The Summer Tour 2016 of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER ended with two highly acclaimed concerts in Dresden and Stuttgart. For the first time, PHILIPPE JORDAN - he conducted the GMJO on tour for the fifth time – and baritone CHRISTIAN GERHAHER (he was previously guest-appearing in 2010) worked together. They were joined by BERNHARD HEINRICHS, solo oboe of the Zurich Opera and a world-renowned Bach specialist. Together, they performed two highly demanding programmes which were focused on essential questions of humanity: Bach´s Solo Cantata „Ich habe genug“ BWV 82 was paired with Bruckner´s unfinished Symphony no. 9 and Gustav Mahler´s „Abschied“ from „das Lied von der Erde“ with his Symphony no. 9. The latter programme combination had already been performed by Claudio Abbado during the Easter Tour 2004, which is available on DVD.



The initial concerts in Bolzano/Bozen, the long-term residency partner of the GMJO,  were praised by the press: „Ci sono poche orchestre che possano reggere il confronto con la Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. […] Jordan e la Mahler hanno proposto un saggio di sonorità mahleriana.“ (Amadeus 23.8.2016). „Quanto a peso, profondità, impatto, [la GMJO] è a tutto tondo un´orchestra professionale. […] Gerhaher non canta, semplicemente: trivella ogni parola. Dopo averli sentit da lui […] per un po´ certi brani non si possono più riascoltare. Perché gli altri stanno in superficie.“ (Carla Moreni, Il Sole 24 Ore 28.8.2016)

After Bolzano/Bozen, the GMJO guest-appeared at the most important festivals, as every year, such as the Salzburger Festpiele, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and the BBC Proms: „[…] the best sheer orchestral playing I heard all season, with near ideal balance and weight of sound in Bruckner’s 9th.“ (Martin Kettle, The Guardian 12.9.2016). „[…] an intensity that would be hard for even the most seasoned orchestra to emulate.“ (Evening Standard 31.8.2016). These were  followed by a concert at the festival Young Euro Classic which marked the triumphant return of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER to Berlin after a long absence: „Ohne Übertreibung […] die beste Aufführung einer Sinfonie [Gustav Mahlers] in Berlin seit längerer Zeit.“ (Clemens Haustein, Berliner Zeitung 30.8.2016). „Die im Unhörbaren »ersterbenden« Pianissimo-Töne am Ende hat man selten ergreifender gehört.“ (Antje Rößler, Neues Deutschland 1.9.2016)




As in 2015, the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER opened the concert season in Pordenone as well as in the Dresden Semperoper, where it performed upon invitation of its partner orchestra Staatskapelle Dresden. The concert at the Musikfest Stuttgart marked the final high point of the Summer Tour 2016, where the reviewer also praised the dramaturgical line of the programme: „Es geht im Übrigen bei diesem Musikfest auch nicht um die reine Klassik-Kulinarik, sondern um durchdachte Programme. Wenngleich man ja kaum mehr bieten kann als einen Weltstar wie Gerhaher, der gleichwohl unspektakulär, fahl, fast anti-virtuos, aber halt durchdacht und angemessen Johann Sebastian Bachs Kantate „Ich habe genug“ in der Liederhalle vortrug. […] fantastisch, die so reiche musikalische Kultur der jungen Instrumentalisten zu erleben.“ (Jürgen Kanold, Südwest-Presse 7.9.2016)

At the beginning of the Summer Tour 2016, LEO MCFALL conducted two concerts, finishing his tenure as Assistant Conductor of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER which he held since 2013, with NICHOLAS ANGELICH as soloist. The first appearance of the GMJO in Toblach, where Gustav Mahler composed the „Lied von der Erde“ and his Symphony No. 9, and a concert in Bolzano/Bozen, dedicated to the memory of Pierre Boulez (with DORRAN ALIBAUD as soloist in Boulez´ Messagesquisse), incoronated the more than two weeks long rehearsal period of the GMJO in Bolzano/Bozen, its long term residency partner. The Südtiroler Tageszeitung praised the „[…] unvergleichlich präzise und intensiv spielende GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER.“
 

Photo credits:
(1), (3), (4) © Gregor Khuen Belasi
(2) © Mark Allan / BBC
(5), (6) © Archiv GMJO

PHILIPPE JORDAN conducts the Summer Tour 2016 of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER. The Music Director of the Opéra National de Paris and Principal Conductor of the Vienna Symphony guest-appears already for the fifth time with the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER, after tour projects in 2006, 2007, 2011, and 2013.

German baritone CHRISTIAN GERHAHER, one of the leading singers of our time, will return for the first time after 2010, and this project of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER marks the first collaboration ever of these eminent artists.

J.S. Bach´s Cantata „Ich habe genug“ BWV 82 (with BERNHARD HEINRICHS, solo-oboe) is being combined with Anton Bruckner´s Symphony no. 9 in D minor in the first tour programme. This programme marks the first-ever approach of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER to the works of Bach, and also the second tour programme – with the final movement „Der Abschied“ from Gustav Mahler´s „Das Lied von der Erde“ and his Symphony no. 9 in D major – confronts us with essential questions of humanity.

The two-week rehearsal period of the Summer Tour 2016 leads the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER to its long-serving residency partner, the city of Bolzano / Bozen, following the recent residency project in Abu Dhabi at Easter 2016. After the initial concerts in Bolzano, the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER goes on tour, as every year, appearing at some of the most prestigious festivals and venues, such as the Salzburg Festival, the BBC Proms, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and the Dresden Semperopera.
It returns after many years to the festivals Young Euro Classic in Berlin and to the Musikfest Stuttgart, and after the tremendous success of its debut in 2015, it opens the 2016/17 season of the Teatro Comunale in Pordenone.

LEO MCFALL, Assistant Conductor of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER since 2013, conducts two additional concerts in Dobbiaco / Toblach and Bolzano / Bozen. As for his initial concerts in 2013, he is joined by pianist NICHOLAS ANGELICH, performing Beethoven´s Piano Concerto no. 2 in B Flat major. The two programmes include works by Pierre Boulez (with DORRAN ALIBAUD, cello), Janáček, and Stravinsky and Bruckner´s Symphony no. 9 in D minor respectively.

Photo credits:
(1) Philippe Jordan © Jean Francois Leclerc
(2) Christian Gerhaher © Thomas Egli
(3)  Bernhard Heinrichs © Artan Hürsever
(4) Leo McFall & Nicholas Angelich © Márcia Lessa
(5) Dorran Alibaud

The Summer Tour 2016 of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER was made possible by the generous support from its main sponsors Erste Bank and Vienna Insurance Group, the sponsoring partner Julius Bär, and the Förderstiftung of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER, as well as by the essential support from the Bundeskanzleramt – Kunstsektion of the Republic of Austria and the Magistratsabteilung 7 - Kultur of the City of Vienna.

Erste Group and Vienna Insurance Group
 
   
 

as well as by Julius Bär and the Förderstiftung of the GMJO.
 

The GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER is proud to be Ambassador UNICEF Austria.