New Year's Galas from Berlin

Grammy Award-winning virtuoso Daniil Trifonov enchants with first-class piano-playing when he steps up to the podium at the New Year’s Eve concert of the Berliner Philharmoniker, in 2016. The Moscow-born pianist and composer has been described as one of the most astounding pianists of today. Lead by star-conductor Sir Simon Rattle, Trifonov and the Berliner Philharmoniker perform Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto, some of the most dashing Slavonic Dances by Antonín Dvořák, and excerpts from William Walton’s Façade.

The same procedure as every year…but not quite. With Joyce DiDonato as guest star and a truly diverse and diverting program personally selected by Sir Simon Rattle to commemorate his last Gala from Berlin as chief conductor of the BPO, you can be sure that this concert was anything but conventional routine. Join Joyce DiDonato, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle for virtuous and ravishing interpretations of Dvořák's Carnival, Stravinsky's Pas de deux from 'Apollon Musagète', Lieder by Richard Strauss, Brahms's Hungarian Dance No. 1, and three dance episodes from Leonard Bernstein's 'On the town', thus unofficially starting the “Bernstein at 100” celebrations of 2018.

On New Year’s Eve the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle invite us to join them together with Cecilia Bartoli, who graced their annual concert at the Philharmonie, Berlin with arias selected from her extraordinary repertoire. Also featured: exhilarating dances by Brahms and Dvořák that happily combine characteristics of their own idioms with Slavonic and Hungarian folk music. The program features following works: Rameau’s Dances Suite, Gavotte and Entr’acte from Les Boréades; Handel’s “Scherza in mar la navicella" from Lotario, “Ah che sol…M'adoro l'idol mio” from Teseo and “Lascia la spina” from Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno. This is followed by orchestral performances such as Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances Op. 46/1, No. 4, Op.72/4 and Op. 46/3, Suite No. 2 from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé and Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 1.

This year the Berlin Philharmonic and their musical director Sir Simon Rattle welcome the New Year together with multi-awarded Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin. Kissin's musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have placed him at the forefront of today's pianists. This concert he will feature as star soloist in a performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16. Furthermore, the Berlin Phillharmonic performs Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance No. 1, Op. 46, Grieg’s Symphonic Dance No. 2, Op. 64, an orchestrated version of Alborada del gracioso by Ravel, R. Strauss’ Salome’s Dance Salome, excerpts from Stravinsky’s The Firebird and Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 1.