First time in Hamburg – premiere visit with specials

The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra plays Mozart and Bruckner under the direction of the famous conductor Herbert Blomstedt.

The Swedish maestro is an exceptional figure. Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, honorary member of, among others, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra: Blomstedt has conducted the most famous orchestras in the world. We invite you to a concert under his baton in the "Elphi".

Anyone who has ever taken a sea voyage knows how emotional the arrival at the railing of a ship can be, even more so with a windjammer. Two absolute highlights await you on this cruise: You will slowly glide along the Scheldt, listen to the anecdotes of Cpt. Koen de Vriese, Antwerp's former port captain, and get closer and closer to the impressive panorama of Europe's second largest seaport. Two days later, the next incomparable goosebump moment awaits you at one of the most beautiful harbor entrances in the world: The SEA CLOUD SPIRIT glides silently along the Elbe, past the green Elbe dikes, the Airbus site and the Blankenese staircase district into the Port of Hamburg.

Look forward to seeing two talented young stars perform: Arash Rokni and Cunmo Yin have already made their debut in major concert halls around the world.

At Steinway every piano is a masterpiece

For many the Steinway name is synonymous with the piano – and for good reason, as ever since Henry E. Steinway and his sons founded their company in New York in 1853, Steinway & Sons has produced firstclass pianos, every one of which is a masterpiece with character. Thanks to their passion for innovation and unfailing attention to detail, today Steinway is considered the founder of modern piano manufacturing.

Promoting a new generation of pianists

Steinway & Sons is committed to promoting young pianists and supports them through the Steinway Prizewinner Concerts Network. Although many young musicians have a great deal of talent and flair, they mostly remain unknown in the music world. This is where Steinway comes into play: Highly talented musicians are selected in first-class piano competitions and are given the opportunity to introduce themselves to a broad audience at international performances.

In a sense, Cunmo Yin ushered in the Beethoven anniversary year when he won the International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn in December 2019. Despite Covid restrictions, he was able to represent the competition in numerous Steinway Prizewinner Concerts in major concert halls such as the Elbphilharmonie, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and the inaugural “Great Pianists of the 21st Century Festival” in Nicosia, Cyprus. Among his other achievements in competitions, the Bronze Medal and the Audience Favorite Prize at the Arthur Rubinstein Master Piano Competition 2021 stand out. His concert activities take him throughout Europe, the USA and Asia. In his native China, he had begun playing the piano at the age of 9. After studies in Beijing and Shanghai, he went to the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, where he graduated. Today he is a faculty member there.

Depending upon the circumstances, it is possible that another artist will join this cruise instead.

Hailing from Tehran, Arash Rokni simultaneously discovered traditional as well as western classical music for himself. He began his training as a pianist in Tehran and continued it at the conservatories in Leipzig and Cologne. Already as a student, he performed a lot on an international level and won prizes in significant competitions. At the "Johann Sebastian Bach Competition" 2018 in Leipzig, probably the most important of its kind, he won both the Second Prize and the Audience Award. Subsequently, numerous Steinway Prizewinner Concerts and radio productions took him to several top-class concert halls such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus or the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. At his debut there on 6 December 2019, he fascinated the audience with a highly individual program and was celebrated with standing ovations. His debut CD was nominated for the 2020 Echo Music Prize.

Depending upon the circumstances, it is possible that another artist will join this cruise instead.