Music

Thomas Hengelbrock with the Karajan music prize honored

“He characterizes the image of a in the best sense of the word, the modern conductor,” it says in the Eulogy of the cultural Foundation Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. The German conductor is the prize money for Jugendstipendien.

“No other conductor provides the public as clearly as Thomas Hengelbrock, the question: ‘What is my role as a musician today?'” praised the cultural Foundation Festspielhaus Baden-Baden since 2003, every year the Herbert von Karajan music prize awards. In recognition of Hengelbrocks commitment for the musical talent it is said in the explanation of the Stiftungskuratoriums continues: “It thus expands the notion of music education for future generations is crucial.”

Hengelbrock is since 2011 the principal conductor of the NDR Symphony orchestra Hamburg and founded in 1995, the Freiburg-Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble. In cooperation with both orchestras, he called from music academies to life. The work with young musicians there, he described in an Interview with the
NDR
as holistic: “you come with old and new music in touch, strings have lessons also for singers and pianists. And we discuss with them: What is my role as a musician today? Where I want to go?”

The prize money of 50,000 euros is earmarked to the promotion of young musicians. Consequently, explained the conductor, the amount should be, especially in more scholarships to its Academy Balthasar Neumann flow, so that “we the connection to the next Generation of search, and never break down,” said the conductor at NDR Kultur.

The inconvenient conductor

The musical career of Thomas Hengelbrock, 1958 born in Wilhelmshaven, is based in the historically-authentic performance. Once he played the historic violin in the original ensemble sound Concentus musicus Wien under Nikolaus Harnoncourt. By Assististenztätigkeit in the composer Antal Doráti, Witold Lutosławski, and Mauricio Kagel he had, however, also a number of early points of contact with contemporary music.

He is now Establishment, but remains uncomfortable

The Endfünziger is a kind gesture, as a conductor, he is considered, however, as uncomfortable. It addressed
in an Interview for The world
in 2013, answered the conductor disarmingly: “Behind all of what is easy, what is not alive, is indeed not real life. It is as if in a vivid garden of louder dead Branches protrude. We should try to play, so get to work and deal with each other, that everything is blooming.”

In the same “uncomfortable” direction is the statement by the Federal cultural Foundation Festspielhaus Baden-Baden: “He shapes the image of a in the best sense of the word modern conductors, in a Repertoire of music from across four centuries dominated and – as well as the way to play this music again and again into question.”

Bayreuth no, Hamburg Yes

The Opera and known on the concert stage internationally valued musicians guested at the Vienna and Munich Philharmonic, the Bavarian radio Symphony orchestra and at the Concertgebouw-orchestra in Amsterdam. He was artistic Director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Director of music at the Vienna Volksoper. A stir he caused in 2013 with a concert performance of Richard Wagner’s Opera “Parsifal” on historical instruments.
Hengelbrocks performance at the Wagner-festival in Bayreuth
two years before, however, less successful In the orchestra pit of the Festspielhaus, he tried the “historic” Interpretationsansatz failed, however, to the practice of the house and the habits of the musician. After a year he extended his contract not: “musical dispute” was the question.

In the North of Germany, Thomas Hengelbrock estimated higher. As principal conductor of the NDR Symphony, “inspired, he Hamburg” – so the “Hamburger Abendblatt” and “attracts always new wonders from the orchestra out”. He is in the succession of Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, Günter Wand, John Eliot Gardiner, Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph Eschenbach and Christoph von Dohnányi – the seventh conductor on this Post. From the season of 2016-17, he is also “Chef associé” at the Orchestre de Paris.

In his music activity, rehearses it the holistic approach

Musical-literary programmes, also in collaboration with his wife, actress Johanna Wokalek – witnessed by the ingenuity of the musician. Again and again it’s but the educational activities, the unanimous consent in the scientific community have created, such as the
“Dvořák-Experiment”
in which a work is explained, analyzed, tested, and via Livestream to schools nationwide.

From the uprising to the Mainstream

Now comes the Karajan-price, who – if he is on this musician – for many, almost like an irony of fate may seem. Finally, it was Herbert von Karajan the epitome of everything against which the Wild boys – trailer of the historical performance practice – the uprising rehearsed. Thomas Hengelbrock was one of them. Now, this practice and the findings become Mainstream. Karajan is out, Hengelbrock and co. are Establishment.

The official award ceremony will take place in the context of a Galakonzerts in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden on Saturday (30.01.2016). The laudatory address will be given to the actor and Director Klaus Maria Brandauer with the Dear also has worked. Then conducted, the conductor in a performance of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s oratory “Elias”.

The Herbert von Karajan music prize since 2003, each year by the Federal cultural Foundation Festspielhaus Baden-Baden awarded. Former winners include violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, Pianist and author Alfred Brendel, the singer Cecilia Bartoli, the Pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim and the Wiener and Berliner Philharmoniker. Also, the namesake, the German conductor Herbert von Karajan, dedicated his whole life for the promotion of talent.