Symphony Concert

Sir Donald with Brahms

Sir Donald Runnicles opens the British Festival.
© Oliver Killig

11/14

Friday | 11/14/2025
7:00 pm Start of Concert
Kulturpalast, Konzertsaal
Prices
64 | 53 | 45 | 39 | 29 | 22 €
Reduced prices:
from € 10 for pupils under 18 
from €10 for young people under 30
from 11 € for Dresden-Pass and SB from GdB 80
8 € for last minute
Who receives discounts? Read here.

About the Concert

With this concert, Sir Donald Runnicles assumes his position as chief conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic and simultaneously opens our British Festival. The evening, full of European and British music history, begins with Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis," a deeply emotional and majestic piece that highlights the beauty of the English music tradition. William Walton's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra puts the larger sister of the violin in the spotlight. With virtuosic solo passages and dynamic orchestral accompaniment, this piece creates goosebump moments and showcases the viola in all its versatility and expressiveness. The crowning finale is Johannes Brahms' Fourth Symphony, a masterpiece that initially faced challenges at its inception. Its beginning appeared too abstract to contemporaries. Today, 140 years after its creation, the poetry of this beginning, the exuberance of the third movement, and the solemnity of the finale make Brahms' Fourth one of the most beloved symphonies of all time.

Program

Ralph Vaughan Williams
"Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis"

William Walton
Concerto for Viola and Orchestra

Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 4 in E Minor

Artists

Sir Donald Runnicles
Conductor
Timothy Ridout
Viola
Dresdner Philharmonie

Biographies

Sir Donald Runnicles

Chief Conductor of the Dresdner Philharmonie from 25/26

Introducing Sir Donald Runnicles! More pictures & videos of our new Chief Conductor can be found here.

Sir Donald Runnicles will become Chief Conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic at the start of the 2025/26 season; he already serves as Chief Conductor Designate in 2024/25. The Scottish-born conductor is also GMD of the Deutsche Oper Berlin until mid-2026. He stands for the principle of quality over quantity and has built up close artistic relationships with renowned institutions worldwide. His expertise in the opera and concert repertoire is in demand everywhere, and the German repertoire is particularly close to his heart.

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Timothy Ridout

Violist Timothy Ridout, a native of Great Britain, has thrilled press and audiences everywhere. The Guardian praised him as follows: "…he’s that rare kind of musician who could play a cardboard box and make it sing.” It really does not matter if he plays Schumann, Walton or a world premiere – he brings magic into all works. He has been a “Junger Wilder” at the Konzerthaus Dortmund since 2024/25 and in February 2025 he released an album of solo viola works.

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Dresdner Philharmonie

Top Class!

That is the claim of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra stands for concerts at the highest artistic level, musical education for all ages and looking beyond the musical horizon. Guest performances on almost every continent and collaborations with guests from all over the world have established the reputation of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra in the international classical music world.  

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