stARTfestival 2023

It’s time to celebrate – Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin is a hundred years old. Throughout that time, its mission has always been – and still remains – making music accessible to all. Democratic through and through. High-quality music. A performance that gets off to a brilliant start. Modest Mussorgsky – a short piece that is grandiose and loud. This is followed by Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2. The climax of the evening is Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 3, “The Fiery Angel”, which is based on a medieval story about demons, sexual obsession, devil worship and mass hysteria. In Prokofiev’s hands, this story is powerful and brutal – so monumental that the chandeliers start to shake. Musical fireworks in a concert hall with some of the best acoustics in Europe. A great, unmissable evening.

Persecuted. Murdered. Forgotten? Who were the dancers killed or banned from their profession by the Nazis? John Neumeier, ballet legend and probably the most significant dancer and choreographer in the world, turns his attention to these questions, along with the dancers from Germany’s National Youth Ballet. Various storylines and biographies, woven together in the style of a collage. Riveting. Vibrant. An interplay of text, dance, stage set and music that gives us an intimate view into these people’s lives, their suffering, the persecution they experienced, and their deaths. With elements of irony and humor, too. Never too heavy. Always respectful. Neumeier and the ballet dancers succeed in giving these people a voice – but that’s not all. They also give them back the stage.

Cool. Laid-back. Well-known jazz pianist Uri Caine brings new life to the great Richard Wagner. Accompanied by Quatuor Agate, the prestigious French string quartet. An homage to Wagner – but with a twist. Performed with levity, humor and plenty of jazz and charm, with the ambience of a Viennese coffee house. Wagner – but without some of the splendor, grandeur or mightiness. Uri Caine provides a fresh interpretation. Always with all due respect, but in a down-to-earth, accessible way. Simply a lighter touch. Wagner as he’s never been heard before – but as he absolutely needs to be heard. The Ride of the Valkyries played on the accordion. Wagner to sway along to.

Two worlds collide – jazz and the classical cello. Unusual. Different. Valentin Radutiu shows us how well the cello suits jazz – whether it’s playing the part of the bass, the guitar or, of course, the human voice. The classic cello – light and entertaining. Radutiu and his former stARTacademy colleague Benjamin Schaefer join forces to present a program that they have recorded together. The mood has been influenced by the Great American Songbook. Two musicians who know each other well simply having fun playing music together. They allow themselves to follow their instincts and follow the aesthetic of the music that fascinates them both. Musical and emotional.

Full of contrasts. Thrilling. A demanding program. Giorgi Gigashvili has deliberately designed the evening to be exactly as he wants it. This young musician from Georgia, who is supported by Martha Agerich, is a technically brilliant pianist. His talents are not restricted to the classical repertoire, but it is here that he finds the greatest challenges. The Liszt Sonata in B minor is one such challenge. A tremendous work with challenging fingering. Impressive. The “Kreisleriana” by Schumann is an explosion of contrasting moods and discontinuity that is typical of the Romantic era. Moving between wild euphoria and the sorrow of death, and yet the work takes the shape of a sweeping curve. A continuous line that needs to be carved out. The result is a contrast between the two works. Unusual. Highly skilled.

Planned improvisation. Everything happens in the moment. Guided by the instant. A program that lets the music take center stage. That’s exactly what Hauschka does best. His music has been nominated for an Oscar. Hauschka sets up a “prepared piano” for his performance, using ordinary, everyday items – chopsticks, aluminum foil, table tennis balls, erasers. It’s a long list. The result is something highly unusual and unfamiliar. It’s hard to believe the sound is coming from a grand piano. The notes transport you to worlds that are even hard to imagine. What’s exciting is the desire to be different, to try things out, to improvise. Fascinating. Bold.

Saxophone, strings, vocals. An unusual line-up that is unorthodox and expressive. Demanding – and not just for the soloist. The music goes high and low. Jakob Manz, too, is moving out of his comfort zone. The jazz saxophonist is playing with the internationally renowned Mandelring Quartett. It is a chance to move away from the familiar. Michael Wertmüller composed the piece specially for Manz, based on a poem by Wolfgang Hilbig. A composition that borrows from jazz, together with wonderful moments from a classical, romantic string quartet. Expressionist in parts. A work that was premiered on a small stage in Bitterfeld is going on tour. The program also includes works by Stallaert and Dvořák. An electrifying evening of music.

Classic – but with a twist. This project was devised specially for the stARTfestival. It focuses on Franz Schubert. His songs – his greatest legacy. Now looked at through a new lens. The evening starts off with the double bass – not traditionally a solo instrument. Soloist Dominik Wagner uses it as a voice. He takes it right to the limits. In more ways than one. Creatively and with high virtuosity. Schubert – but not as we know him. The Erlkings are in no way inferior. Far from it. Their line-up is almost absurd – percussion, tuba, guitar and vibraphone. They cultivate the song, but in a far from classical way. Often in the English version and always free from convention. They present Schubert as they see, hear and imagine him. It comes across easily. More of a feel of an evening in a club than a classical concert. Tempestuous and bold.

Human through and through. Deep. It’s all about existential questions. Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms arranged by Aribert Reimann. The songs remain unchanged – and yet are even greater. Deeper. More easily discernible. Of a completely different color. Translated into a multidimensional entity that the young Aris Quartett plays at the very highest level. Christiane Karg’s voice. Moving and almost reproachful. The instruments and voice seem to be singing to one another. The audience is irresistibly drawn in. An evening of great depth that will get under your skin.

Many influences. Many different eras. A focus on female composers. Powerful women. Powerful works. Thrilling. Multifaceted. These are the aspects that brought singer/songwriter Wallis Bird together with Spark. An Irish artist and a non-classical classical band. The best of both worlds, working together in this form for the first time. The artists shine new light on women from centuries gone by. With music by Hildegard von Bingen, Amy Beach and Björk, to name but a few. These women are celebrated in all their complexity – as warriors, mothers, muses, lovers, sisters, dreamers and sirens. As voices of the heart and of the soul. All with complete and utter devotion.

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Wild and witty. A phenomenal line-up. Metropole Orkest has partnered world stars such as Céline Dion, Joe Cocker and Shirley Bassey. Conductor Jules Buckley is also a world star. They’re staging a performance with Louis Cole. A young multi-percussionist. A Grammy Award winner. A YouTube star. They’ll also be joined by top-class soloists. An evening full of glamor and groove. Cole is always on the look-out for new items as replacements for his conventional percussion instruments. Of the various alternatives, the Nerf gun actually ranks as the most normal. All with a twinkle of mischief in his eye. A true spectacle awaits. A funky night. Incredibly entertaining. An event where it will be impossible to stay sitting down. Maybe we should just take the chairs out?