With Schumann's Piano Concerto Op. 54 and Mahler's Symphony No. 5, two masterpieces of the Romantic era will be heard. While Schumann primarily composed for smaller orchestral forces and processed intimate, personal experiences in his music, Mahler often chose monumental and innovative orchestrations to create a vast range of colors and effects. This rich Romantic repertoire is deeply connected with the history of the Gürzenich-Orchestra. Mahler himself conducted the premiere of his 5th Symphony with the Cölner Städtischen Orchester (now the Gürzenich-Orchestra), and both Clara and Robert Schumann performed with the orchestra.

A delicate beauty defines Schumann's only piano concerto. He succeeds in transferring the intimate, lyrical style of his piano works into a symphonic piece, perhaps because the work was originally conceived as a fantasy. Despite the highly virtuosic piano part, which is in close dialogue with the orchestra, it is the warm timbres full of expression and poetry that take center stage in the work. He dedicated this romantically overflowing concerto to his wife Clara, who was also the soloist at the world premiere.

Today, Mahler's 5th Symphony is one of the most popular of his symphonies. The composer himself remained dissatisfied with the work for a long time. "My 5th Symphony is a cursed piece. Nobody understands it." He kept rewriting it, re-orchestrating it. The ideal orchestration for the complex polyphony, where multiple motifs develop in parallel in very different ways, was a huge challenge for the self-critical composer.

Born in Tokyo, Mao Fujita was still studying at the Tokyo College of Music when, in 2017, he won the First Prize, the Audience Prize, the Prix Modern Times, and the Prix Coup de Coeur at the renowned International Clara Haskil Piano Competition in Switzerland. In 2019, he was awarded the Silver Medal at the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Mao Fujita has performed with conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Marek Janowski, Iván Fischer, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. He is an exclusive artist with Sony Classical International.

Sakari Oramo was Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1998 to 2008 and Chief Conductor of the West Coast Kokkola Opera from 2004 to 2018. After a decade as Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, he was appointed Honorary Conductor in 2012. He is also Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. As a guest conductor, Sakari Oramo has conducted leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, and Boston Symphony Orchestra. He was last celebrated with the Gürzenich Orchestra in January for a concert featuring Kaija Saariaho's Saarikoski Songs with Anu Komsi as soloist, Jean Sibelius’ En Saga, and Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 8, receiving standing ovations.

The Gürzenich Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo, will embark on a Japan tour in February 2025 with this program, featuring Mao Fujita and Akiko Suwanai. The orchestra will perform in prestigious venues such as the Tokyo Suntory Hall, Yokohama, Toyota, and Tokorazawa.

Ein und alles
Su. 02.02.25 11 Uhr
Mo 03.02.25 20 Uhr
Tu. 04.02.25 20 Uhr
Kölner Philharmonie
Robert Schumann
concert for piano und orchestra
a-minor op. 54
1845
Allegro affettuoso
Intermezzo – Andantino grazioso
Allegro vivace

Gustav Mahler  
Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor  
1901–04  

I. Part  
1. First Movement: Trauermarsch. In gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie ein Kondukt  
2. Second Movement: Stürmisch bewegt. Mit größter Vehemenz  

II. Part
3. Third Movement: Scherzo. Kräftig, nicht zu schnell  
4. Fourth Movement: Adagietto. Sehr langsam  
5. Fifth Movement: Rondo-Finale. Allegro

Mao Fujita, piano
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln
Sakari Oramo, conductor
Concert introduction 50 minutes before the start with Michael Lohse
Tickets and further information at
https://www.guerzenich-orchester.de/event-detail/ein-und-alles