Symphonic Concert Filharmonia Narodowa

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Symphonic Concert
Christoph König, photo: Christian Wind

In an age when it is no longer the norm for children to duplicate their parents’ profession, it is not often that you find musical families performing in the world’s major concert halls. The piano duo made up of the two supremely talented brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen is an example of an exceptional phenomenon. Despite their young age, the pianists can boast numerous recordings for the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label. At the Warsaw Philharmonic, they will tackle the rarely performed Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in A flat major by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. This was the second double concerto in the career of the 15-year-old genius, who often performed with his no less talented sister Fanny. The work’s presentation in Szczecin and Berlin aroused great interest in European salons in the talent of the young pianist and composer. His music later inspired Richard Strauss, before he became familiar with Richard Wagner’s theatrical experiments (less so with his philosophy). One of the most famous examples of Strauss’s paradox-laden operatic output is the modernist one-act Elektra. Known for the particularly demanding role of the main character, who is present on stage for almost its entire duration, this time the work will allow the singers to rest and will be heard in the form of a recently prepared orchestral suite.

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Christoph König

Chief Conductor, Spanish Radio Symphony Orchestra (RTVE)
Principal Guest Conductor, Warsaw Philharmonic
Music & Artistic Director, Solistes Europeens Luxembourg

 

Renowned for the clarity, elegance and precision of his interpretations, Christoph König is acclaimed and in demand internationally as one of the leading conductors of his generation. Chief Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) in Madrid since the 2023/2024 season, he is music and artistic director of the Solistes Européens Luxembourg since 2010. With the start of 2024/2025 season, he assumed the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Warsaw Philharmonic for three consecutive seasons.

Past and future highlights include appearances with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestre de Paris, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Concert-Verein, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Dresdner Philharmonie, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. In North America, he has performed with orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Houston Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Equally at home in the opera repertoire, he has conducted several productions at major opera houses such as Opernhaus Zürich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Theater Bonn, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Stuttgart and Teatro Real in Madrid.

In the years 2009–2014, Christoph König was Principal Conductor of the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, with which he toured extensively in Europe and Brazil. From 2003 to 2006, he served as Principal Conductor of Malmö Symphony Orchestra, as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria.

His recording of the complete Beethoven symphonies with Solistes Européens Luxembourg (2020) is the highlight of his collaboration with the British label Rubicon. Also, on the same label he released interestingly juxtaposed repertoire by Antonín Dvořák, Aaron Copland and Charles Ives, Franz Schubert and Luciano Berio, as well as Étienne Méhul and Ludwig van Beethoven. His projects with Naxos have included music by the French composer Louise Farrenc and living composers from Luxembourg. In addition, his discography includes Henryk Melcer’s piano concertos with the BBC Scottish Symphony (on Hyperion), Beethoven’s Symphonies with Malmö Symphony Orchestra (on dB Productions) and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC Music).

Christoph König was born in Dresden, where he sang in the famous Kreuzchoir. He studied conducting, piano and singing at the Hochschule für Musik Dresden and furthered his studies in masterclasses with Sergiu Celibidache and Sir Colin Davis, whose assistant he later became at the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden at the Semperoper.
 

[2025]

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