Arrive in Berlin and make your way to the hotel. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist with your flights and other travel arrangements, including travel insurance (a condition of travel), a private hotel transfer, a room category upgrade and accommodation before or after the tour.

At 18:00, join your tour leader Marshall McGuire and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing at the hotel, followed by dinner.

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Begin the day with a talk by Marshall, before visiting the Gemäldegalerie to admire the extensive collection of European Old Masters from the 13th to the 18th century, including works by Botticelli, Dürer, Rembrandt and Vermeer. After lunch, return to the hotel for the remainder of the afternoon at leisure.

In the evening, transfer to the emblematic Berlin Philharmonie, designed by Hans Scharoun and completed in 1963, which became a model for other concert halls including the Sydney Opera House. Attend a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of its chief conductor, Kirill Petrenko, joined by celebrated Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes.

PROGRAM:
Mendelssohn – The Hebrides, Overture
Grieg – Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16
Beethoven – Symphony No. 6 in F major op. 68 “Pastorale”

(BL)

This morning, visit the Stasi Museum, formerly home of the Ministry of State Security of the German Democratic Republic. Learn about state security during the GDR era and discover the highly secretive methods used for espionage. Then, the afternoon is free to relax or to explore Berlin at your own pace.

Following dinner, walk to the state-of-the-art Pierre Boulez Saal, opened in 2017 and whose elliptical-shaped hall dissolves the traditional separation between performers and audience, creating an intimate concert experience. Here, enjoy a chamber music performance by the Signum Quartet, a German-based string quartet founded in 1994 which has won several awards, including the renowned International Classical Music Awards in 2014.

PROGRAM:
Schubert – Quartet Movement in C minor, D 703 “Quartettsatz”
Robert Fokkens – Glimpses of a half-forgotten future for string quartet
Abel Selaocoe – Umthwalo (arrangement for string quartet)
Antonín Dvořák – String Quartet No. 13 in G major, op. 106

(BD)

After breakfast, visit the Berlin Cathedral to discover the magnificent Sauer Organ, the largest preserved organ in its original state, dating back to the late Romantic period. Inaugurated in 1905, the organ has over 7,000 pipes and 113 registers spread across four manuals and pedals, and embodied the latest technological and musical innovations of its time.

Tonight, hear the Konzerthaus Orchestra play under the baton of Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer and joined by German soprano Vera-Lotte Boecker, at the historic Konzerthaus Berlin. Designed by Karl Schinkel, the theatre was inaugurated in 1821 with the acclaimed premiere of Carl Maria von Weber’s opera Der Freischütz and has undergone several name changes until it became a concert hall after World War II.

PROGRAM:
Strauss – Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, op. 28
Strauss – Selected songs
Rachmaninov – Symphony No. 2 in E minor, op. 27

(BL)

In the morning, visit the illustrious Staatsoper Unter den Linden and delve into almost 300 years of opera history, from its commission by King Frederick The Great to its extensive renovation in 2017. Destroyed by fire during World War II, the opera house was rebuilt between 1951 and 1955 according to plans by the German architect Richard Paulick.

This evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant before returning to the Berlin Philharmonie for a concert by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, conducted by Dinis Sousa, the artistic director of the award-winning Orquestra XXI, and featuring German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, whose repertoire spans from early music to the contemporary.

PROGRAM:
Martinů – Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani
Bacewicz – Cello Concerto No. 2
Dvořák – Symphony No. 8 in G major

(BD)

This morning, check out of the hotel and depart Berlin for Hamburg, stopping for lunch en route at the atmospheric Schwerin Castle.

Celebrated for its rich architectural heritage and vibrant cultural scene, Hamburg is home to world-class venues, including the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle, and hosts prestigious events such as the Hamburg International Music Festival, where several concerts included in this tour will be performed.

Arrive in Hamburg in the late afternoon and check in to the hotel. Enjoy some time at leisure before dinner.

(BLD)

Join Marshall for a morning talk, then discover Hamburg’s pinnacle of architectural design: the Elbphilharmonie. The superimposed, shimmering glass structure overlooks the River Elbe and features state-of-the-art philharmonic and chamber music halls, which is the venue for the coming days’ performances.

After lunch and some time at leisure, return to the Elbphilharmonie for an orchestral concert by the San Diego Symphony, conducted by Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare and featuring Greek violinist virtuoso Leonidas Kavakos.

