Benefit concert for the reopening of St. Michael's

After more than 13 years of complete renovation, the former abbey church of St. Michael in the over 1000-year-old monastery complex is reopening its doors. It is particularly famous for its »Heavenly Garden«, a fresco depicting more than 580 detailed plants. We are honoured and delighted to be playing under the baton of our principal conductor on this festive occasion, presenting a deeply romantic work by a composer who always felt a particular affinity for churches. Bruckner inscribed the name day of St. Cecilia, patron saint of music, in the score of his Fourth Symphony. This piece fits perfectly with the atmosphere of the impressive monastery complex on the Michaelsberg hill high above our city, as a magnificent scene unfolds in the moving soundscape: our horn player blows a wake-up call and birds can be heard chirping in our instruments. According to Bruckner, there is even a »boy in love« in the symphony who fails in his attempt to climb through a window, and we also form a funeral march and a lively hunt complete with a country dance interlude. In the swirling storm of the finale, we are free to play without detailed programmatic guidelines, because the composer said: »Well, I don’t even know myself what I was thinking!« This enchanting work is available in various versions, which we have been studying intensively for a long time. We won the International Classical Music Award in 2022 for our recording of all versions: the jury president, Remy Franck, praised our enjoyment of playing this phenomenal symphony, saying that we interpret it »so freshly and spiritedly, so colourfully and richly detailed«.

Tickets: from 23.03.2026 10 a.m.