Johannes Brahms: »Ein deutsches Requiem«

The traditional “Buchenwald Memorial Concert” in Weimar’s Herderkirche forms the opening ceremony for Kunstfest Weimar. With this concert we remember the victims of Nazism – while also symbolising humanity, memory and the arts. The centrepiece is Johannes Brahms’s impressive work “Ein deutsches Requiem”, whose profound humanism offers a universal message
of consolation for the living. The programme also contains Brahms’s motet “Warum ist das Licht gegeben dem Mühseligen” along with Ludwig van Beethoven’s rarely heard “Elegaic Song”. These will be performed by the acclaimed Capella Cracoviensis – Poland’s leading ensemble for historically informed performance practice – under its Chief Conductor Jan Tomasz Adamus.The capella, which has enjoyed an international reputation for decades now, contributes its considerable experience on original instruments along with a finely balanced choir and prominent
soloists. The star Israeli soprano Chen Reiss is a regular guest at leading opera houses including Covent Garden in London, The Israel Opera in Tel Aviv and la Scala, Milan. The bass part offers a chance to hear the much sought-after young Polish soloist Jakub Borgiel. The evening will open with words of welcome by Naftali Fürst, a survivor of Buchenwald, with this year’s memorial address delivered by Kunstfest’s patron, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize Irina Scherbakowa.