‘Ives’s music opened my ears for what is modern in music. It is still the touchstone and yardstick for everything I do.’ (Ingo Metzmacher)

For the grand finale of his 10-year festival directorship, Ingo Metzmacher conducts music by the American composer Charles Ives. The US-American world star, baritone Thomas Hampson, is coming to Hanover as a special guest. Together with the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the HMTMH Hochschulorchester and nine choirs from Hanover, Ingo Metzmacher presents a wide spectrum of Ives’s orchestral works, songs and choral pieces in the HCC Kuppelsaal. Metzmacher shares his enthusiasm for this brilliant music-historical outsider with the audience of this very special concert as both conductor and compère.

Charles Ives is one of the most fascinating and idiosyncratic composers of the early twentieth century, and is seen as a pioneer of modern American music. His works are characterised by a unique blend of tradition and innovation, national consciousness and avant-garde and are deeply rooted in American culture. His vast musical landscapes make audible the concurrence of different levels of time and culture in the life of an American.  

The concert programme selected by Ingo Metzmacher will be framed by the short, haunting orchestral work The Unanswered Question. This is more than a piece of music – it is a philosophical riddle, a musical comment on human nature.

Find more information on Charles Ives and his music in our article. Extensive information about Thomas Hampson and his work can be found on his official website.