Summer Concert

'You have no idea how we feel when we hear the march of a giant like him behind us': the giant's name was Beethoven, whose booming footsteps Johannes Brahms heard at his back. And yet, after a long period of maturing, Brahms finally put his Symphony No. 1 to paper. Do the highly talented, hand-picked members of the Vienna Philharmonic's Angelika Prokopp Summer Academy also hear their idols marching behind them in this master orchestra? No, and they by no means feel intimidated or overpowered: side by side, in a collegial atmosphere, they learn from them, both individually and collectively, then showcase their skills under the direction of a renowned conductor, on this occasion Tugan Sokhiev. The young Viennese pianist Lukas Sternath also takes on the 'giant Beethoven' in the magnificent Piano Concerto No. 5. Not to forget Brahms, a giant in his own right, who climbs the stormy musical summit from conflict-filled C minor to the radiant C major finale of his sublime First.