7. Sinfoniekonzert: War Requiem

In the organizer's words:

In his War Requiem, Benjamin Britten created a musical memorial for peace from the memory of the horrors of two world wars. It is particularly moving for us now, in our present day, which is shaken by reports of war. The work begins sombrely and quickly builds up to enormous drama, so that the words "Requiem aeternam" - eternal rest - cannot be believed. It is far more than an ordinary requiem mass, as Britten supplemented the Latin liturgy with emotional texts by the English poet Wilfred Owen, who died in the First World War. The gigantic orchestration, which combines several choirs, a large orchestra and vocal solos, is capable of producing both powerful and fragile sounds. The sometimes loud, sometimes whispering, but always insistent protest for peace, which arose from the depths of Benjamin Britten's heart, can also release energy reserves in us to resist hatred and violence.