Schoenberg 150

Unique triptych featuring Barbara Hannigan, Pierre Audi and François-Xavier Roth

Barbara Hannigan Conductor-Singer - image: Marco Borggreve
Conducted by François-Xavier Roth, the Concertgebouw Orchestra performs three key works by Arnold Schoenberg, who was born 150 years ago, in a captivating mise en espace by Pierre Audi and with soprano Barbara Hannigan in a starring role.  
Soprano Barbara Hannigan shines in the ominous one-act Erwartung.

Concert programme

  • Arnold Schönberg

    Fünf Orchesterstücke, op. 16

  • Arnold Schönberg

    Erwartung, op. 17

  • -- korte pauze --

  • Arnold Schönberg

    Pelleas und Melisande op. 5

Performers

About this concert

Both innovative and compelling: the Concertgebouw Orchestra presents a unique triptych to mark Arnold Schoenberg’s 150th birthday. The ominous one-act Erwartung, featuring the brilliant soprano Barbara Hannigan, is framed by the groundbreaking Fünf Orchesterstücke and the shimmering late-romantic orchestral work Pelleas und Melisande. François-Xavier Roth conducts, and Pierre Audi, the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s creative partner, has designed a visually captivating mise en espace.

The triptych sheds light on the fascinating development of Schoenberg’s music over the course of just a few years. In his great orchestral work Pelleas und Melisande, dating from 1902 and inspired by a tragic love story, we hear echoes of Wagner and Richard Strauss. The nightmarish Erwartung from 1909, which probes the darkest caverns of the soul, forced Schoenberg to abandon tonality. That same year, he composed his Fünf Orchesterstücke, with the middle movement and its subtly fading colour as a resting point.

This programme was made possible thanks to the financial support of Ammodo.

Dates and tickets

About this concert

Both innovative and compelling: the Concertgebouw Orchestra presents a unique triptych to mark Arnold Schoenberg’s 150th birthday. The ominous one-act Erwartung, featuring the brilliant soprano Barbara Hannigan, is framed by the groundbreaking Fünf Orchesterstücke and the shimmering late-romantic orchestral work Pelleas und Melisande. François-Xavier Roth conducts, and Pierre Audi, the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s creative partner, has designed a visually captivating mise en espace.

The triptych sheds light on the fascinating development of Schoenberg’s music over the course of just a few years. In his great orchestral work Pelleas und Melisande, dating from 1902 and inspired by a tragic love story, we hear echoes of Wagner and Richard Strauss. The nightmarish Erwartung from 1909, which probes the darkest caverns of the soul, forced Schoenberg to abandon tonality. That same year, he composed his Fünf Orchesterstücke, with the middle movement and its subtly fading colour as a resting point.

This programme was made possible thanks to the financial support of Ammodo.

A preview