Vienna Philharmonic with Bruckner in Sagrada Família
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major at the Sagrada Família on 18 September 2021 under the baton of Christian Thielemann. This will be the first concert of the Vienna Philharmonic in the basilica.
The programme includes a world premiere by Ernst von Siemens Prize winner Samy Moussa, the composition of the work "Elysium". It is a commissioned work by the orchestra, inspired by Bruckner's Fourth. The second part will feature Bruckner's 4th Symphony, whose premiere took place in Vienna on 20 February 1881, also with the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter.
The conception of the Sagrada Família by the architect Antoni Gaudí took place in the early 1880s and thus at the same time as the creation of Bruckner's 4th Symphony.
The chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, Prof. Daniel Froschauer, is looking forward to the concert: "To perform a great masterpiece by the Austrian late Romantic composer in the extraordinary setting of the Sagrada Família, which is significant for the history of our orchestra, is very moving for us musicians. It is an incredible experience to play this music in the unique architecture and acoustics of the basilica. For me, it is the current highlight in our Bruckner project, which will be released in the anniversary year 2024. We have already used the pandemic to record some of Bruckner's symphonies with Christian Thielemann."
The concert on 18.9. will be recorded by the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE for the EBU.
TV broadcast dates are:
3SAT: Saturday, 18.9.2021 at 8:15 p.m.
TVE La2: Saturday, 18.9. at 8:25 p.m.
ORF 2: Sunday, 19.9.2021 at 9:05 a.m.
The programme will be transmitted by many other broadcasters around the world within the coming months. The exact broadcast dates and times will be published by the local stations.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has a multi-year television contract with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to produce and broadcast three classical concerts per year, including the New Year's Concert from the Vienna Musikverein and the Summer Night Concert from Schönbrunn Palace Park.
The concert is produced with the support of the Fondazione Pro Musica e Arte Sacra.
Rolex is the exclusive partner of the Vienna Philharmonic.