Opening Concert of the Dresden Music Festival

A selection of works from the opening concert of this year’s Dresden Music Festival with star singer Rene Pape will be broadcast on Arte.

The Dresden Music Festival is a fixture in the European festival scene. For several weeks each year, international stars and orchestras hold the reins in the city on the Elbe. On 21 July 2019 at 17:35, excerpts from the opening concert 2019 with Schumann's “Spring” Symphony and songs by Schubert, sung by world star René Pape, will be broadcast on Arte.

The Dresden Music Festival was founded during the Cold War to reaffirm the cultural significance of Dresden and the former GDR. An audience-strong an innovative program, top-class international guests and a festival orchestra of its own consisting of international specialists for historical performance practice - this is how the festival presents itself today in the wonderful setting of historical Dresden on the banks of the river Elbe.

The broadcast features Robert Schumann's First Symphony, also known as the “Spring” Symphony, and songs by Franz Schubert, arranged for orchestra and sung by world star René Pape, who immerses himself deeply into the composer’s romantic life and soul with these songs.

Robert Schumann’s work is closely linked to Dresden. His first symphony was composed in 1841 in just a few days and not long after his wedding to Clara Wieck - a happy time for the composer. Finally, he had found a way to write a symphony and to see Beethoven's seemingly overpowering legacy as a challenge and not as intimidation.

A production of Accentus Music in co-production with ZDF/Arte.

Watch the stream on 21 July at 17:35 via the button below.

Recording location Kulturpalast Dresden
Production Company Accentus Music GmbH
Co-Production Company ZDF/Arte
Executive Producer Paul Smaczny
Producer Günter Atteln
Director Henning Kasten
Orchestra / Band Dresden Festival Orchestra
Conductor Ivor Bolton
Soloist René Pape
Composer Franz Schubert
Composer Robert Schumann