Upcoming events
In 2023, Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar Neumann Choir and Ensemble will continue to take over the Château de Fontainebleau. Their residency unfolds each season around masterclasses, interactions with visitors through rehearsals that are open to the public and concerts in the grand spaces of the castle.
15th, 16th and 17th of December - "Gloria !"
Vivaldi, Zelenka, Bach
Direction: Thomas Hengelbrock
Chorus and Orchestra Balthasar Neumann
A festive seasonal concert ! Two choral masterpieces, Vivaldi’s famous ‘Gloria’ and Zelenka’s ‘Magnificat’ will share the evening with Bach’s delicate and joyful 3rd orchestral suite. Under the inspired baton of Thomas Hengelbrock, a stroll through the castle accompanies the elegant effervescence of this concert, which promises to be a wonderful Christmas celebration!
Friday 15th of December at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday 16th of December at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday 17th of December 3:00 p.m.
Duration: 1h
Trinity Chapel and Ballroom
The residence in 2023
Romantic ballads for chorus and piano
Program:
Johannes Brahms: “Sehnsucht” and “Nächtens”
Heinrich von Herzogenburg: “Meeresleuchten”
Josef Gabriel Rheinberger: “Jung Niklas” and “Die Wasserfee”
Lili Boulanger: “Les Sirènes”, “Pendant la tempête”, “Soir sur la plaine”
Gabriel Fauré: “Les djinns”
Hugo Wolf: “Der Feuerreiter”
Maurice Ravel : “Ondine”
Direction : Jakob Pilgram
Piano : Tanguy de Williencourt
Chorus Balthasar Neumann
A concert to open the 2023 musical year at the château de Fontainebleau, with softness and voluptuousness. Under the direction of Jakob Pilgram, the sublime Balthasar Neumann Choir will be reunited around the brilliant pianist Tanguy de Williencourt, one of the most active performers of the French scene. A compendium of the most beautiful German and French romantic choruses.
Friday 17th of March at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday 18th of March at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday 19th of March at 3:00 p.m.
Duration : 1h
Ballroom
Beethoven, Cherubini
Programme : Luigi Cherubini, Ouverture de Démophoon – 7’
Direction : Thomas Hengelbrock
Soloists of the Académie de l’Opéra National de Paris
Orchestra Balthasar Neumann
The prestigious conductor Thomas Hengelbrock is back at the château de Fontainebleau to direct the monumental and innovative Symphony No.3 “The Eroica”, coupled for the occasion with some of Cherubini’s most beautiful pages, admired by Beethoven. An exceptional concert-event which will reunite more than 50 musicians with young singers from the Académie de l’Opéra National de Paris.
Friday 12th of May at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday 13th of May at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday 14th of May at 3:00 p.m.
Duration : 1h
Ballroom
Program :
Edvard Grieg : Suite pour Cordes du Temps de Holberg op. 40
Franck Bridge : 2 Old English Songs
Frederick Delius : 2 Aquarelles
Béla Bartók : Six Danses populaires roumaines
Jenny Peña Campo : “La Huida”
Direction : Thomas Hengelbrock
Orchestra and Academy Balthasar Neumann
The musicians of the Balthasar Neumann take us through a fabulous music for string orchestra, between folklore and virtuosity. A beautiful highlight of the complicity between Thomas Hengelbrock and the exceptional musicians and soloists of his orchestra, who will share their joy of playing and their energy.
Friday 22nd of September at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday 23rd of September at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday 24th of September at 3:00 p.m.
Duration : 1h15
Ballroom
Vivaldi, Zelenka, Bach
Direction: Thomas Hengelbrock
Chorus and Orchestra Balthasar Neumann
A festive seasonal concert ! Two choral masterpieces, Vivaldi’s famous ‘Gloria’ and Zelenka’s ‘Magnificat’ will share the evening with Bach’s delicate and joyful 3rd orchestral suite. Under the inspired baton of Thomas Hengelbrock, a stroll through the castle accompanies the elegant effervescence of this concert, which promises to be a wonderful Christmas celebration!
Friday 15th of December at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday 16th of December at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday 17th of December 3:00 p.m.
