An Elvis Song as Chamber Music: Moritzburg Looks to America

The Moritzburg Festival continues to be a sure bet for musical discoveries. At a concert themed “From the Hudson River to the Mississippi,” an Elvis Presley song made its chamber music debut: “Can’t Help Falling in Love” was performed by a sextet led by cellist and festival director Jan Vogler and delighted the audience on the north terrace of Moritzburg Castle.

Chamber Music Festival with a Musical River Journey

This year, the renowned festival invited audiences on a musical river journey. In 20 concerts, 26 musicians from around the world take the audience on a journey along the Neva, the Elbe, the Danube, and other rivers. Works by composers from the respective countries are performed. On Sunday evening, the journey took the audience to the U.S. According to the organizer, this concert sold out the fastest.

Elvis Presley’s hit reimagined as chamber music

Accompanied by pianist Marie Sophie Hauzel, Vogler opened the program with the legendary song “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” The cellist noted that Udo Lindenberg used the melody in his song “Sonderzug nach Pankow,” thereby creating something of a secret GDR anthem. He himself would likely never have come into contact with Elvis Presley had it not been for his sister, who was a huge fan. “Elvis Presley was a genius, an absolute genius. And I’m sure many of you sing that in the shower, too,” he said, referring to “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

Hot-air balloonists accompany “Summertime”

In addition to Philip Glass’s String Quartet No. 5, the program also featured “Summertime” from George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” a piece by Astor Piazzolla (“Four for Tango”), and Antonín Dvořák’s String Quintet—his “American” String Quintet. During “Summertime,” a hot-air balloon from the “So geht sächsisch” promotional campaign created a scene straight out of a movie—the balloon flew low over Moritzburg Castle, causing a murmur among the audience.

Waterfowl made their chattering presence known only at the beginning

Unlike on previous days, the chattering of the waterfowl—Moritzburg Castle is completely surrounded by a pond—remained limited during the musical journey from the Hudson to the Mississippi. A large flock of gray geese flew away right at the start of the concert, leaving the music-making entirely to the professionals on stage this time.

Festival Academy with young artists from 19 countries

Running parallel to the festival is the 21st Moritzburg Festival Academy is taking place, featuring 41 young women and men from 19 nations. They form the Moritzburg Festival Orchestra under the baton of its Spanish chief conductor, Josep Caballé Domenech. Among other events, they will perform an orchestral concert at the Kulturpalast in Dresden and host a musical picnic in the park of Proschwitz Castle.