Frankfurter Museums-Gesellschaft e.V.

Mystical, as if “from high above,” the notes of Hildegard von Bingen’s antiphon descend upon us when sung a cappella by Anna Prohaska, offering a glimpse of the sounds of the Middle Ages. Even today, Hildegard von Bingen—this remarkable woman from the High Middle Ages—continues to move and enrich us with her music, her writings, and even her recipes.
Even today, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach still seems otherworldly to us. Although the Musical Offering was merely an offering, a gift to Frederick the Great, we encounter something religious and mystical in this contrapuntal collection. Anton Webern orchestrated the Ricercar a 6 from *The Musical Offering*, breaking it down into individual motivic elements, thereby creating entirely unfamiliar timbres and revealing new structures.

The opera and concert arias by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart strike us as almost supernaturally beautiful and, at the same time, very human. For the most part, he wrote them specifically for certain singers—especially female singers who looked “pretty on stage” and had “a supple voice.” The prima donna he adored, Anna Storace, was both pretty and had a “supple voice.” Before she left Vienna, he bid her farewell with a concert aria, to which he added a concertante piano part. Hermann Scherchen, who conducted the Museum Orchestra in the 1920s, transcribed the piano accompaniment to Franz Schubert’s song “Auf dem Strom” for orchestra.
Traces of medieval religious mysticism, Bach’s counterpoint, and Schubert’s harmony can be found in the work of the great symphonist Anton Bruckner. His Fourth Symphony, the “Romantic” Symphony, is particularly popular.

Anna Prohaska: Soprano
Alexander Boukikov: Horn
Thomas Guggeis: Piano and Conductor
Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra

Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) Antiphon “O virtus sapientiae”
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Ricercar a 6 from: “Musical Offering” BWV 1079 (orchestrated by Anton Webern)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) Concerto aria “Ch’io mi scordi di te?” – “Non temer, amato bene” for soprano, piano, and orchestra, K. 505
Interlude with Thomas Guggeis
Franz Schubert (1797–1828) “Auf dem Strom” for soprano, horn, and orchestra, D 943 (orchestrated by Hermann Scherchen)
Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major, “Romantic” (1888 version)

Photo: Marco Borggreve

Nov. 15, 11:00 a.m. & Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m. (A concert introduction with Andreas Bomba will take place one hour before each performance in the Great Hall)

Alte Oper, Main Hall, Opernplatz 1, Frankfurt

2-for-1: Price Category 1 = 77 €, Price Category 2 = 67 € (Tickets subject to availability)

Nov. 12–14, Advance ticket sales at the Alte Oper, Mon–Fri 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m., Sat 10 a.m.–2 p.m. (Tickets subject to availability! After booking here at CITY CARD, please pick up your tickets as soon as possible starting November 12 at the Alte Oper box office upon presentation of your CITY CARD. Please note that you must present your valid CITY CARD again upon entry to the event, and the tickets are non-transferable!)