The most important innovation has nothing to do with music: in future, the Munich Philharmonic will start at 7:30 p.m.
Otherwise, almost all of the younger generation's hottest podium stars will be hired for the coming season.
Maybe you could set an alarm.
Or use neon red for the appointment calendar.
For decades, the beginning of the concert at 8 p.m. has been in the blood, maybe even in the DNA of classical music fans.
But the Munich Philharmonic put an end to that.
In the next season, all programs from Monday to Friday start at 7.30 p.m., on Saturdays it stays at 7 p.m. and on Sundays in the case of the matinees at 11 a.m.
According to director Paul Müller, the wish for 7.30 p.m. came from the audience.
This has to do with the relatively unfavorable location of the Isarphilharmonie, its connection and the fact that working hours have changed in the meantime.
Apart from many highly interesting programs, it is the most drastic novelty of the 2023/24 season, a new era, so to speak.
The motto “transitions” fits in with this.
First and foremost, of course, this alludes to the interim quarters in Sendling and to the interim period until the new chief conductor Lahav Shani takes office in September 2026. In the coming season he will only be on the podium at Klassik am Odeonsplatz, an extra concert is being worked on.
In the season after next, Müller assures, Shani will be present more often.
Concerts with Gražinytė-Tyla, Mallwitz, Mäkelä, Nelsons and Harding
Otherwise, the Philharmoniker remain true to themselves when it comes to the intelligently composed programs and the choice of artists.
Almost all the hip conductors of the younger generation have been invited for the upcoming season.
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla contests the start of the season with Mahler's second.
Joana Mallwitz is there with Bartók/Tchaikovsky/Kodály, Klaus Mäkelä with Strauss' "Alpine Symphony", Andris Nelsons with Bruckner's Seventh, Lorenzo Viotti with Rachmaninoff, Tugan Sokhiev with Stravinsky and Shostakovich and Daniel Harding with Mahler and Bruckner.
Some concert programs stand out.
Raphaël Pichon, an exciting young star from early music, combines Mozart's C minor Mass with other works by Mozart, including Schubert's "Unfinished" for a non-stop evening.
Philippe Herreweghe conducts Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Daniele Gatti the Verdi Requiem.
Mezzo-soprano Okka von der Damerau is represented in three programs without having to call her “artist in residence” – a dramaturge's illness.
And travel again.
For the first time since 2018, the Philharmonic will return to Asia, and the Philharmonic will perform five times in South Korea under Myung-Whun Chung.
With honorary conductor Zubin Mehta, the ensemble tours Spain and New York's Carnegie Hall.
Utilization is 87 percent, and the trend is rising
For a long time now, the Philharmonic audience has been showing that it is getting younger.
Campaigns such as the U30 subscription are bearing fruit here, as is the increased use of social networks, but also the new advertising presence, which has so far been reflected on posters and now in the season brochure.
At the most recent concert under Lorenzo Viotti, director Müller proudly reports that 15 percent of the audience were under 30.
Overall, an occupancy rate of 87 percent is reported.
After the tricky pandemic years, demand is increasing again, says Müller.
The subscription rate, on the other hand, is 56 percent.
In absolute numbers, this means 9,500 subscribers, 700 have been lost.
But: So far, this has been offset by increased sales of individual tickets.
In any case, the orchestra has been focusing on formats outside of the classical concert for some time.
In 2023/24 you are again invited to hands-on and workshop dates, to children's concerts, to evenings in the Sendlinger neighborhood, alpine concerts, or, as just happened again, to the "Nach(t)klang" in Hall E next to the Isarphilharmonie: Members of the orchestra heat up their guests in this break foyer.
Conductor and singer Barbara Hannigan, among others, was so enthusiastic about this that she wants to be there in the coming season.
Dino duel between Zubin Mehta and Herbert Blomstedt
In the provisional HP 8, so it sounded at the seasonal presentation, one has meanwhile settled down at home - inevitably, as some are now assuming a ten-year interim due to the considerable delay in the Gasteig renovation.
Culture consultant Anton Biebl does not believe in such a long time, but did not want to give any precise information and referred to a decision of principle by the city council in November.
In any case, a singular personality like the honorary conductor is relieved of all time.
In January 2024, at the age of 86, Zubin Mehta will conduct a Brahms cycle spread over eight concerts.
What a point (and lack of agreement) that the 95-year-old Herbert Blomstedt will do the same with the BR Symphony Orchestra.
A Munich dinosaur duel.