PEACE AND RECONCILIATION

CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

In 2020, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra celebrated its 100th anniversary. It was once led by musicians such as Edward Elgar and Adrian Boult, but it was not until the era of Simon Rattle (1980–1998) that it made the leap into the foremost ranks of the classical music world. Rattle not only raised the ensemble’s musical standards but also established a new venue, the Symphony Hall, and worked consistently with contemporary composers. His successors, Sakari Oramo, Andris Nelsons and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, built on these achievements; in 2004, the CBSO Youth Orchestra was founded as a training ground for young talent. Among the orchestra’s many accolades, the German Record Critics’ Award and the Gramophone Award for the best classical recording of the past 30 years are particularly noteworthy.

THE CHOIR OF TRINITY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE

Founded in the 14th century, the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, is one of the most renowned choirs in the world. The ensemble comprises around thirty student singers and two organists from Trinity College and leads services in the college chapel throughout the academic year. This tradition, which for a long time was reserved exclusively for men, was opened up to female voices in the 1980s under the direction of Richard Marlow. Steven Grahl has been the choir’s musical director since January 2024. As a pioneer in the field of digital broadcasting, the choir has established a programme for the live streaming of its services. It also performs on international stages as part of its tours and, in this context, has collaborated with renowned ensembles such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

KAZUKI YAMADA

Kazuki Yamada’s star rose in 2009 when he won the prestigious conducting competition in Besançon. From then on, the stages of Europe lay open to him: he has worked with the major orchestras in London, Paris, Vienna, Stockholm and Dresden, as well as in the USA and Australia. For six years, from 2012 to 2018, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; in 2016 he took over as Artistic Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and shortly afterwards became Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. It was only natural that he should succeed the Lithuanian Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla as Chief Conductor there in 2023. Since the start of the 2026/27 season, Yamada has also been Artistic Director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester in his adopted home of Berlin.

LUKAS STERNATH

Lukas Sternath has been at home on international stages since childhood, having gained his first musical experience with the famous Vienna Boys’ Choir. He subsequently devoted himself to the piano, studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and in Hanover under Igor Levit and Paul Lewis. The young Viennese musician caused a sensation at the 2022 ARD International Music Competition in Munich, winning first prize as well as seven special prizes. He was also named an ‘ECHO Rising Star’ for the 2024/25 season and a "BBC New Generation Artist" for the period 2025 to 2027. He performs regularly on major international stages and organises his own "Lukas Sternath Cycle" (chamber music) at the Vienna Musikverein – a first in the history of this renowned institution.

IRINA LUNGU

The Moldovan-born Russian soprano Irina Lungu began taking piano and choral singing lessons at a very early age, before specialising in opera singing. As a prize-winner of the 2004 Operalia competition, she perfected her training at the Academy of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Her international career has taken her to the world’s greatest opera houses, including the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, the Opéra de Paris and the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. In Switzerland, she has performed notably at the opera houses in Zurich and Lausanne. Irina Lungu, who is renowned for her interpretations of bel canto and Verdi roles, regularly collaborates with renowned conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Daniele Gatti and Daniel Harding. She also appears as a guest on concert stages, where she performs the symphonic vocal repertoire.

CHRISTIAN GERHAHER

The German bass-baritone Christian Gerhaher studied medicine and singing simultaneously in Munich before continuing his training with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. He has established himself as one of the most distinguished lieder singers and has formed a close-knit partnership with the pianist Gerold Huber for over thirty years, with whom he performs cycles by Schubert, Schumann and Mahler in particular. He is also a much sought-after opera singer. His performance as Wozzeck in Zurich in 2015 is regarded as a milestone in his opera career, which has flourished on major international stages. In Switzerland, he has appeared at the Lucerne Festival and the Grand Théâtre de Genève, amongst others. Christian Gerhaher teaches lieder singing in Munich.

ANDREW STAPLES

The British tenor Andrew Staples began his musical career as a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. He went on to study at King’s College, Cambridge, the Royal College of Music and the Benjamin Britten International Opera School, where he gained his first stage experience. His career has continued in both opera and the concert repertoire. He is a guest performer at major opera houses such as Covent Garden in London, the National Theatre in Prague, La Monnaie in Brussels, the Theater an der Wien and the Met in New York. On the concert stage, he regularly performs with renowned conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle and Daniel Harding. Andrew Staples is also involved in opera production, music films and photography.

BENJAMIN BRITTEN: “WAR REQUIEM” FOR SOPRANO, TENOR, BARITONE, CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA

An oratorio, premiered 17 years after the end of the war in the ruined Coventry Cathedral, featuring artists from formerly hostile nations: the idea of reconciliation could scarcely have been realised more powerfully. But Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem” is more than just a musical memorial: it is a work that brings together musical tradition and modernity, society and the individual in a fascinating way. Britten, a composer at the zenith of his career, writes fugues and chorales in a contemporary style, crafts vivid soundscapes, and pushes instruments and voices to the limits of their expressive power. And whilst the Latin Mass text points to the timeless, the harrowing verses of the poet Wilfred Owen, who died young, bring us back down to earth.