Jacquot, Tamestit, Apkalna & WDR Symphony Orchestra

The WDR Symphony Orchestra will have a new chief conductor starting in the 2026/27 season: the young French conductor Marie Jacquot is already well-known in Austria and has been the first guest conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra since the 2023/24 season. In her debut in Linz, Jacquot has chosen an exceptionally versatile program featuring two international soloists: in the first half, the Pilgrim's Chorus, which begins with Richard Wagner's "Tannhäuser" overture, meets the 2018 Concerto for Viola and Orchestra La Nuit des Chants by the French composer Thierry Escaich. Inspired by songs of the American Navajo, archaic sounds from a mysterious shadow world unfold here. The solo part will be performed by world-renowned violist Antoine Tamestit, who is also the dedicatee of the work. In the second half of the concert, Camille Saint-Saëns' opulent "Organ Symphony" will be on the program. "Here I have given everything I could... I will never write anything like this work again," said the composer himself about the piece. The exceptional Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna will perform on the organ.