Steffens and the Norrköping Symphony Triumph in Berlin Premiere
Karl-Heinz Steffens led the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra in a landmark performance at the Berliner Philharmonie (21.09.2025), marking the first time the Swedish ensemble had played at the prestigious venue. The programme featured Bernstein’s ‘The Age of Anxiety‘ and the premiere of Blitzstein’s ‘Parabola and Circula‘, an opera in one act.
Written in 1929, Blitzstein’s opera was originally intended for premiere at the Dessau Theatre in collaboration with the Bauhaus, but the project fell through and the work was forgotten. Decades later, during a Bauhaus Archive research project, musicologist Kai Hinrich Müller rediscovered the score and, together with Steffen Schleiermacher and Frank Harders-Wuthenow of Boosey & Hawkes, prepared it for performance.
The performance has since received glowing reviews:
“The superbly prepared Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of its chief conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens, with its powerful string choir and thriving wind instruments, ensures the evening remains engaging.” (Eleonore Büning, NMZ)
“This belated premiere of Parabola and Circula was deemed important enough for the President of Germany to attend and was crowned with standing ovations, not least for the excellently playing Norrköping Symphony Orchestra under Chief Conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens,” (Zenaida des Aubris, BachTrack).
Steffens reflected on the reception: “Getting a standing ovation even before the break — I have never experienced that before. I come from Berlin myself and know that it is very unusual, as the audience there is known for being critical. It was a very big success, and the orchestra played fantastically. Now we look forward to the Swedish premiere and hope that the music arouses the same feelings in the audience here in Norrköping. Our audience is like family, and we have been eagerly anticipating playing for them.”
For more information about the premiere