Compassion

This evening, Bach's St. Matthew Passion is the starting point for a new passion that seeks to give compassion and mercy a place in today's times. The composition of the program is by conductor and composer Iván Fischer.

In this new passion, the storyline of the St. Matthew Passion is interrupted to also make the suffering of others audible and palpable. You will hear Bach's famous music, as well as a slave song and traditional Jewish and Arabic music, among others. Texts from Peter Weiss' play Die Ermittlung, among others, will also be heard.

Iván Fischer says, "For me, "Mitleid," compassion, is the central subject of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. By witnessing the suffering of Christ, listeners feel compassion that they share, that connects them. We want to translate the suffering of Christ into general suffering. We want to reflect on the gross injustice that some countries or ethnic groups experience to this day.