“The last time the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra performed in front of an audience under the direction of its chief conductor Alan Gilbert . The second pandemic season will now begin in the Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall, which has already been sold out with 628 visitors due to the distance rules, next Tuesday. The concert will be broadcast live on NDR.de and in the NDR EO app as well as on the radio on NDR Kultur.”
“WORLD: What is your experience with the smaller orchestra?
Alan Gilbert: Let’s take the Brahms symphonies: I can already say that it currently works very well with around 45 musicians on stage. The symphonies were probably written by orchestras for this scale. This is a tonal difference to what our listeners are used to from large orchestras. This sound in the direction of chamber music is absolutely convincing. I’m not so sure about Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony, which we want to play in October in the Laeiszhalle at a concert on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, in line with the orchestra’s first concert program from 1945. There are limits. It’s just a different style. So should we rehearse a second program to be on the safe side? For that we would need extra rehearsals and I would have to come to Hamburg earlier, all certainties are gone.”