Hamburg, Berlin & Vienna

The tour starts at 6.00pm on Saturday 7 June at the Steigenberger Hotel, Hamburg.

The tour ends after breakfast on Saturday 21 June, at the Grand Hotel Wien, Vienna.

We gather in our hotel this evening for introductions over a welcome drink, followed by a welcome dinner at a traditional Hanseatic restaurant. Overnight Hamburg (D)

The birthplace of Brahms and Mendelssohn, and where Telemann and Mahler worked, Hamburg’s eclectic musical heritage is today set against the strikingly modern backdrop of the Elbphilharmonie. After an introductory talk in our hotel, we begin with a walking tour of the city’s historic highlights, including the grand City Hall and the medieval charm of St. Jacobi. We then visit the Kunsthalle, home to one of Germany’s finest art collections. It is especially noted for its holdings of paintings by the German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich, as well as an outstanding collection of the art of the 20th century. After touring the collection, which spans two buildings linked by an underground passage, we end the day with dinner together at a local restaurant. Overnight Hamburg (B, D)

A once-mighty trading power on the Elbe, Hamburg absorbed people from all over the world through its port. Today it officially encompasses the world’s greatest collection of canal warehouses, known as the Speicherstadt (the Warehouse District), built between 1883 and the late 1920s as a free economic zone. Today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, our morning is spent exploring its unique buildings and winding network of streets, canals and bridges, before continuing to the adjacent Kontorhaus District – one of the most impressive urban quarters of 1920s Germany. A walk through the courtyard of the Chilehaus, a 1924 Kontorhaus office complex, makes for a nice intro to the design style known as Brick Expressionism. We then return to our hotel to freshen up before our first performance, which sees Wagner’s legendary Tristan und Isolde bring together three world-class talents for the revival of Ruth Berghaus’ legendary 1988 production at the Staatsoper Hamburg. In his final season as General Music Director, the prolific Kent Nagano conducts tenor Simon O’Neill and soprano Catherine Foster, two of the most prominent voices known for their performances in Wagnerian repertoire. Overnight Hamburg (B)

Performance I
Venue: Staatsoper Hamburg
Program: Wagner, Tristan und Isolde
Performers: Catherine Foster (Isolde), Simon O’Neill (Tristan), Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (choir), Kent Nagano (conductor)

Today we visit the KomponistenQuartier, a fascinating
museum complex dedicated to seven composers closely connected to Hamburg’s musical heritage. Spanning over 200 years of music history, the museum showcases the lives and works of figures from the 18th century, such as Georg Philipp Telemann, to 19th-century icons Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, and Johannes Brahms, and finally to Gustav Mahler, representing the transition to modernism. Through a vibrant blend of interactive exhibits and historical objects, the KomponistenQuartier brings music history to life in an engaging and immersive way. After spending the morning here, we return to our hotel via the iconic baroque St Michaels Church, home to the largest organ of Vienna. Tonight we head to the stunning Elbphilharmonie for a performance that echoes our morning visit, with a program centered around Brahms’ Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1. Brahms composed this work early in his career and the sensibility of the exquisite Camerata Salzburg’s chamber orchestra with French pianist Hélène Grimaud will bring out the virtuosity and emotional depth of Brahms’ endearing spirit. Overnight Hamburg (B)

Performance II
Venue: Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg
Program: Brahms, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1
in D minor, Op. 15, Serenade No. 1 in D major, Op. 11
Performers: Camerata Salzburg, Hélène Grimaud (piano), Giovanni Guzzo (violin)

One of the most interesting and diverse of all the great capitals of Europe, Berlin’s musical heritage is vast and varied, reflecting the city’s dynamic and complex history. Departing Hamburg this morning, a coach journey through the German countryside brings us to Berlin in the afternoon. After checking in and time to explore the local area, we gather for drinks followed by dinner in the trendy Hackescher Markt area. Overnight Berlin (B, D)

Spanning 6,000 years of art and history, the ensemble of venues on Berlin’s Museum Island represent the pinnacle of Germany’s collections. After a talk in our hotel this morning, we’ll first visit the Neues Museum, the home of the Egyptian Museum and the famous bust of Nefertiti, before time to explore the other collections at your own pace and discretion. This evening we attend a concert at the wonderful Pierre Boulez Saal designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, with exceptional acoustics crafted by Yasuhisa Toyota (the same acoustician behind the Elbphilharmonie). The venue’s intimate setting offers both performers and their audience a more personal musical experience, and our duo recital with Yulia Deyneka – principal violist of the Staatskapelle Berlin – and pianist Denis Kozhukhin features works by Roslavets, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich. Overnight Berlin (B)