PROGRAM:
Gabriela Ortiz – Kauyumari
Dmitri Shostakovich – Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor
Béla Bartók – Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin, Sz. 73
Igor Stravinsky – The Firebird (1919 version)

(BL)

This morning, explore the eminent Composers Quarter, where various dedicated museums bring to life the city’s rich musical traditions. From the exhibition on Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, to Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler, this ‘metropolis of music’ tells a diverse history, from the Baroque to the early modern age.

In the evening, attend a choral concert at the Elbphilharmonie, performed by the world-renowned ensemble Balthasar-Neumann Choir and Orchestra, under the baton of founder Thomas Hengelbrock. The performance also features German-Romanian baritone Konstantin Krimmel as Faust and Austrian bass-baritone Florian Boesch as Mephistopheles.

PROGRAM:
Schumann – Scenes from Goethe’s Faust for Soloists, Choir and Orchestra

(BD)

Start the day with a talk by Marshall, before a private, guided tour of the Neo-Baroque Laeiszhalle. Home to the Hamburg Symphoniker and the Philharmoniker Hamburg, this concert hall has welcomed famous composers and musicians since 1908, including Richard Strauss, Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky.

Tonight, enjoy another concert by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin at the Elbphilharmonie, this time conducted by Kazuki Yamada, the music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, alongside French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.

PROGRAM:
Unsuk Chin – Subito con forza
Henri Dutilleux – Cello c Concerto “Tout un monde lointain…”
Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique, op.14

(BL)

After breakfast, visit the prominent Kunsthalle Museum with its treasure trove of art dating from the Renaissance period through to the present day. Gain an appreciation for the collection of old masters’ paintings, from Rembrandt, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Rubens, as well as classic to modern art works by Max Beckmann and Edvard Munch.

This evening, hear French pianist Bertrand Chamayou, critically acclaimed as one of today’s most acclaimed pianists, and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra play under the baton of Canadian conductor Barbara Hannigan, who will also take part in the performance as a soprano.

PROGRAM:
Debussy – Syrinx
Sibelius – Luonnotar, Symphonic Poem for Soprano and Orchestra, op. 70
Skrjabin – Prometheus or The Poem of Fire, op. 60
Claude Vivier – Orion
Franz Schreker – Night piece from The Distant Sound

(BL)

Check out of the hotel and transfer to Hamburg airport for a flight to Amsterdam, a city known for its elaborate canal system, scenic urban landscapes, rich artistic heritage and legacies of the 17th-century Golden Age.

Arrive in Amsterdam in the afternoon and check in to the hotel. After some time at leisure, enjoy dinner at a nearby restaurant.

(BD)

Following a morning talk by Marshall, transfer to the home of the Dutch National Opera & Ballet for an intimate look at the largest cultural production house in The Netherlands. Housed in the iconic Stopera building that is also home to the City Hall, this unique opera house on the Amstel River has its own specialised workshops and rehearsal rooms, bringing together over 600 artisans, creators and professionals to build all of their sets, wigs and costumes.

After dinner, walk to the majestic Royal Concertgebouw opened in 1888 and whose superb acoustics place it as one of the finest concert halls in the world. Here, attend a chamber music concert performed by Dutch bassoon soloist Bram van Sambeek and the award-winning Dutch string quartet, the Animato Quartet.

PROGRAM:
Works by Bach, Sallinen, Sibelius, Du Puy, Beethoven and others

(BD)

After a morning at leisure, attend a matinee performance by the venerable Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä, alongside Lang Lang, an internationally-acclaimed pianist.

PROGRAM:
Wennäkoski – Flounce
Lindberg – Four new works (World Premiere)
Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No.2, op.22
Ravel – La Valse

Following some time at leisure, return to the Concertgebouw for a piano recital by Russian-French virtuoso Arcadi Volodos, widely regarded as one of the finest pianists of his generation, accompanied by the resident Concertgebouw Orchestra.

PROGRAM:
Works by Brahms, Schubert and Schumann

(B)

Enjoy a morning and afternoon at leisure to relax or to further explore Amsterdam at your own pace.

In the early evening, join Marshall and fellow travellers for a special farewell dinner before attending the final performance of the tour at the Concertgebouw, an orchestral concert by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Swiss conductor Lorenzo Viotti.

PROGRAM:
Mahler – Symphony No. 7

(BD)

Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast.

For those returning home today, make your way to Amsterdam Airport for suggested flights to Australia or New Zealand. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including a private airport transfer, additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour and travel insurance (a condition of travel).

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