Weber Martin Helmchen, Anna Prohaska, Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin & Christoph Eschenbach

• Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826):
• 1 Weber: Der Beherrscher der Geister, Op. 27 06:32
• Konzertstück in F Minor, Op. 79:
• 2 Weber: Konzertstück in F Minor, Op. 79: Larghetto affettuoso - Allegro passionato - Tempo di marcia - Presto assai 16:54
• Der Freischütz, Op. 77:
• 3 Weber: Der Freischütz, Op. 77: Overture 09:48
• 4 Weber: Der Freischütz, Op. 77, Act 3: XIII. Romance, Recitativo & Aria "Einst träumte meiner sel‘gen Base" 07:00
• 5 Weber: Der Freischütz, Op. 77, Act 2: VII. Arietta "Kommt ein schlanker Bursch gegangen" 04:07
• Oberon, J. 306:
• 6 Weber: Oberon, J. 306: Overture 09:10
• Total Runtime 53:31

Info for Weber

200 years ago, on May 26th 1821, today's Berlin Concert Hall was inaugurated as “Königliches Schauspielhaus”. Destroyed as “Preußisches Staatstheater” during World War II, the building, located in eastern Berlin, was rebuilt during GDR times and reopened as “Konzerthaus” in 1984. The premiere of Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz on June 18th 1821 was a highlight of the opening year. The work became his most popular opera and one of the key works of the 19th century. A few days later, the composer (who died at the age of only 40 in 1826), had another piece premiered at the “Königliches Schauspielhaus”: his brilliant “Concert Piece for Piano and Orchestra op.79”. This year the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, with its principal conductor Christoph Eschenbach, will be celebrating these historic events. Weber holds a special place in the life of the great German conductor and pianist, as Der Freischütz was the first opera he saw at the age of ten. Eschenbach is being joined in this program, which combines overtures, arias and the famous concert piece, by two artists who reside at the Konzerthaus Berlin and are also Alpha artists: soprano Anna Prohaska and pianist Martin Helmchen. br>
"As a performance, it sets the tone for the rest of the CD: immaculately played." (MusicWeb International)

"But it's the overtures here, including the wonderful The Ruler of the Spirits, that spread most delight, with their sprightly delivery of Weber's top virtues: happy melodies, dramatic punch and lively orchestral colouring." (The Times)

"(…) this recording, conducted and played with great spirit, is a potent reminder of the brilliance of Weber's music.2 (Sunday Times)

Anna Prohaska, soprano
Martin Helmchen, piano
Konzerthausorchester Berlin
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor

Martin Helmchen
has established himself as one of today’s most in-demand and sought after pianists. The originality and intensity of his interpretations, alongside his excellent tonal sensitivity and technical abilities characterize him. Born in Berlin in 1982 and a former student of Galina Iwanzowa, Helmchen continued his studies with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. His other mentors include William Grant Naboré and Alfred Brendel. His career gained incredible momentum when he won the „Concours Clara Haskil“ in 2001.

Early on he performed with the world’s most renowned orchestras such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic as well as Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Wiener Symphoniker, Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, and Orchestre de Paris. In Scandinavia he appears regularly with the Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Danish National Symphony Orchestra. He enjoyed collaborations with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Manfred Honeck, Andris Nelsons, Jakub Hrůša, Valery Gergiev, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Andrew Manze, Kazuki Yamada, Christoph von Dohnányi, Edward Gardner, Bernhard Haitink, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Michael Sanderling und David Zinman.

Highlights of this season include his return to the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, followed by guest performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Stockholm Philharmonic as well as with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo.

Being an avid chamber musician Helmchen regularly performs with fellow artists such as his wife cellist Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Julian Prégardien, Christian Tetzlaff, Antje Weithaas, Carolin Widmann, and Frank Peter Zimmermann. This season, Helmchen continues his great Beethoven cycle with violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann which they tour to Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Monte-Carlo, Neumarkt, Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Luxembourg.

Martin Helmchen is an exclusive artist of Alpha Classics. In light of the Beethoven anniversary he has recorded all piano concertos together with the Deutsche Symphonieorchester under the baton of Andrew Manze which will all be released in 2020. In 2019 he released Messiaen’s “Vingt regards sur l’enfant- Jésus“. Further recordings include Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, chamber music by Schubert with Marie-Elisabeth Hecker and Antje Weithaas as well as a Brahms’ duo CD with Marie-Elisabeth Hecker. He previously recorded several discs with PentaTone Classics, including piano concertos by Mozart, Schumann, Mendelssohn as well as chamber music by Schubert, Schumann and Brahms.

Since 2010, Martin Helmchen has been an Associate Professor of chamber music at the Kronberg Academy.

Anna Prohaska
At 20 years of age Anna Prohaska made her debut at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, her artistic home. Since then she has remained an ensemble member adjacent to her international career, working with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Philippe Jordan and Simon Rattle. Anna Prohaska has proven extraordinary versatility in any repertoire from Monteverdi to world premieres. Soon she ventured out to other stages such as La Scala di Milano, the Bolshoi Theatre, De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden or the Paris Opera.

Since 2008 Anna is a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival and after having made role debuts as Zerlina, Despina and Deola in Luigi Nonos Al Gran Sole, Carico d’Amore she sang Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro in 2016 and Cordelia in Reimann’s Lear in 2017. Apart from having sung Blonde, Adele and in Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes, Jörg Widmann dedicated the role of Inanna to her in his opera Babylon, conducted by Kent Nagano in 2012.

She is in demand at the leading concert venues of the world which have brought her to the Cleveland Orchestra, LA Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestras, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Wiener and Berliner Philharmoniker and to the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Claudio Abbado, Franz Welser-Möst, Herbert Blomstedt, Pierre Boulez, Daniel Harding, Mariss Jansons, Yannick Nézét-Séguin, Gustavo Dudamel or Mariss Jansons.

Anna Prohaska is passionately dedicated to historical performance practise, often having sung with Nicolaus Harnoncourt and his Concentus Musicus, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Freiburger Barockorchester or the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

The season of 17/18 brings Anna Prohaska back to Theater an der Wien for Claus Guth’s new production of Handel’s Saul and to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden for her role debut as Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff. At her Berlin artistic home, the newly reopened Staatsoper Unter den Linden, she will be premiering the title role in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea and also performing Debussy oratorios in Berlin and the Vienna Musikverein with the Staatskapelle Berlin and Daniel Barenboim. After having sung at the opening concerts of the new Pierre Boulez Saal, she will fulfil a life-long dream of performing Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire under the baton of Zubin Mehta with Daniel Barenboim at the piano.

Anna Prohaska is often invited to the centres of art song like the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Wigmore Hall, to Wien oder Berlin. In 2018, marking the centennial of the end of the First World War, she will tour her „Behind the Lines“ programme including venues such as the the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie.

As an exclusive artist of the Deutschen Grammophon she released numerous solo recitals and operas winning various awards like the ECHO Klassik. Her most recent album Serpent & Fire: Arias for Dido and Cleopatra (2016 by alpha) with Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini entered the top of the German classical music charts immediately after release.

Booklet for Weber