Ingo Metzmacher & DSO: Run for Casual Concerts Seats
Ingo Metzmacher will lend a special touch to the end of his first season with the Berlin-based “Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester” by bringing a series of three “Casual Concerts” to a rewarding close. A souvenir Metzmacher took over to Germany from visits to the USA, the “Casual Concerts” feature high-class music at a very friendly price and in a drastically less formal environment: Visitors are openly invited to dress down and at the beginning of each performance, the German conductor will introduce and explain the music to be played. Because a certain percentage of the seats will no longer be reserved but available on a “first come, first serve” basis, the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester has already warned visitors that a “run for the best places” will begin right after the doors open at 7pm – slightly later than on regular dates. After the last note has been played, listeners are then invited to hop over to the 40seconds Club for the After-concert-lounge of the Casual Concerts, where they can have a drink while enjoying a live seance by one of the artists of the evening.
The overall satisfaction with the first two Casual Concerts has apparently been extremely high. Ingo Metzmacher, for one, found the mood to be more open and more about music than about rituals. A younger and less academic audience was drawn to the events, as the loose ambiance suggested a relaxed listening experience. Interestingly, Metzmacher even found that Casual Concerts drastically reduced the “coughing issue”, possibly because there was less pressure on visitors.
Alexander Steinbeis, orchestral director of the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester chimed in the praise by saying that “the casual concerts prove that it is possible to win over a new, open-minded and enthusiastic audience for classical music. We’re extremely happy to be able to conclude our first season with Ingo Metzmacher with such an event.”
On the menu will be a program of Carl Maria von Weber, Hans Werner Henze and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy – again an example for the very symbiosis of contemporary and classical music Ingo Metzmacher has championed ever since working with the Ensemble Modern at the early 80s.
Picture by M. Bothor
Homepage: Ingo Metzmacher
Homepage: Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester
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