“Get off the sofa and into the Elbphilharmonie or one of the many theaters in the city,” said Senator for Culture Carsten Brosda (SPD) at an opening reception at the start of the season in the Elbphilharmonie – and the wrong people, because those present were off the sofa . Of course, this also meant all other Hamburgers, who in 2021 in the first post-corona season did not flock to the Elbphilharmonie in quite as large a number as before the pandemic began. In any case, director Christoph Lieben-Seutter admitted that a 90 percent occupancy rate did not feel like the Elbphilharmonie before, the one with the guaranteed 100 percent quota.
The opening night with the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the top five orchestras in the United States, left only a few seats empty in the Elphi circuit. After the performances by the Pittsburgh Orchestra, the classical orchestra was the second of three US orchestras to make up for their 2020 and 2021 tours with ProArte at the Konzerthaus am Hafen within ten days. The third orchestra comes from Cleveland, is also one of the Big Five and, under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst, will present works by Berg and Bruckner on August 31 and pieces by Rihm and Schubert on September 1. It is considered the most important American orchestra with the most European sound.
The Philadelphia Orchestra, on the other hand, played a program of rarely heard works by Samuel Barber and modern and contemporary black American women composers. To start with, Gabriela Lana Frank (“Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout”) gave a cheerful tour of the Andes, whereby this mountain range had global foothills of which it had not previously suspected geographically. The excerpts from the string orchestra concerto set the mood for the second work of the evening: “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” by Barber. The vocal part was taken over by the soprano Angel Blue. With her wide vocal range and her beguiling sound through the registers, she made the piece from 1947 a real Elbe Philharmonic acoustic experience that could hardly be had anywhere else.
Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who vibrates and springs so much at work that he sometimes seems to be driven by an electric motor, also used the possibilities of the hall to its limits without oversteering. The orchestra, which was now complete – in addition to the strings – ended the first part of the concert with “This Is Not a Small Voice”, sung by Angel Blue and thus confirming the title. Valerie Coleman’s work was also challenging for listeners and a new sonic experience for most visitors. After the break, Florence B. Price’s enchanting Symphony No. 1 in E minor was enthralling in its compact orchestral sound. A cracker from the Allegro at the beginning to the Juba Dance in the finale. Because of the standing ovations and the palpable enthusiasm of the audience, the orchestra added a song by Price as an encore.
A successful start to the season in the Elbphilharmonie, which makes you want more in the first few weeks with attractions in festival density. The Cleveland Orchestra will be followed by the opening of the season by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra on Saturday. Gustav Mahler’s “Resurrection Symphony” will be performed under the direction of its chief conductor Alan Gilbert.
