What is played
Zwinger Concert Programmes
The programmes the organiser names for the Zwinger concerts, explained: Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Mozart, waltzes, opera highlights, Grieg and winter music.
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The organiser gives each Zwinger concert date a named programme, and the programme changes with the date. The list includes Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, waltzes, opera highlights, Peer Gynt and festive winter concerts. No piece is promised in advance, so read the calendar entry for your date and choose the style of music you like best.
How the programmes work
The calendar gives every date a programme name, and the organiser's site describes each programme in a line or two. The same programmes repeat on different evenings, but the combination of date and programme is what you book. Because no fixed pieces are promised, read the entry for your date, and treat the descriptions here as the character of each programme rather than a setlist. The line-up varies with the programme, from a small ensemble up to an orchestra. The organiser's site lists the orchestra's repertoire as Baroque, Viennese Classicism, Romanticism and modern works.
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons are four violin concertos, published in Amsterdam in 1725, each printed with a sonnet in three sections that follows its movements. Spring brings birds and streams, Summer a storm, Autumn a harvest and a hunt, and Winter ice and a warm fire. The organiser describes its programme as virtuosic, vivid and full of contrasts, with the solo violin at the centre. Dresden's Pisendel studied with Vivaldi in 1716.
Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Mozart completed this serenade in Vienna on 10 August 1787. The scoring is for strings, with two violins, a viola, a cello and a double bass, though string orchestras often play it. It has four surviving movements, because Mozart's own catalogue lists a fifth that is lost. The work was not published until about 1827, and no one knows whether it was performed in his lifetime. The organiser builds a light, melodic programme around it.
Waltz Dreams and Best of Opera
Waltz Dreams, Walzerträume on the German calendar, offers waltzes, polkas and familiar Viennese melodies, and suits listeners who want recognisable tunes. Best of Opera collects dramatic operatic melodies, from Carmen to Cavalleria rusticana as the organiser puts it, and suits those who want voices and big tunes in a small room. Neither lists composers in full, so the calendar entry is the place to check.
Italian Night and Sounds of Romanticism
Italian Night promises southern temperament, virtuoso solos and familiar melodies, and the organiser names no composers for it. Sounds of Romanticism is described as an expressive programme of sweeping melodies and passionate ensemble playing, and it names Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Rossini. A Beethoven programme, titled TA-TA-TA-TAAA, features the first movement of the Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, and is framed around Beethoven as a musical revolutionary.
Peer Gynt, and the winter programmes
Edvard Grieg composed incidental music for Ibsen's Peer Gynt in 1875, and it was first heard in Christiania on 24 February 1876. He later drew two suites from it, Op. 46 and Op. 55. The organiser also lists Winter Dreams, Advent concerts, a festive Christmas concert and a New Year's Eve gala, and its autumn programme, Enchanting Autumn Classics. Dates in Advent and winter carry these festive programmes.
Children's and family concerts
The organiser also runs concerts for younger listeners: Vivaldi for Children, The Nutcracker for Children and Sleeping Beauty for Children, in which the fairy tale is told alongside Tchaikovsky's music. They are separate from the gala concerts this guide mainly describes, and they have shorter running times, about an hour including an interval. They also fall under a different set of dates, so check the calendar entry rather than assuming a gala date has a family version.
How to choose, and who this isn't for
If you know one piece, pick the programme that carries it, and then the date. If you want to be surprised, take a programme with a broad name such as Autumn Classics. Look elsewhere if you need a particular piece on a particular night, because no piece is promised, and the concert is not a staged opera or a full symphony. Families should read the children's concert entries.
Frequently asked questions
Is the programme fixed?
No. Each date has its own named programme, and no piece is promised in advance.
Are there Christmas concerts?
Yes. The organiser lists Advent concerts, a festive Christmas concert, Winter Dreams and a New Year's Eve gala.
Sources