Programme

Under the title “Rhythm of the World,” the City of Nuremberg and the Nürnberger Symphoniker invite you to a lively concert evening on Saturday, August 8, on the stage at Luitpoldhain. 
The orchestra, under the baton of Principal Conductor Jonathan Darlington, presents a program full of energetic rhythms—from American splendor to the elegance of the Viennese tradition. Following the opening with Gershwin’s “Cuban Overture,” trumpet virtuoso and soloist of the evening Pacho Flores will captivate the audience with “Danzas Latinas” by Efraín Oscher. Audiences can especially look forward to the performance of his own work, Morocota. With Paul Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, the Nürnberger Symphoniker demonstrate pure joy in playing. All other works also celebrate rhythm and orchestral splendor. For the finale, Strauss’s Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, in Paul Desenne’s arrangement, combines with Latin American verve.

British conductor Jonathan Darlington has been the Chief Conductor of the Nürnberger Symphoniker since September 2022. Previously, he served nearly 20 years as Music Director of Vancouver Opera and General Music Director of the Duisburger Philharmoniker (2002–2011). Darlington is renowned for his perfectly structured concert programmes that take audiences on musical journeys. He has conducted prestigious ensembles such as the Wiener Philharmoniker, the Staatskapelle Dresden, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. In early 2024, he conducted the world premiere of Detlev Glanert’s opera “Die Jüdin von Toledo” at the Dresden Semperoper, which was acclaimed by both audiences and critics. At the beginning of the 2024/25 season, Darlington and the Nürnberger Symphoniker embarked on their first joint tour of England with great success, delighting audiences in five British cities with a varied programme. Darlington is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London and a recipient of the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres for his services to French culture.

Pacho Flores is the winner of the Maurice André, Philip Jones, and Città di Porcia international competitions and is considered one of the most outstanding trumpeters of his generation. Having emerged from Venezuela’s youth orchestra system, he now enjoys worldwide fame and captivates audiences with his energetic playing and rich, colorful tone. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras in Düsseldorf, Kyiv, Paris, Tokyo, and Osaka, among others, and his recitals have taken him to renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, and the Opera City in Tokyo. As a principal trumpeter, Flores has served in several orchestras in Venezuela, Japan, and the U.S., and has worked with conductors such as Abbado, Rattle, and Dudamel. Flores is committed to contemporary music, has initiated numerous world premieres, and is an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon. At the Klassik Open Air, Pacho Flores will delight audiences with, among other works, his own composition “Morocota.”

The Nürnberger Symphoniker have been inspiring audiences since 1946 with their artistic quality and stylistic range. Around 200,000 people attend their approximately 100 performances each season. At the symphonic concerts in the Meistersingerhalle, the focus is on classical-romantic repertoire, while in their own music hall they present cross-genre projects from pop, jazz, film, and literature. Advent concerts, the music summer in the Serenadenhof, and the Klassik Open Air offer a variety of musical experiences. A special concern of the orchestra is to engage young people with age-appropriate and interactive formats for classical music. The spearhead of this strategy is U-TURN | Das Orchestival, a format that combines digital video art, light installations, and interactive elements. In addition, projects with schoolchildren (Symphoniker im Klassenzimmer), concerts for people with dementia, and a chamber music tour of Nuremberg’s museums complement the orchestra’s commitment. A highlight of the 2024/25 season was the orchestra’s first tour of England under the direction of chief conductor Jonathan Darlington. The British press praised the Nürnberger Symphoniker as an orchestra that “punches above its weight.”

As a freelance host, Annekatrin Hentschel presents numerous cultural events, such as open-air concerts, concerts featuring award winners, and lecture-recitals, as well as unique formats like “Die Lange Nacht der Kammermusik.” Her clients include the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, the Alfred Töpfer Stiftung, AUDI, MünchenMusik, and the Bamberger Symphoniker. At Bayerischer Rundfunk, she hosts concerts, live streams, and TV broadcasts featuring the BR orchestras. Furhtermore, she works as an innovation manager on new digital formats such as podcasts, concert formats, and the digital development of the international music competition of the ARD. In addition, she teaches hosting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and works as a hosting coach at SRF 2 Kultur.