Bessungen Chamber Orchestra on September 27th in Eberstadt

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Gesine Kalbhenn-Rzepka and Simon Kalbhenn will be performing solo concertos by Brahms and Dvořák at the Christuskirche

The Bessungen Chamber Orchestra will give a concert on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at 5 p.m. in the Christuskirche (Christ Church) in Darmstadt-Eberstadt. Under the direction of Jan Hansen, the program includes the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 by Johannes Brahms and the Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 by Antonín Dvořák.

The solo parts will be performed by Gesine Kalbhenn-Rzepka, concertmaster of the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, and Simon Kalbhenn, solo cellist of the Saxon State Orchestra Dresden.

Bessunger Chamber Orchestra plays Brahms' Violin Concerto

During the last two decades of his life, Johannes Brahms was one of the leading figures on the international music scene. As a pianist, conductor, and composer, he received numerous awards and honorary memberships. He commented on his fame with the words: "If a pretty melody comes to mind, I prefer that to an Order of Leopold."

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In the so-called music controversy, Brahms was among the opponents of the New German School, which championed the program music of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner as a form of musical progress. Brahms was more oriented towards traditional forms and favored what he called "lasting music.".

His music was by no means devoid of innovation. Brahms himself wrote of his first symphony that it was "long and not exactly endearing." His Violin Concerto, Op. 77, combines a demanding solo part with a symphonic structure and an alternation between dramatic and more tranquil passages.

Dvořák's Cello Concerto was composed in the USA

The program features one of Antonín Dvořák's most famous works, the Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104. The composer wrote it between November 1894 and February 1895 during his time in the USA. He had been director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York since 1892.

Dvořák was initially skeptical of the cello as a solo instrument. He described it as "a piece of wood that screeches at the top and drones at the bottom." However, after hearing the cello concerto by his American composer colleague Victor Herbert, he began to compose his own work.

Johannes Brahms is said to have exclaimed after reading the score: “Why didn’t I know that one could write a cello concerto like this? Had I known, I would have written one long ago!” Dvořák’s Cello Concerto premiered in London in 1896.