Bihlmaier, BBC Singers & BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Brucknerfest Linz 2026. Brahms' Requiem. Johannes Brahms'  German Requiem  combined with Lilli Boulanger's Psaume 24 in a top international cast around Anja Bihlmaier and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

Johannes Brahms would actually have liked to call the German Requiem the 'Human Requiem': "As far as the text is concerned, I will confess that I would quite happily leave out the 'German' and simply put the 'human'", he wrote to the conductor of the premiere, Carl Reinthaler, in 1867. This humanity is also reflected in the texts he used: in contrast to the often martial "Dies irae, dies illa", with which other masses for the dead focus on the Last Judgement, Brahms addresses his Requiem to the grieving bereaved, to whom he wishes to give comfort. This can already be felt at the beginning, when the choir begins a cappella with the words "Blessed are those who mourn". This 'Human Requiem' can be experienced at the Brucknerfest Linz with a very special, international cast: Anja Bihlmaier conducts the BBC Singers and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, of which she has been Principal Guest Conductor since 2024. The British soprano Nardus Williams and the Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins will take on the solo roles.