Neujahrskonzert 2026 - Freude, schöner Götterfunken

In the organizer's words:

New Year's Concert 2026

Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Stefan Blunier Conductor
Eleanor Lyons Soprano
Katrin Wundsam mezzo-soprano
Marco Jentzsch tenor
Johannes Kammler Baritone
Duisburg Philharmonic Choir
Marcus Strümpe Choral rehearsals

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 9 in D minor op. 125

Beethoven's freedom opera "Fidelio" was already on the program at the beginning of the season, a work that ends with an emphatic choral finale in which the humanist conviction of its creator breaks through with powerful sound. And this also applies to his 9th Symphony, a work in which Beethoven embraces all of humanity, so to speak. "All men become brothers", says Schiller's "Ode to Joy", which served Beethoven as the textual basis for his grandiose finale. Although the audience at the premiere probably didn't know what was happening to them - a powerful choral finale in a symphony had never been heard before - Beethoven's music swept the euphoric audience off their feet even then. Since then, the 9th Symphony and its final movement in particular have become a real global hit. For example, the Council of Europe declared the instrumental prelude to the "Ode to Joy" the European anthem in 1972. Stefan Blunier, who returns to conduct the Duisburg Philharmonic twice this season, will conduct an exquisite quartet of soloists in a work that could hardly be more topical in our time.

As in previous years, the Duisburg Philharmonic is organizing the New Year's Concert together with the Gesellschaft der Freunde der Duisburger Philharmoniker e. V. The proceeds from the New Year's Concerts will benefit the Gesellschaft der Freunde der Duisburger Philharmoniker e. V.