8th Philharmonic Concert: Redemption - Salvation by Various, T 12 apr 2022, Alates (2022/2022), Dirigent Fabien Gabel, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany

Holy relics, the circle of the Knights of the Grail, baptism and the Lord's Supper, the search for compassion and purity characterize the plot of Richard Wagner's Parsifal , which revolves around a central theme: redemption. For this reason, what Wagner called the “Bühnenweihfestspiel” is traditionally performed in the Holy Week before Easter. The orchestral highlights from Parsifal are accompanied by symphonic excerpts from Engelbert Humperdinck's fairytale opera Königskinder . Stylistically, Humperdinck clearly identified himself as a successor to Wagner and set to music the tragic story of an unequal couple who, despite their youthful innocence, only find redemption in death. A series of piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is also described as symphonic, including his C major Concerto No. 21 from 1785. To an unprecedented extent, the orchestra emancipated itself from being a mere accompanist to an equal musical partner. The slow second movement of this concerto, whose melancholic theme is reminiscent of a dreamy opera aria, is particularly famous, although like our two opera suites it manages without a voice.