Performance III
Venue: Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin
Program: Roslavets, Sonata for Viola and Piano No. 1; Prokofiev, Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet; Stravinsky, Élégie for Solo Viola; Shostakovich, Sonata for Viola and Piano Op. 147
Performers: Yulia Deyneka (viola), Denis Kozhukhin (piano)

Assembled in the early 19th century, the Gemäldegalerie’s collection represents all the major schools of European painting and includes masterpieces by Botticelli, Raphael, Vermeer and Rembrandt. From the large central hall, conceived as a place of quiet reflection with indoor fountains designed by Walter De Maria, we spend the morning weaving our way through the surrounding individual galleries and find highlights such as Caravaggio’s Amor Victorius. After an afternoon at leisure, we gather again for a pre-concert dinner before our performance at the Berliner Philharmonie. Kazuki Yamada conducts a program that spans continents and eras, as Respighi’s Fontana di Roma captures the grandeur of the Eternal City, while Takemitsu’s I Hear the Water Dreaming reflects the Japanese composer’s deft sensitivity to nature’s sounds. In the capable hands of young German virtuoso Sebastian Heindl, Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 not only showcases the organ’s majestic qualities but also reflects the interplay between the earthly and the ethereal. Its resident orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker, magnifies the elegant contrast between these pieces, curating a unique musical experience that one would
be hard pressed to find elsewhere. Overnight Berlin (B, D)

Performance IV
Venue: Berliner Philharmonie
Program: Respighi, Fontane di Roma; Takemitsu, I Hear the Water Dreaming for flute and orchestra; Saint-Saëns, Symphony No. 3 in C minor, op. 78 “Organ Symphony”
Performers: Berliner Philharmoniker, Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Sebastian Heindl (organ), Kazuki Yamada (conductor)

The Hamburger Bahnhof Museum for Contemporary Art is one of the most significant public collections of contemporary art in the world. Located in a building of the former train station, paintings sit alongside sculpture, installation, photography and video. After touring the collection, we head to the Reichstag for lunch with the stunning views of the Berlin skyline. We also explore the extraordinary Norman Foster designed glass dome at the top of the building. Tonight we attend a performance of Franz Schubert’s Winterreise at Berlin’s state opera house, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. A cycle of 24 songs set to Wilhelm Müller’s poems, Schubert’s composed Winterreise in 1827, just a year before his death. This work is regarded as the pinnacle of the German art song tradition, capturing the essence of a lost and lonely character. Hans Zender adapted the cycle for tenor and small orchestra in 1993, revealing its darker potential and reinterpreting Müller’s poems. Similarly, Christian Spuck’s staging – awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse in 2019 – explores timeless themes of love, longing, and alienation through a blend of large ensemble scenes and intimate solos. This evening Spuck presents a new version of his choreography with the Staatsballett Berlin. Overnight Berlin (B, L)

Performance V
Venue: Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
Program: Schubert, Winterreise (Winter Journey)
Performers: Magnus Dietrich (tenor), Staatskapelle Berlin (orchestra), Staatsballett Berlin (ballet)

Austria’s capital Vienna offers a blend of imperial traditions, extraordinary art and music, and endearing charm. After a relaxed start to the day, we take a short flight to the Imperial City and check in to our hotel on arrival. This evening we meet for drinks in the hotel bar before enjoying dinner at an Austrian restaurant in Vienna’s Bognerstrasse. Overnight Vienna (B, D)

As one of the most prominent Imperial rulers in Europe from the 15th century onwards, the Habsburg name has repeatedly been carved into the stones of Vienna. After a talk in our hotel, we spend the morning exploring the magnificent legacy the Habsburgs bequeathed the city, including the majestic St Stephen’s Cathedral with its colourful tiled roof, and the Imperial Treasury, whose extraordinary collection spans more than 1,000 years. We then enjoy a relaxed lunch before an afternoon at leisure. Tonight we make our way to the historic Theater an der Wien, a fitting venue bridging Vienna’s rich past with cutting-edge new works as we take in a new opera by Czech composer Miroslav Srnka. Voice Killer presents a gripping narrative centered on a soldier at a US army base in Australia during WWII, exploring themes of alienation and reflecting on how isolation and disconnection erodes the power of language. Srnka collaborates with award-winning Australian librettist Tom Holloway, whose work with Srnka is currently under commission with the Sydney Theatre Company. This world-premiere is accompanied by Klangforum Wien, Vienna’s internationally acclaimed chamber orchestra for contemporary classical music. Overnight Vienna (B, L)

