When does the concert take place?

The concert takes place on Sunday, October 4, 2026, and starts at 7:00 PM.

Where is the 1st Philharmonic Concert taking place?

The venue is the Great House of the Cottbus State Theatre at Schillerplatz 1 in 03046 Cottbus.

How long does the event last?

The concert is expected to last until 8:50 PM.

How much do tickets cost?

Tickets are available from 22 euros according to event information. Prices may vary depending on seat group and discounts.

What works will be performed?

The program includes Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra, Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Seven Songs of Night, Prayer, and Dreams, a world premiere by Søren Nils Eichberg, and Maurice Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2.

Is the Great House accessible?

The Great House has a hearing loop and is suitable for wheelchairs. Advance registration with the visitor service is recommended for wheelchair seats.

Cottbus Hears the Morning: A Philharmonic Concert Between Night, Sound, and Light

Name: 1st Philharmonic Concert: Light Goes On
Start: 2026-10-04T19:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-04T20:50:00+02:00
Location: Großes Haus (Staatstheater Cottbus)

When sound emerges from darkness and light emerges from sound

The 1st Philharmonic Concert of the 2026/27 season opens the HORIZONS series in the Great House of the Cottbus State Theatre. Under the title Light Goes On, Chief Conductor Alexander Merzyn guides the audience through a colorful program between late romantic sound power, sensitive song singing, contemporary music, and French orchestral poetry on October 4, 2026.

A sunrise with orchestral power

Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra opens the evening with one of the most famous sunrises in music history. A deep bass tone, powerful brass, and the widely stretched orchestration slowly break open the sound space. Strauss combines philosophical inspiration with a stage performance of the orchestra that makes departure, doubt, and modern sound power immediately tangible.

Night, dream, and fragile in-between spaces

Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Seven Songs of Night, Prayer, and Dreams lead into a more intimate sound world. Mezzo-soprano Luzia Tietze shapes the sensitive tension fields between night, longing, and awakening. The arrangement by Hauke Berheide celebrates its German premiere. Between voice and orchestra, a finely balanced synchronization emerges, in which each instrument carries the emotional breath of the music forward.

Contemporary sound in direct dialogue

With the world premiere of a new work by Søren Nils Eichberg, the present enters the concert evening directly. Structural clarity and energetic density characterize a composition that develops in dialogue with the Philharmonic Orchestra and the audience. Alexander Merzyn’s conducting connects the different musical epochs into a dramatic arc from nighttime pause to bright departure.

Ravel makes the evening shine

For the finale, Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2 resonates. Floating sound surfaces, delicate woodwind colors, and rhythmic movement condense into a luminous orchestral painting. After Strauss’s cosmic departure, Zemlinsky’s night songs, and Eichberg’s contemporary language, Ravel ultimately opens the space towards morning.

Conclusion: A season opener as a musical step into the light

The audience can expect a multifaceted concert experience with a great live atmosphere, nuanced sound, and a program that intertwines tradition and new music. Those who wish to not only hear the season opener of the Cottbus Philharmonic Orchestra but to experience it as a sensory journey from darkness to light should witness this evening live in the Great House.