Das Lied von der Erde

Main series

18. January 2024 at 19:30

New year, and new opportunities to enjoy distinctive symphonies! Tonight, we'll experience one with only two complete movements – and one composed with a fear of the curse of the ninth symphony.

Main series

Thursday 18. January 2024 at 19:30

Fartein Valen, Stavanger konserthus

Program

Schubert: Symphony No. 7 "Unfinished"
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth)

Contributors

Andris Poga, conductor
Dame Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano
Andrew Staples, tenor

Andris Poga

Conductor

Andris Poga is the Chief Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. He was the Music Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra from 2013 till 2021 and continues to collaborate with the LNSO as its Artistic Advisor.

Highlights of recent years have included concerts with the leading orchestras of Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Scandinavia. After the first successful collaborations he has become a regular guest at the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester Hamburg, WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and many others. He has also conducted the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Gewandhausorchester, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Dallas Symphony.

The season of 2024/25 includes the subscription concert series with both the SSO and LNSO, returns to the Orchestre National de France, WDR Sinfonieorchester, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Hamburg Symphoniker among others. Andris will make his debuts with the Iceland Symphony, Turku Philharmonic, Düsseldorf Symphony and other orchestras in Europe and Japan. The notable soloists will include instrumentalists Frank Peter Zimmermann, David Fray, Jan Lisiecki, Jean-Guihen Queyras and singers Julia Bullock, Miina-Liisa Värelä, Alfred Walker.

In 2010, Andris Poga was the First Prize winner of the Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition, which thrust him into the international scene. He became an assistant to Paavo Järvi at the Orchestre de Paris and he also served as the assistant conductor for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Andris has graduated the conducting department of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. He studied philosophy at the University of Latvia and conducting at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts.
Dame Sarah Connolly

Soloist

Dame Sarah Connolly, a distinguished mezzo-soprano born in County Durham, has left an indelible mark on the world of classical music. A Fellow of the Royal College of Music, she has received numerous accolades, including being named the eighteenth recipient of the King’s Medal for Music in December 2023. Renowned for her exceptional vocal artistry, Connolly was honored with the Silver Lyre in 2012 by the Royal Philharmonic Society for Best Solo Singer and received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s 2012 Singer Award. I

n addition to her operatic triumphs, including memorable roles at Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, and the Metropolitan Opera, she has demonstrated her commitment to contemporary compositions, premiering works by notable composers such as Benjamin Britten, Sir John Tavener, Mark Anthony Turnage, Sally Beamish, and Dame Judith Weir.

Notably, during the 2011 Gustav Mahler celebrations, Connolly showcased her mastery of Mahler’s vocal works in performances with esteemed orchestras and conductors. Her dedication to promoting new music and her outstanding contributions to the classical music landscape earned her a Damehood in the 2017 Birthday Honours and a CBE in the 2010 New Year’s Honours.
Andrew Staples

Soloist

Andrew Staples is considered one of the most versatile tenors of his generation, appearing regularly with Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding, Emmanuelle Haïm, Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House,Covent Garden with Fidelio (Jacquino), returning for Capriccio (Flamand), Die Zauberflöte (Tamino), Katya Kabanova (Tichon) andSalome (Narraboth). He has also appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, the National Theatre Prague, La MonnaieBrussels, the SalzburgerF estspiele, Hamburg Staatsoper, Theater an der Wien, the Lucerne Festival and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

His recent and future performances include Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (Chamber Orchestra of Europe), Britten’s Peter Grimes (Teatro La Fenice) and Turn of the Screw (Budapest Festival Orchestra), Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius (Royal ScottishNational Orchestra), Haydn: The Creation (Scottish Chamber Orchestra), Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette (Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France), Janacek: Katya Kabanova (London Symphony Orchestra), Handel: Jephtha (Komische Oper Berlin) and Mozart: Idomeneo (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin).

Andrew Staples’ creative output includes concert and opera singing, directing opera andother stage works, music, filmmaking and photography. To these complementary disciplines, he brings a collaborative approach and a strong desire to tell better stories, that build connections between artists and audiences.

21. May

Das Lied von der Erde

Das Lied von der Erde

Main series

Program

Contributors

Andris Poga

Conductor

Dame Sarah Connolly

Soloist

Andrew Staples

Soloist

Mahler’s Third Symphony

Strauss, Schumann and Brahms