The Aachen Symphony Orchestra opens its new season with its 1st Symphony Concert "Exchange" under the title "Chemical Reactions" . With this, the orchestra invites the audience to begin or end the weekend with music. The podium is held by Levente Török , one of the last two candidates to succeed the General Music Director. The young Hungarian conductor has established himself as a versatile orchestral leader in recent years and is now introducing himself to an Aachen audience for the first time.
 
Under the motto "Chemical Reactions", the Aachen Symphony Orchestra presents pieces "in interesting, reactive combinations that emphasize the dialogue and interactions of the music in different ways", according to General Music Director Christopher Ward. The title of the 1st Symphony Concert is the chemical "exchange reaction" in which substances combine and repel others, creating something new - a principle that shapes our lives every day, from medical applications to the breakdown of environmental toxins.
 
The evening opens with the orchestral work "Changing" by Slovenian composer Nina Šenk , this season's "Composer in Focus." Camille Saint-Saëns wrote his 5th Piano Concerto during a stay in Luxor. He was inspired by the sounds of North Africa to embark on a musical journey to the Orient—an exchange between France and Egypt.
 
Finally, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov to the world of "One Thousand and One Nights": In his suite "Scheherazade," he creates images of an imaginary and enchanting Orient in enchanting orchestral colors. The result is a concert program that makes exchange audible in its many facets—between sounds, cultures, centuries, and disciplines.