“One is confronted with a kind of music the likes of which no German composer with an artistic attitude has ever even dared think about, let alone write,” one reviewer raged following the premiere of Hindemith’s boisterous and high-spirited Kammermusik Nr. 1, which turned the young composer into the enfant terrible of the 1920’s musical establishment. Led by Giuseppe Mentuccia, the Boulez Ensemble performs the work opposite Jacques Ibert’s Cello Concerto, written a few years later and scored for an all-wind ensemble, and Mozart’s 1782 Wind Serenade, which the composer himself referred to as “Nacht Musique.” The Second Violin Sonata by Iraqi-born composer Solhi Al-Wadi, who passed away in 2007, completes the program.

Unfortunately, Daniel Barenboim had to cancel his participation in this concert due to illness. In his place, Giuseppe Mentuccia will take over the musical direction.