Aufbruch

About

Departure — the Philharmonic Orchestra Heidelberg titles its first concert of the 2026/27 season. Igor Stravinsky shaped 20th-century music and, after his ballet successes, turned to Neoclassicism as a counter-image to Romantic opulence. His Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920) unfolds a concentrated sonority and simultaneously pays homage to Claude Debussy. Friedrich Gulda breaks boundaries: funky grooves, hints of rock, and romantic gestures fuse in his Cello Concerto into a wild mix that at times evokes a big band and at others folk music. Robert Schumann likewise interweaves music and life: the Rhine was the scene of his triumphs and crises. The Third Symphony was written in a happy time, yet its changing moods already betray inner tensions.