Jörg Widmann is a true all-round talent. Not only is he one of the leading German composers (having studied with Hans Werner Henze and Wolfgang Rihm), he is also a first-class clarinettist and regularly takes to the conductor’s podium. He now performs in all three roles on the Elbphilharmonie stage with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, with which he has a long-standing collaboration.

Not only can you experience him on the clarinet performing his own arrangement of an early Mendelssohn sonata, he also conducts an interpretation of Robert Schumann’s Second Symphony, which is regarded by many as the pinnacle of the romantic symphony.
Widmann’s compositional side then comes to the fore in his »Mass for Large Orchestra«. Unlike most mass compositions, the work does not call for a choir or soloists. »The musicians themselves are the protagonists: solos, choir and orchestra in one,« says Widmann about his work. »At key liturgical points, the note picture looks like an enormous choir score: every musician ›sings‹ the respective mass text on their instrument.« read less