Lili Boulanger – Gabriel Fauré – Claude Debussy – Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

Enchanting Sounds: »A Midsummer Night’s Dream«

Performances of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s complete incidental music to Shakespeare’s »A Midsummer Night’s Dream« are unfortunately rare. In this concert, however, this charming and whimsical music – taking us on a humorous journey through the city of Athens and its enchanted surrounding forests – is brought vividly to life on the stage of the Berlin Philharmonie, accompanied by actress Katja Riemann as narrator.

Music from Early 20th-Century France

The first half of the concert, featuring the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Rundfunkchor Berlin under the baton of Dalia Stasevska, transports the audience to France at the turn of the 20th century. It opens with »Vieille prière bouddhique« by Lili Boulanger, the first woman to win the prestigious Grand Prix de Rome at just 19 years old. Composed shortly before her untimely death, this piece is a Buddhist prayer for peace and tolerance amid the turmoil of the First World War – a message that remains profoundly relevant today. The program is rounded off by the beautiful »Pavane«, composed by Boulanger’s teacher Gabriel Fauré, and an orchestral arrangement of the beloved »Clair de Lune« by his contemporary Claude Debussy.