Symphony Concert of the Ebinger Kammerorchester - with Michael Wendeberg

Throughout his life, Robert Schumann looked to Beethoven as his guiding musical light. He admired him deeply and devoted himself to studying his compositions. It is therefore fitting that his imposing piano concerto is framed here by works of Ludwig van Beethoven. The evening opens with the dramatic Coriolan Overture - regarded as one of the first concert overtures written not as a prelude to a larger work.

Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor begins with equal drama and ranks among the most significant compositions of the Romantic era. It remained his only completed piano concerto, written for his wife Clara Schumann. The close interweaving of the solo voice and the symphony orchestra gives the work the character of a symphonic solo concerto.

Michael Wendeberg is well known in Albstadt. Born and raised in the city, he won his first national prizes at Jugend musiziert as a child, then studied piano with Jürgen Uhde, Markus Stange, Bernd Glemser, and Benedetto Lupo. He has performed with the radio symphony orchestras of NDR, WDR, HR, and SWR, as well as the Berlin Philharmonic. He was a member of the ensemble contemporain under Pierre Boulez and is also an active chamber musician.

He studied conducting in Saarbrücken and works as a conductor with leading orchestras including the WDR, Collegium Novum Zürich, and Klangforum Wien. Since 2018 he has been Professor of Piano and Piano Chamber Music at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin.

The Ebinger Kammerorchester is traditionally reinforced by musicians of the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen.

The concert is conducted by Martin Künstner.