Two years nothing or only with restrictions – of course. Keyword: pandemic.

The joy is even greater this year—and if you believe the weather apps, the late afternoon thunderstorm will die down initially.

So: Summer Night Concert 2022 in Schönbrunn, with a bit of luck with the weather, will indeed take place as if for a long time, without restrictions in front of the public. If you wish, you can come, and if you do not have tickets for the VIP area, camp in the meadows, look at the starry sky and listen to the sounds of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

In the best traditions of summer night parties in Vienna. This means that an outstanding conductor and outstanding soloist play the masterpieces of lighter classical music.

Conductor this year is Latvian Anders Nilssons, conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. The soloist is French cellist Gautier Capuchon, who is considered one of the few international stars in his field.

A journey of peace through Europe

We are also indebted to him for a program highlight, the No. 1 Cello Concerto by Camille Saint-Saens, which in the German-speaking world has just earned a permanent place in the “Carnival of Animals” repertoire. One of the most useful types.

The rest of the program offers a cheerful, uplifting lead and is rooted in the idea of ​​the great European brotherhood: the Czech Republic is represented twice, the Bidzi Smetana performance of “The Bartered Bride” and Antonín Dvořák’s second opera, Slavic Dance. Arturs Maskats wrote the symphonic tango in which the Latvian, born in 1957, reached the final of the International Masterprize Composition Competition in 2003.

Who better than Giocchino Rossini to represent Italy with all that it is perceived to be Italian in Central Europe? An introduction to the opera “La gazza ladra” (“The Thieving Magpie”) is a wonderful orchestral piece with immediate effect.

The first “Romanian Rhapsody,” Opus 1 by George Enescu, is played less frequently these days: the Roman combines folklore and refined harmony in his lively early works. He is considered in his homeland a national composer, and a must-discoverer internationally. After all, he was played by the Vienna State Opera “Oedipe”, which, of course, was written in a language more complex than the language of the wonderful “Roman Rhapsody”.

Of course, the Ukrainian composer should not be missing in these times: Mykola Lysenko (1842-1912) is considered the first national composer of his country. The “Farewell” waltz is a somber piece that balances the salon and concert hall and is reminiscent of Frédéric Chopin as well as the waltz music of Austrian composers such as Josef Strauss.

Humanitarian massege

The concert will open with the third Leonor Prelude by Ludwig van Beethoven – this can also be understood symbolically, because Beethoven represented the ideals of humanity and freedom like any other composer, and these are also the themes of his only opera “Fidelio” for which this preface was. However, it turned out to be too long, and self-sufficient to perform this function. But at concerts she is part of the standard repertoire.

So this summer night concert is more than just a concert: it is a human message for peaceful coexistence in Europe.

It goes without saying that as a visitor you can lie in the meadow with Schönbrunn Palace in front of your eyes and perhaps also the starry sky and listen to the sounds of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

This is what a little piece of bliss can look like.