Dresden Music Festival kicks off - motto: "Love"

The 48th Dresden Music Festival opened with a performance by the NHK Symphony Orchestra from Tokyo. The top Japanese orchestra came to the Elbe with its chief conductor Fabio Luise, who is well known for his previous position as general music director of the Saxon State Opera and chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden.

Festival director Jan Vogler himself took part in the opening concert at the Kulturpalast and gave a virtuoso performance of Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto in C major. Vogler and the orchestra with its warm sound were celebrated by the audience. After the interval, the Japanese orchestra performed Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 4 and demonstrated their class in all instrumental groups. The soloist in the final movement was the Chinese soprano Ying Fang.

Renowned orchestras perform in Dresden

The motto of the current edition of the festival is "Love". 58 concerts are planned until June 14. Renowned orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra will be presenting their musical calling cards. Dresden institutions such as the Sächsische Staatskapelle and the city's philharmonic orchestra will also be performing. In addition to lots of classical music, there will also be fado with singer Mariza and pop music with Ronan Keating.

Head of the city praises the unifying role of music

Mayor Dirk Hilbert (FDP) got the audience in the mood for the festival at the beginning and announced a "fascinating journey through the world of sound". The motto is an expression of the unifying power of love in difficult times. Everyday life is characterized by tensions, insecurities and uncertainties. But something can be done to counter this, music is able to do so: "It bridges centuries, cultures, genres and national borders. But above all, it brings people together."

The Dresden Music Festival was founded in 1978 and was already well known before the fall of the Berlin Wall with guest performances by stars and ensembles from the West. With Vogler's directorship, the international appeal of the festival has increased significantly since 2009. The festival not only regularly hosts top orchestras from all over the world, but also renowned soloists from the fields of classical music, jazz, world music and rock.