The Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, is a work for piano and orchestra completed by Johannes Brahms in 1858. The composer gave the work's public debut in Hanover, the following year. It was his first-performed orchestral work, and his first orchestral work performed to audience approval.
Riccardo Chailly is an Italian conductor. He is currently music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, since 2016, and music director of La Scala, since 2017. Prior to this, he held chief conducting positions at the Gewandhausorchester (2005–2016); the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (1988–2004); the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (1982–1988); and the Teatro Comunale of Bologna (1986–1993). He was also the first musical director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi (1999–2005) and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1983–1986). Among the world's leading conductors, in a 2015 Bachtrack poll, he was ranked by music critics as the world's best living conductor.
Arthur Nikisch was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Liszt. Johannes Brahms praised Nikisch's performance of his Fourth Symphony as "quite exemplary, it's impossible to hear it any better."
Ferdinand Ernst Victor Carl David was a German virtuoso violinist and composer.
Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics.
Andris Nelsons is a Latvian conductor who is currently the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He has previously served as music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, chief conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, and music director of the Latvian National Opera.
Klaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach for bass voice.
Christoph Genz is a German tenor in opera and concert.
Morten Schuldt-Jensen is a Danish classical conductor.
Martin Petzold was a German classical tenor who performed internationally in opera and concert. He was for decades a member of the Leipzig Opera, performing more than 80 roles such as Pedrillo in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, David in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Toni in Henze's Elegie für junge Liebende. A member of the Thomanerchor as a boy, he was particularly known for the part of the Evangelist in oratorios and Passions of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Partita, five reminiscences for large orchestra is a collection of musical pieces by Jörg Widmann. It was written for the 275th anniversary of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 2018.
MDR Rundfunkchor is the radio choir of the German broadcaster Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), based in Leipzig, Saxony. Dating back to 1924, the choir became the radio choir of a predecessor of the MDR in 1946, then called Kammerchor des Senders Leipzig, or Rundfunkchor Leipzig. The present name was established in 1992. The choir has appeared internationally, and has made award-winning recordings.
Karl Ottomar Treibmann was a German composer and music educator. From 1981 until his retirement in 2001, he was professor of music theory and Tonsatz at the Leipzig University. He was one of the representatives of modernity in the German Democratic Republic, whose great major works can be found in the areas of opera, symphony and chamber music.
Hans-Christian Bartel was a German violist and composer.
The Gewandhaus Quartet is a string quartet based in Leipzig. It was founded in 1808 by members of the Gewandhaus Orchester, as one of the first professional quartets in the world. In its more than 200-year history, they played many world premieres.
Frank-Michael Erben is a German violinist and conductor. He is the first concertmaster of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and plays the first violin in the Gewandhaus Quartet.
Johannes Chum is an Austrian operatic tenor who has made an international career, first in concert, then in opera. Initially known for historically informed performance of Baroque oratorios and Mozart operatic roles, he has developed a large repertoire which also includes Wagner's Lohengrin and contemporary opera.
Stephan König is a German composer, pianist and conductor. He is the musical director of the "LeipJAZZig-Orkester" and the chamber orchestra "artentfaltung" and is considered one of the most authoritative Jazz musicians in Leipzig.
The Leipziger Symphonieorchester (LSO) is a German symphony orchestra based in the town of Böhlen near Leipzig. It is the symphony orchestra of the districts of Leipzig and Nordsachsen.
Karl Zumpe was a German musician and long-time director of the Gewandhaus Leipzig.