Performance VI
Venue: Theater an der Wien
Program: Srnka, Voice Killer (world premiere)
Performers: Seth Carico (Private), Finnegan Downie Dear (conductor), Klangforum Wien (orchestra)

The exceptional Kunsthistorisches Museum is one of several palatial buildings that was commissioned by Emperor Franz Josef I to accommodate the magnificent Habsburg collections. The building itself is a work of art, with a grand stairway featuring paintings by Gustav Klimt, and today its collection of Old Masters is considered one of the world’s finest. Our morning tour here is followed by lunch in the museum’s excellent café, with the afternoon free to explore the collection at leisure. This evening, one of the world’s most celebrated pianists, Sir András Schiff, offers a masterful recital in the Great Hall of Vienna’s Konzerthaus. A renowned interpreter of Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, Schiff’s acute scholarly understanding of these four revered composers is conveyed through an artistic sensitivity that illuminates the connections between them. Overnight Vienna (B, L)

Performance VII
Venue: Wiener Konzerthaus
Program: Works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
Performer: Sir András Schiff (piano)

Ludwig van Beethoven retreated to the Vienna suburb of Heiligenstadt in the summer of 1802, where he wrote the ‘Heiligenstadt Testament’, expressing his despair over his worsening deafness. After a guided visit through his former residence, now a museum, we return to our hotel for an afternoon at leisure. Tonight, the Musikverein’s Golden Hall – often considered the most acoustically perfect concert venue in the world – hosts the Wiener Symphoniker in Bruckner’s monumental Mass No. 3. The last of his three great masses, it is often regarded as his finest contribution to sacred music. Paired with Zemlinksy’s Frühlingsbegräbnis (Funeral of Spring), is a symphonic cantata reminiscent of composers like Brahms and Mahler. Overnight Vienna (B)

Performance VIII
Venue: Musikverein, Vienna
Program: Zemlinsky, Frühlingsbegräbnis (Funeral of Spring); Bruckner, Mass No. 3 in f minor
Performers: Christina Gansch (soprano), Rachel Wilson
(mezzo-soprano), Lorenzo Viotti (conductor)

Today we step away from the concert halls and into the rolling green surrounds of Vienna via a short coach trip which brings us to Klosterneuberg Abbey. Consecrated in 1136 and rebuilt in the Baroque style, the abbey has survived fire, siege and suppression under the Nazis following the Anschluss of 1938. Our guided tour takes us through the sumptuous imperial apartments, built for Emperor Charles VI, and the Chapel of Saint Leopold where we see the Verdun Altar, regarded as one of the most important artworks of the Middle Ages. We then make our way to the Viennese wine town of Grinzing, enjoying local wines and food at a ‘heuriger’ (vineyard). Accompanied by sweeping views of the Danube, the afternoon provides a peaceful interlude to reflect on the music we’ve encountered. Overnight Vienna (B, L)

Dedicated to the promotion of classical music, and with the aid of a land grant provided by Emperor Franz Josef I in 1863, the Viennese Music Association built a grand concert hall in the Neoclassical style in central Vienna. Still dedicated to musical excellence, today we return to the Musikverein this morning for a guided tour through its rehearsal rooms, sumptuous Golden Hall and intimate Brahms Hall, followed by a farewell lunch in the city’s Stadtpark. Tonight our program culminates with the opening of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, Das Rheingold at the Wiener Staatsoper. Scottish baritone Iain Paterson performs the role of Wotan, which he reprises from previous appearances under Daniel Barenboim. The grandiosity and spectacle of Wagner’s music finds its perfect home within the opulent Staatsoper and is a fitting finale to our tour, which highlights the remarkable contributions of these great composers but also invites us to reflect on the powerful resonance of classical music in our contemporary world. Overnight Vienna (B, L)

Performance IX
Venue: Wiener Staatsoper
Program: Wagner, Das Rheingold
Performers: Iain Paterson (Wotan), Clemens Unterreiner (Froh), Jörg Schneider (Loge), Philippe Jordan (conductor)

The tour ends after breakfast. Airport transfers are provided to Vienna Airport for onward flights home. (B)