"Be embraced, millions!" - Beethoven crowned his symphonic oeuvre with his 9th and its joyful message of a society united in brotherhood. For Philippe Herreweghe, it is not just about the monumentality of the work, but rather about its tonal transparency. Discreetly performed in this way, the "Ode to Joy" joins Bertolt Brecht's pacifist appeal, which Hanns Eisler poured into sound in his expressive composition "Gegen den Krieg" for choir a capella in 1936. Mutually reinforcing, the appeal for peace and utopia form the thought-provoking and optimistic prelude to the Heidelberger Frühling Musikfestival 2025 with its thematic focus on "Liberated Time".

Concert without intermission