—also bolster his reputation as an excellent interpreter of contemporary music. Sebastian Fagerlund, Anders Hillborg, Helena Winkelman, and Fazil Say have recently written concerts for Nicolas.
In 2012, Nicolas Altstaedt succeeded Gidon Kremer as artistic director of the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, and in 2014, he followed Ádám Fischer as artistic director of the Haydn Philharmonie.
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