During his lifetime, Hans Pfitzner sparked controversy due to his anti-Semitic beliefs and siding with fascist ideology yet emphatically championing a number of Jewish friends and artists. The Eichendorff cantata “Von Deutscher Seele” is one of Pfitzner’s contradictions - it is not ideology set to music, in fact abstains from any kind of resentment. When Ingo Metzmacher put the cantata on the Berlin Philharmonic’s program on “German Unification day”, the excitement was great amid the controversy that surrounded the choice of composer to celebrate such a monumental day for Germany.

Ingo Metzmacher has appeared with many of the world’s greatest orchestras and continually receives widespread international acclaim. Appointed principle conductor for the Deutsches Symphony Orchester Berlin’s 2007/08 season, Metzmacher leads his orchestra with the support of a first-class ensemble of soloists, including world renowned lieder singer Robert Holl.