Duration: 1h
Trinity Chapel and Ballroom
Thomas Hengelbrock, an internationally renowned conductor
Thomas Hengelbrock is the founder and director of the Balthasar Neumann Orchestra and Choir and one of the most renowned conductors of our time. Since 2005, he has repeatedly worked with orchestras in France – such as the National Orchestra of France and the Orchestre de Paris, and performs regularly at the Paris Opera (this 2021-2022 season, he conducted Iphigénie en Tauride by C.W. Gluck, Alcina by G.F. Händel and Faust by C. Gounod) as well as at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (where he will conduct Orphée et Eurydice by C.W. Gluck in 2022-2023). He is also the guest of some of the most prestigious groups and major international stages. (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra)
The Balthasar Neumann ensembles — prestigious singers and musicians
In 1991, Thomas Hengelbrock founded the Balthasar Neumann Choir to execute his artistic ideas with musicians who shared his vision. Four years later, he added an orchestra, the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble, to the choir.
The ensembles perform regularly in some of the most prestigious theatres in France such as the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and the Palais Garnier as well as major European concert halls and at renowned festivals – at the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, the Teatro Real de Madrid, the Konzerthaus in Dortmund, the Essen Philharmonie and at the Salzburg Festival.
Music at the Château de Fontainebleau
A centre of artistic production since the Renaissance
The Château de Fontainebleau has always resounded with music. To the traditional music that filled the daily lives of the sovereigns, many creations were added.
During the reign of Louis XV, The Village Soothsayer by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Anacréon by Rameau, l’Amour et Psyché by Mondonville and Zémire et Azor by Grétry were performed in the Belle Cheminée wing.
In the 19th century, more works were presented to the Court, royal or imperial. In 1853-1854, Hector Lefuel’s construction of a new auditorium – the magnificent theatre of Napoleon III – provided a large-scale setting for musical festivities. Since 1921, with the initiative of Charles-Marie Widor, the Fontainebleau Schools of Music and Fine Arts have promoted the Bellifontaine musical tradition by organising masterclasses and concerts each summer. These have been conducted by Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Nadia Boulanger, Arthur Rubinstein, Robert Casadesus, Léonard Bernstein, Philip Glass…
The Salle de Bal
The splendid Salle de Bal is one of the most remarkable rooms in the Château de Fontainebleau.
Decorated in the 16th century during the reign of Henry II, it offered the palace a permanent and impressive function room dedicated to the festivities of the Valois court. The rich coffered ceiling is covered with lunar emblems and the king’s motto. As for the mythological frescoes, they were painted by Nicolo dell’Abbate under the direction of Primaticcio. Its gilded bronze chandeliers and sconces were completed in 1837 during the reign of Louis-Philippe.
Musical residency of Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar Neumann ensembles
The Four Seasons
The Château de Fontainebleau intends for the arts to regain the place that they have occupied throughout its history, during the stays of the court. It will reconnect with its centuries-long tradition as a centre of artistic creation in a new and contemporary way. Giving free rein to the arts and placing them in dialogue with the rich history of Fontainebleau through a varied artistic programme, such is the project being carried out by the residency. The castle wished to entrust this for three years to the German conductor Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar Neumann Choir and Ensemble.
An educational and social project
This residency of internationally renowned artists has an important educational component: its masterclasses. This project brings together young talent from all over Europe to share their skills and passion. The residency is part of a dynamic of artistic and cultural education aimed at a wide variety of audiences. It is embodied particularly through the partnerships that have been established with the association Orchestre à l’École and with the Conservatoire de Fontainebleau.
Since the launch of the residency in October 2020, students from the Music Conservatory and both the orchestra of the Lycée François Ier de Fontainebleau and the Orchestre à l’École association have been attending rehearsals of the ensemble. They also interact with Maestro Hengelbrock and his ensembles to learn about musical practise, classical repertoire and instruments.
They benefit from the experience of internationally renowned musicians, and they participate in joint concerts, which are the results of several months of work and meetings. Thomas Hengelbrock and his ensembles also give concerts in centres for people with disabilities, hospitals and social care facilities, such as the Nelly Kopp retirement home last September or the Villa Alzheimer’s Centre Baucis in December.
Sponsored by the Conny Maeva Foundation, with the support of Carigest
Sous le patronage de l’UNESCO.
