Concerts of excellence

Tempeste e ardenti nostalgie – Storms and burning nostalgia | Sol Gabetta I

Aurel Dawidiuk

Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

Sol Gabetta

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Date

Sunday, 27.09

Hours 18:30

Location

Chiesa San Francesco, Locarno

Piazza San Francesco 19, 6600 Locarno

Price categories

CHF 140 / 115 / 90 / 65 / 40

Symphony and Choral Concerts

Concert information

Johannes Brahms was a great admirer of Franz Schubert, collected his manuscripts, and declared, “Look at this Schubert. He is one who can make heads turn.” The Overture for “Die Zauberharfe,” a “magic play in three acts,” paints a fairy-tale world with dense orchestral colors. Like a common thread, entirely typical in Schubert, an incessant pulse and marching rhythms, linked to the motif of walking and searching, run through the overture. Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor entered concert halls permanently thanks to the unforgettable Jacqueline du Pré. Sol Gabetta, Artist in Residence of classicAscona 2026, hailed as “fairy-like and mysterious,” will explore new perspectives in her interpretation. When Elgar wrote the work, World War I was in full swing, and its shadow is reflected in the concerto as a deep, shaken melancholy. After more than fourteen years of work on his first major symphonic project, Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 was a gesture of liberation. He was finally able to escape the pressure of the Beethovenian legacy. The result is a sweeping struggle from darkness into light.

Program

5:45 pm, SUPSI Lecture Hall, Locarno: Introduction – listening guide with Davide Fersini (musician and music journalist, RSI) – in Italian (German on request)

Sol Gabetta, Cello
Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Aurel Dawidiuk, Conductor

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Overture for the Melodrama “The Magic Harp,” D 644

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85

Break

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68

Duration: 120′ (with intermission)

The Artists

Aurel Dawidiuk

Conductor

Aurel Dawidiuk won the Deutsche Musikwettbewerb in the organ category in 2022 and the Internationaler Hans-von-Bülow-Wettbewerb for conducting from the piano in 2023. He has been Associate Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra since the 2025/26 season. From 2026/27, he will take up the post of General Music Director of the Bochumer Symphoniker and Artistic Director of the Anneliese Brost Musikforum Ruhr.

German Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Bremen

Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

Under Paavo Järvi’s baton since 2004, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen has become one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras. This success rests on a comprehensive, systematic engagement with composers and their works. Its Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms cycles, along with the ongoing Haydn project, set new standards. Tarmo Peltokoski has served as Principal Guest Conductor since 2022.

Sol Gabetta

Cello

Full of virtuosity or full of passion? Superstar Sol Gabetta combines both. As founder and artistic director of the Solsberg Festival, a lecturer at the Hochschule für Musik Basel, and through her masterclass at classicAscona, she nurtures young talents. She has already been named “Instrumentalist of the Year” (OPUS Klassik) and is a winner of the Swiss Music Awards and the Europäischer Kulturpreis.

Venue information: Chiesa San Francesco, Locarno

Chiesa San Francesco in Locarno, dating back to the 13th century, is more than a historical monument: it is a living sounding board where history, art, and music converge. It is one of classicAscona’s most fascinating venues and offers a worthy setting for orchestral and choral concerts. The special features of this monument of sacred art are the 18th-century frescoes by the Locarnese Orelli family of painters and the wooden choir, carved in 1522.
After significant restoration, the church now glows as a cultural center, welcoming all with its renewed brilliance. Its last complete interior restoration, finished in 2012, ensures every visitor can experience its historical beauty.