Sun, Sep. 03, 2023, 11.00 am | Elbphilharmonie, Recital Hall
Peter I. Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme op. 33 for Violoncello and Orchestra
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Oboe concerto C major KV 314
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 in F major op. 93
Musikalische Leitung: Ulrich Windfuhr
Oboe: Guilherme Filipe Sousa
Violoncello: Olivia Jeremias
Orchester: HfMT Orchester
Guilherme Filipe Costa e Sousa was born in Coimbra, Portugal. He completed his bachelor of music in oboe performance after studies with Ricardo Lopes at the Escola de Música e Artes do Espectáculo in Porto. He then completed a master of music degree with Diethelm Jonas at the Lübeck Music Academy. Both as a soloist and chamber musician, Guilherme Sousa has won various competitions, including first prizes at the music competition of the Portuguese Radio RTP “Prémio Jovens Músicos” in the solo and chamber music category, the first prize at the National Wind Instrument Competition in Terras de La-Sallete, the second prize at the 51st Possehl Music Award and the third prize at the 5th Józef Ciepłucha International Oboe Competition in Łódź, Poland. In Portugal, he was named Musical Newcomer of the Year in 2013. From 2015 to 2017 he was a member of the orchestral academy of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, performing concerts in Germany and abroad under conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kent Nagano and Sir John Elliot Gardiner. In 2017 Guilherme Sousa was appointed associate principal oboe at the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra. He then became principal oboist of the Düsseldorf Symphonic Orchestra at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 2017 to 2020. In 2020 he won the position of principal oboist at the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra.
Olivia Jeremias is one of the outstanding cellists of her generation. She began playing the instrument at the age of five. Taught by renowned cellists such as Peter Bruns, Colin Carr and Josephine Knight, she completed degrees at the Dresden Music Academy Carl Maria von Weber and at the Royal Academy of Music in London, both with honours. At the age of 20, she played the solo part in Dvořák’s Cello Concerto under the baton of Sir Colin Davis at Dresden’s Semper Opera, a performance also recorded for radio. She won international renown with a first prize at the Heran Competition in the Czech Republic and as a finalist in the Antonio Janigro Competition in Zagreb. In 2004 she received the Pierre Fournier Special Award. Olivia Jeremias appears regularly as a soloist with various orchestras, for example as the soloist in Tan Dun’s cello concerto “The Map” with the Essen Philharmonic. She has been invited to well-known festivals such as the Kilkenny Festival in Ireland, the Encuentro de Musica y Academia Festival in Santander, Spain, the Highgate Festival and Spitalfields Festival in London. In the summer 2004 she appeared at the Music at Menlo Festival in San Francisco, USA. In September 2005 Olivia Jeremias moved to Hamburg, where she holds the position of principal cellist of the Philharmonic State Orchestra.
The title of Peter Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme for Violoncello and Orchestra," premiered in 1877, is misleading. When one thinks of Rococo, one thinks of courtly, ornate opulence and powdered wigs. But the Russian composer had first and foremost his great model Mozart in mind. The theme of this series of variations does not originate from the pen of the Salzburg composer, but its simple expressiveness could have been written by him. Difficult to play, but blessed with a tremendously yearning expressiveness, the oboe, like the cello, has always been considered a particularly soulful instrument. Mozart knew how to make skilful use of these qualities - and Guilherme Filipe Costa e Sousa, principal oboist of the Philharmonic State Orchestra, transfers the special sound to the present day. Beethoven's Eighth, with which the concert concludes under the direction of Ulrich Windfuhr, is a masterpiece of musical humor and, moreover, of - by Beethoven's standards - unusually quiet tones. During its composition, Beethoven wrote a beautiful love letter to a woman whose identity has not been clarified to this day: "Already in bed, ideas crowd to you, my immortal beloved. Yes, I have decided to wander around in the distance until I can fly into your arms." So this is what he sounds like, the Beethoven in love.
"In music I find eternity made audible, a connection to the universe."
Olivia Jeremias, principal cellist of the Philharmonic State Orchestra
In cooperation with the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre
Venue: Elbphilharmonie, Recital Hall, Platz der Deutschen Einheit 4, 20457 Hamburg
