School Concert

“One day, Peter opened the garden gate and went out onto the wide green meadow …” Thus begins the adventurous story of Peter and the Wolf, which composer Sergei Prokofiev set to music so beautifully in 1936, and which continues to fascinate young and old alike to this day as a world-famous children’s concert classic. Not only is a captivating story told, but Prokofiev also ingeniously guides the listener through the world of orchestral instruments. An unforgettable experience in which you encounter a quacking duck as an oboe, a cat that sneaks around on “velvet paws” to the warm sounds of the clarinet, and Grandfather as a rumbling bassoon, who is not at all thrilled that Peter left the garden gate open…

Musical Director: Ulrich Cornelius Maier
Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra

A narrated concert featuring music by Modest Mussorgsky, orchestrated by Maurice Ravel

Painting pictures with sounds—how does that work? The composer Modest Mussorgsky did just that, and the result was his famous *Pictures at an Exhibition*. Join us on a musical tour through an imaginative art gallery. Whether “The Gnome” or “The Old Castle,” “The Chicks’ Ballet,” or the concluding, solemn and triumphant “The Great Gate of Kiev”—each of these pictures evokes a unique atmosphere, which Mussorgsky knew how to translate into music in an impressive way.

Conductor: Mark Rohde
Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra

In an era of climate change and species extinction, thousands of animals from a vanishing world compete in a spectacular shipboard show. The winner will receive a lifetime ticket aboard the luxury cruise line “Arche Boa.” Polar bears, koalas, bees, and others tell their life stories in the grand finale, accompanied by animal-themed orchestral music. Which animal will be chosen to enjoy life aboard the ship? Or will another solution be found? Once again, the Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra brings a picture book by Würzburg author Cornelia Boese to the stage. Boese’s imaginative texts are complemented by excerpts from famous classics such as Johann Strauss’s “Die Fledermaus” Overture, Amilcare Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours,” Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Evening Blessing,” or Camille Saint-Saëns’s “Rondo Capriccioso,” and many more.

Musical Director: Silvia Vassallo Paleologo
Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra

A narrated concert featuring music by Jean Sibelius

He is Finland’s greatest symphonist and most famous composer: Jean Sibelius, also known as “Janne.” Inspired by the myths and nature of his homeland, he developed his own unique, modern musical language. This is particularly evident in his Second Symphony, which is characterized by extraordinary power, Sibelius’s connection to nature, and his exceptional ability to let gripping musical images blossom from small motifs. Discover the composer with us and look over his shoulder as he composes the Second Symphony.

Conductor: Mark Rohde
Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra

In this moderated school concert, students encounter Paul Hindemith’s symphony Mathis der Maler—a work that places the striking panels of the Isenheim Altarpiece at the center of the musical narrative while also recounting the eventful life story of its creator, the painter Matthias Grünewald. Like Grünewald, who gave up his art to show solidarity with the peasants’ struggle for freedom, Hindemith also saw his freedom threatened by the political environment of National Socialism. The concert thus offers an interdisciplinary perspective on music, history, and the visual arts, exploring the connections between artistic expression and social upheaval.

Conductor: Mark Rohde
Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra

What does a musical prank sound like? What happens when an orchestra is suddenly “surprised”? And why is Joseph Haydn actually called the “Father of the Symphony”? From a drum roll to a hen—there are some tricky puzzles to solve here. This school concert invites you to discover the inventive spirit of this extraordinary composer.

Musical Director: Lutz de Veer
Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra

The school concert promises a wild time with Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals. In this piece, the French composer has lions roar, turtles crawl, fish shimmer, and pianists… well… practice. With plenty of wit, colorful orchestral sounds, and little surprises, Saint-Saëns presents his “Zoological Fantasy,” in which every instrument becomes a storyteller.

Musical Director: Mark Rohde
Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra

The life of Austrian violinist Alma Rosé came to an end on April 4, 1944, at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. There, she served as the conductor of the “Girls’ Orchestra,” a role that enabled her to save countless lives. However, her work prior to this period is often less well-known. Alma Rosé was the daughter of the famous Arnold Rosé, then concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic, and the niece of Gustav Mahler. This musical-theatrical reading spans a wide arc from her childhood in Vienna, her years as a glamour girl of the city’s high society, her work in Prague, and later with her own orchestra back in Vienna, all the way to her tragic death in the concentration camp. A tribute to a truly musical woman’s life, oscillating between glamorous star and dehumanized being.

Concept / Direction / Narrator: Rainer Appel
Soprano / Acting / Assistant: Anke Hájková Endres
Violin: Tomáš Hájek
Accordion: Alma Flammersberger
Cello: Matthias Steinkrauß

For over a thousand years, Scheherazade has been telling her fantastical tales—of brave heroines and heroes, of distant lands, and of journeys across stormy seas. In this concert, she opens her storybook to us and takes us on a musical journey into the mysterious world of One Thousand and One Nights to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov.

Conductor: Mark Rohde
Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra