This year’s Heidelberger Frühling begins on 2 April and features Jörg Widmann in a number of concerts. A large number of other HarrisonParrott artists also perform at the Festival: Alina Pogostkina (3 April), Sol Gabetta (6 April), Andreas Scholl (8 April), Lisa Batiashvili (16 April), the Goldmund Quartet (27 April), Martin Grubinger (28 April) and Paavo Järvi who conducts the closing concert with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Golda Schultz.
A regular guest at Heidelberg for many years, Jörg Widmann appears as conductor, soloist and composer. He returns to the Festival for its opening gala-concert on 2 April performing Rossini’s Introduction, Theme and Variations with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden and Freiburg under the baton of Tito Munoz. On 3 April he leads the same orchestra in a play/conduct programme featuring Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.3 performed by Alina Pogostkina and Weber’s Concertino for Clarinet. As principal guest conductor of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, he returns to the podium accompanying Igor Levit in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.9 (20 April) and Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No.2 (21 April). Finally Jörg Widmann plays works for clarinet solo by Berio, Messiaen and his own Drei Schattentänze framed by Mozart organ works performed by Markus Uhl in a late night concert on 21 April.
Sol Gabetta returns to Heidelberger Frühling on 6 April for a concert with Il Giardino Armonico under the baton of Giovanni Antonini performing a Baroque programme including Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Cello Concerto and Telemann’s Concerto for Recorder and Viola da Gamba. This concert marks the start of a tour of Germany with concerts at the Thüringen Bachwochen Festival in Weimar (7 April), Munich’s Prinzregententheater (10 April), Laeiszhalle Hamburg (12 April), Tonhalle Düsseldorf (13 April) and the Berliner Philharmonie (14 April).
Another Baroque programme is presented on 8 April by Andreas Scholl and Avi Avital. Their ‘Italian Cantatas’ programme includes works by Vivaldi, Handel, Caldara and other composers. A day later Andreas Scholl appears with Tamar Halperin and Fabian Russ in a mixed programme of songs from the 17th century accompanied by electronic sounds.
Together with Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Gautier Capuçon under the baton of Lionel Bringuier, Lisa Batiashvili performs Brahms’ Double Concerto on 16 April. This concert marks the start of their tour of Germany taking in Konzerthaus Dortmund (17 April), Munich’s Philharmonie am Gasteig (19 April), Liederhalle Stuttgart (20 April) and Alte Oper Frankfurt (21 April). On 28 April Martin Grubinger can be heard in a programme of works by Crumb, Corigliano and Sting alongside baritone Thomas Hampson.
The festival’s final concert on 30 April sees Paavo Järvi conduct The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and soprano Golda Schultz in works by Mozart and Beethoven.
