Mäkelä & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

After 26 years, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is finally returning to Linz, bringing with it its designated chief conductor Klaus Mäkelä to perform Bartók's "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" and Dvořák's magnificent 7th Symphony on stage. It has been 26 years since the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra last visited the Brucknerhaus Linz. Now, "the world’s greatest orchestra" (Gramophone Magazine) is back – and with a bang: On one hand, Klaus Mäkelä, the designated chief conductor of both the orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, is making his debut in Linz as an exceptional artist and one of the most sought-after conductors worldwide. On the other hand, he is joined by outstanding singers, soprano Jennifer Johnston and bass-baritone Gerald Finley, to present Béla Bartók's one-act opera "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" in a concert version on the stage of the Great Hall. "The castle is old, the legend surrounding it is old too. Listen now, listen." Thus begins the prologue of the work, whose eerie and shimmering narrative revolves around the seven locked doors of Bluebeard's castle, the secrets of which his wife Judith attempts to uncover. Bartók masterfully enveloped this tale in overwhelming sounds. The first half of the concert lures the audience into this fairy-tale sound world with Antonín Dvořák's 7th Symphony in D minor, a work that, according to the composer himself, "must have the power to move the whole world."

Program:
Antonín Dvořák // 1841–1904
Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 // 1884–85
// Intermission //
Béla Bartók // 1881–1945
Duke Bluebeard's Castle. Opera in one act Sz 48 // 1911
Concert performance in Hungarian with German surtitles

Cast:
Jennifer Johnston | Mezzo-soprano
Gerald Finley | Bass-baritone
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Klaus Mäkelä | Conductor

Linz Sound Menu around the concert:
Prelude 18:15, Middle Hall
Short musical introduction with young musicians followed by a concert introduction with free admission
Concert 19:00, Great Hall
Post-concert
After the concert, Foyer Great Hall
Musical commentary and spontaneous conversations for lingering and reflection.