I went all the way to Bremerhaven to see this concert. For some reason, I had a strong desire to see the Percussion Concerto by Detlev Glanert, and so I thought it was worth traveling for it. And it was a good decision!
The Philharmonisches Orchester Bremerhaven is the musical group behind Bremerhaven's opera house, yet for this evening, they were playing a symphonic program. The first piece was Benjamin Britten's Four Sea Interludes, Op 33a. I had enjoyed an opera of Britten in the past, yet for some reason, this orchestral suite just didn't resonate well with me. It felt fragmented. After all, these were originally designed to be interludes in the opera Peter Grimes (which I haven't seen), while the scenes were changed. So it felt like the pieces were about to continue, except they were abruptly cut off. I have to say this was something unexpected given it's Britten.
On the other hand, I absolutely enjoyed the second piece. I also adored the soloist, Christoph Sietzen, who I saw perform in 2024 a different percussion concerto in Cologne. The Glanert concerto was electrifying, and absolutely right in my alley of music that was rhythmically pulsating and powerful. As an added surprise, I accidentally stumbled upon Christoph Sietzen during dinner before the concert, as he was sitting at the table next to me. I struck a brief conversation mentioning to him that I traveled all the way from Berlin to Bremerhaven just to see him perform that evening.
Finally, after the intermission, the orchestra played Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations. I was skeptical about this one, but I actually enjoyed it. Compared to my general preferences, it is an outlier. It represents a style—late-Romanticism without a distinctly "modernist" edge—that I have generally not favored. I am afraid that its popularity and more conservative musical language might categorize it as the "classical music for the masses" I tend to avoid. However, I have to admit, that it was beautiful, and was a great ending to a fantastic evening.
I don't go out of town to see a concert too often, but this one was absolutely worth it.
