Winterberg’s Symphony No.3 premiered posthumously after 70 years
On 25 June in Regensburg, Hans Winterberg’s Symphony No. 3, completed in 1955, receives its belated and much anticipated world premiere. The edition of Winterberg’s complete works is currently marking a series of milestones, including world premiere recordings and the completion of the first edition of his chamber music.
Hans Winterberg (1901–1991) has only been rediscovered in recent years as one of the most important representatives of the Czech avant-garde of the first half of the 20th century. As a pupil of Alexander Zemlinsky and Alois Hába, he follows in the footsteps of Janácek and can also be counted among the wider circle of the Second Viennese School. Performed during his lifetime but never published, his works were locked away after his death due to tragic circumstances and are now being published for the first time in a collaboration between the Exilarte Centre at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and Boosey & Hawkes.
1952 was an outstanding year for Winterberg, who had moved from his hometown of Prague to Munich in 1947. As the sole Shoah survivor among the so-called Theresienstadt composers, he was able to continue his creative work after the war and saw prominent performances in the early 1950s, including by the Munich Philharmonic. Following the great success in 1952 of his moving Second Symphony and Second Piano Concerto, both composed during the war, he set about composing his Third Symphony, which was completed in 1955 but never performed. With the posthumous world premiere on 25 June, the Regensburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by its General Music Director Stefan Veselka, will finally awaken the work – whose manuscript is held as part of the Winterberg estate at the Sudeten German Music Archive in Regensburg – from its slumber after more than 70 years.
> More info about the Regensburg performance
In parallel, the Capriccio label is continuing its Winterberg cycle with new recordings of Piano Concerto No. 2 and Symphony No. 2. The Rhineland-Palatinate State Philharmonic Orchestra performs under the baton of Roland Kluttig, whilst Winterberg pioneer Jonathan Powell, who passed away at the end of last year, can be heard in one of his final, brilliant Winterberg interpretations. Part 3 of the complete recording of Hans Winterberg’s chamber music is currently in preparation at eda records. The chamber music is now also available in its entirety for the first time in new printed editions from Boosey & Hawkes. Following the chamber music, the edition project will turn its attention to Winterberg’s piano works and songs.
> View the Winterberg Edition by Boosey & Hawkes / Exilarte
The Autumn season brings the Austrian premiere of Symphony No.2 by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Katharina Wincor on 23 September at the Konzerthaus in Vienna. In December Winterberg’s ballet music Mandragora receives its world premiere from the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts Orchestra.
To discover more about persecuted and ostracised composers, please view our comprehensive Turning Points brochure, published in 2025, featuring numerous essays and recommendations for works.
> View Turning Points (PDF)