Against the War

We live in turbulent times: war is closer than we would like, peace more fragile than we thought. This four-part series is a reflection on global unrest. In the first part of this concert, war is central, with the confronting Berliner Requiem by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht as an eye-catcher. Afterward, hope blossoms and the desire for peace resonates in several breathtakingly beautiful choral works. Against the War is a theme concert that is poignantly current. After a prologue with L’histoire du soldat by Stravinsky, part 1 focuses on the brutality of war, its incomprehensible barbarity and ruthlessness. Part 2 zooms in on the inevitable consequences of crazed ideologies and blind hunger for power through the performance of Weill's acclaimed Berliner Requiem. Part 3 tries to let a glimpse of hope shine through all the horror, among other things via Schönberg's ethereal choral work Friede auf Erden.