The highlight of the Germany-Israel Year

To mark the conclusion of the Germany-Israel Year, the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the St. Thomas Boys Choir of Leipzig will perform in Israel.

To mark the conclusion and as highlight of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel, the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the St. Thomas Boys Choir of Leipzig will perform together in Israel for the first time. The programme includes parts of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and will be presented in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Herzliya, Leipzig’s twin city.

From the attic to world class

The Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the leading international orchestras and, with its 185 musicians, the world’s largest professional orchestra. Its history reaches back into the fifteenth century. It is named after the sorting depot of the cloth-manufacturers – the “Gewandhaus” or cloth hall – in whose unused attic the then 32-man strong ensemble initially performed. The building was later converted into a concert hall. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played here, Beethoven’s symphonies already resounded here in his lifetime. The orchestra’s conductor was Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy; in this hall Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms gave world premieres of their compositions. In the Second World War the concert hall was destroyed. It was only in 1981 that Leipzig was given a new concert hall, the first and only new concert hall construction of East Germany. Today the orchestra is led by the Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly; in2018 he will hand over the baton to the Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons.

In addition to the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the St. Thomas Boys Choir is Leipzig best known cultural institution. It too looks back on a long tradition. In 1212 a school became affiliated with the St. Thomas Church where boys were trained for musical service in the church. Today 100 boys from the ages of 9 to 19 make up this unique choir, which can be heard every weekend in the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Concert tours and CD productions are also part of the children’s everyday life; they feel the distinction of singing in the choir and being accepted in the community as a great honour. Only very few pupils leave the choir before they must retire for reasons of age.

Concert of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the St. Thomas Boys Choir of Leipzig, 4 to 8 December 2015 in Israel

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