It is a warm summer evening in Berlin when the Orchestre National des Jeunes du Luxembourg takes the stage for the first time during Young Euro Classic on Sunday, August 2nd. It is unfortunate that the hall of the Konzerthaus at the Gendarmenmarkt is not completely filled, for this young orchestra clearly has something to say. Fortunately, there are noticeably many young people and children among the audience.
The ensemble, barely five years old, brings together fifty to seventy young musicians between thirteen and thirty years of age per project and reflects the international diversity of Luxembourg, with talents from more than twenty-five nationalities. Under the direction of Pit Brosius, an atmosphere of trust and musical joy immediately emerges.
The evening begins with the festival hymn by Iván Fischer (°1951), a playful, somewhat Kurt Weill-like opener, after which two orchestra members greet the audience first in Luxembourgish and then in German. The wink toward the elephant that will literally and figuratively make its appearance later in the evening immediately creates a relaxed atmosphere – professional, but without losing the spontaneity of young musicians.
Music as inner space
Next comes If the bell rings, why should we run? by young Luxembourgish composer Hy-Khang Dang (°1996), who studied composition in Brussels, Paris, and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. The work experiences its German premiere in Berlin.
The title is a quotation from Henry David Thoreau's Walden, in which the writer withdraws to a cabin to reflect on what is truly essential. The festival program connects the evening around the idea of the musical retreat, from Thoreau's cabin to Rachmaninoff's villa Senar. Dang describes his composition as an inner space in which thoughts, voices, and aphorisms from Thoreau's text move through one another – an idea that becomes particularly convincing in the music.
Dang builds his composition from clouds of sound from which individual voices slowly emerge. The result is intriguing music, brought with iron strength and devotion by the young Luxembourgish musicians. Particularly surprising are the moments when orchestra members declaim passages from Walden, sometimes alone, sometimes in chorus – an alternation that surprises and works. The literary element never feels like an afterthought, but becomes an organic part of the musical event. If the bell rings, why should we run? Why should we let ourselves be rushed? It is a question that also enters the concert hall.
The strength of this performance is that the work does not receive polite applause. This is a composition that piques curiosity and that you want to hear again, precisely because on a first hearing so much still seems undiscovered.
When Rachmaninoff begins to breathe
After Thoreau's contemplative world comes Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), and with it a completely different musical language. His Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini forms a masterful synthesis of virtuosity, lyricism, and dramatic tension. This work easily tempts one to display pianistic brilliance, but pianist Joseph Moog plays each variation with dedication rather than mere showmanship. His technique seems effortless, but it is especially his ability to maintain a large arc of tension across the twenty-four variations that impresses. Rachmaninoff also incorporates the medieval Dies irae, which runs as a dark undercurrent through the work from the seventh variation onward.
The orchestra initially builds carefully toward the rich sound world, but from the Dies irae onward the performance takes on increasingly more brilliance and dramatic power. Moog remains fully immersed in the musical narrative. The famous eighteenth variation takes on an exceptionally lyrical character and slowly unfolds into a truly spine-tingling moment. When the final fireworks burst forth, the exuberance feels almost like liberation after the dark Dies irae idea. The orchestra displays its full power here: sharp, energetic, with a remarkable sense of the larger line. The interplay between Moog and the orchestra is one of the great strengths of the performance: not a soloist floating above an accompanying orchestra, but truly making music together.
As an encore comes Gershwin's 'S Wonderful – Moog visibly enjoyed working with these young musicians, to the great enthusiasm of the audience. He closes the first part with a melancholic, idyllic Canon, op. 65, by Alkan.
Elephant in the china shop
After the intermission, restraint is abandoned. Igor Stravinsky's (1882-1971) Circus Polka, originally written for an elephant act in Barnum & Bailey Circus, sounds splendid and precise, full of humor, sharp dissonances, and rhythmic surprises. The young musicians visibly enjoy the unexpected accents, while Brosius with his light, flexible conducting style gives the playfulness all the space it needs.
The Firebird flies
With the suite from L'Oiseau de feu, the concert reaches its artistic climax. Stravinsky was only 29 when he achieved his breakthrough in Paris with this ballet. The dark beginning in the double basses is impressive and immediately strikes home; from that dark sound world, a musical fairy tale slowly unfolds in which each orchestra section gets its own color. That every solo passage convinces is by no means a given for a youth orchestra – and yet here each soloist seizes his moment with perfect timing.
The orchestra passages are intense, with nicely controlled brightness, but power is never confused with volume. Brosius builds the tension without forcing the music, so that the Danse infernale ultimately bursts forth as an orgy of sound: precision, energy, boldness, and enormous commitment. The climax toward the end is also phenomenal. The orchestra sounds here like a cohesive musical community that knows how to find one another blindly. The young musicians do not merely play the notes; they tell a story together.
When the final sounds fade away, applause erupts in the Konzerthaus – a sincere acknowledgment of an exceptional evening.
An orchestra that stands its ground
Much credit belongs to Pit Brosius, who founded the orchestra in 2021 and in a short time built an ensemble that makes music with confidence. His conducting style is precise and clear, but never authoritarian: he knows exactly what he wants, without limiting the musicians.
The Berlin debut of the Orchestre National des Jeunes du Luxembourg was much more than a promising introduction: this is an ensemble that is claiming its place. Joseph Moog confirmed his reputation as a pianist of international standing, while the young musicians themselves provided the strongest evidence of what is possible. An ensemble that after such an evening you would also like to hear with us.
Young Luxembourg shines, and it would be a pity if we saw too little of its light.