Con anima!
Deutsche Streicherphilharmomie / Hentrich

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Divertimento in D major, K. 136

Frédéric Chopin
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, op. 11

Johann Strauss I
Musikverein Dances, Waltz pop. 140
(arr. T. Tzschaschel)

Antonín Dvořák
Polka for Prague Students, op. 53, B. 114
(arr. T. Tzschaschel)

Zdeněk Fibich
Poem, from Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, op. 41
(arr. Chas. J. Roberts)

Bedřich Smetana
Dance of the Comedians, from The Bartered Bride
(arr. A. Hanke)

Karl Jenkins
Allegretto, from Palladio

Johann and Josef Strauss
Pizzicato Polka

Antonio Vivaldi
Allegro non molto and Largo, from L'inverno (Winter), op. 8, No. 4 (The Four Seasons)

Ring in the new year with a concert is a long-standing tradition in Austria. Wolfgang Hentrich and the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie, who have enjoyed numerous successes on concert stages across the country, invite you to join them and the outstanding pianist Rafał Blechacz for a spectacular start to 2026. The programme is themed „Con anima!“ – when composers want to hear their pieces like this, they’re wishing for a really soulful expression, a way of playing that’s filled with spirit. And this programme for the turn of the year is full of spirit. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart came back to Salzburg from Italy with his father just before Christmas 1771, his head full of new ideas and impressions he had picked up in the south. He soon wrote three divertimenti – purely light entertainment – for his new employer in Salzburg, Prince-Archbishop Colloredo. The first divertimento, K. 136, with its elegantly floating first movement, became particularly famous. It is hardly surprising that the melody is one of Mozart's best known. After this introduction, we are on our way to Paris; the city on the Seine was also the destination of the 20-year-old Frédéric Chopin when he premiered his piano concerto in E minor in October 1830. The concerto was a musical farewell to his Polish homeland, which the composer shares with the piano virtuoso Rafał Blechacz. For more than 20 years, the young pianist has been a mainstay of the international concert scene, not only as a proven Chopin expert – this is already his second collaboration with the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie. And finally, a New Year’s concert would not be complete without a colourful bouquet: in the second half of the programme, Wolfgang Hentrich and the Streicherphilharmonie will perform a rich selection of the most popular orchestral pieces by Vivaldi, Smetana, Dvořák and the Strauss dynasty, among others, to round off the start of the year in style. Happy New Year! 

Organiser: Aaron Eventmanagement GmbH