Author: Andrea Kerner

Sarah Willis has been celebrating great success in Europe with her “Mozart y Mambo” project for several years – both in concert halls and with the three recordings that are now available. In May, “Mozart y Mambo” will be making its debut in the Far East, with the aim of sweeping audiences in Taiwan’s major concert halls off their feet with South American rhythms!

„He (Mozart) would certainly have liked this lively approach!“ (Tagesspiegel Berlin, 12 Aug. 2023)

1 May 2024, National Taichung Theatre / 4 May 2024, Tainan Cultural Center / 5 May 2024, National Concerthall, Taipei
MOZART Y MAMBO
Sarah Willis, horn & musical direction Works by R.. Egües, W. A. Mozart, J. Davis, J. Peña, J. Fernández, S. Siaba a.o. Arrangements by J. Aragon

Classical:Next is considered one of the most important gatherings of the international classical music world. This year, it is taking place in Berlin for the first time, and there have also been changes behind the scenes: Andreas Richter joined the organising GmbH as a partner at the beginning of the year and is responsible for the conference part of the event together with the ARCC team. Karsten Witt and Nikolaus Rexroth, both from Karsten Witt Musik Management, and Clemens Seemann are also new to the team. Fabienne Krause is Managing Director.

The conference programme offers a wide variety of inspiring topics: new concert formats and audience development, digitality and AI, change management and sustainability and many more. Showcases present a broad spectrum of high-calibre artists and productions from all genres, from early to contemporary, traditional to experimental.

Press conference
Thursday, 25 April 2024
10.30 a.m. start (admission from 10.00 a.m.)
Colosseum Berlin, Schönhauser Allee 123, 10437 Berlin

On the podium
Joe Chialo, Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion
Fabienne Krause, Managing Director Classical:NEXT
Ole Bækhøj, Artistic Director Pierre Boulez Saal
Katja Frei, member of the Classical:NEXT Jury

13 – 17 May 2024, Colosseum / Pierre Boulez Saal / Holzmarkt 25 Classical:NEXT – The Global Gathering For All Art Music Professionals Conference Sessions, Showcases, Meet Ups, Presentations, Exhibition, Mentoring and more

“ “A May day is a categorical imperative of joy”, as the poet Friedrich Hebbel once said. For us, the joy begins already in April with a concert tour to Athens, and by no means ends at the end of May at Esterházy Palace. The programmes and projects of the coming weeks point to the future in many respects, play with genre boundaries and accompany the next generation of young musicians from all over the world:

The Chamber Orchestra of Europe doesn’t just have Europe in its name
Debut in the Far East: Sarah Willis’ Mozart y Mambo
Fab’ Four: Kronos Quartet
Tomorrow’s pianists: Building Bridges
Baroque and more: B’Rock Orchestra & Avi Avital
Classical:NEXT is getting closer!

We look forward to meeting you next week at IAMA 2024 in the Concertgebouw Bruges! Julia Larigo and Michael Sauter will be on site from Monday to Wednesday and will be happy to present the new programmes of our orchestras and ensembles as well as our Special Projects.

We are also delighted to present new ensembles in our portfolio: the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, the Scharoun Ensemble and Stanley Dodds‘ musical multimedia project: The Once and Future!

29 April – 1 Mai 2024, Concertgebouw Bruges / Brugge 33^rd IAMA Conference

The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra returns to Korea to present Bach’s St Matthew Passion under the direction of Francesco Corti. The work, which is unique in every respect, will be performed by an exquisite ensemble of soloists and one of the best choirs for baroque repertoire, the Zürcher Sing-Akademie. Another programme presents the internationally acclaimed violist Antoine Tamestit.

“This evening’s performance brought out the full diversity and artistic beauty of the St Matthew Passion.” (Bachtrack, 28 March 2023)

03 April 2024, Lotte Hall, Seoul / 05 April 2024, Tonyeong International Music Festival
07 April 2024, LG Arts Center, Seoul
St. MATTHEW PASSION
Maximilian Schmitt, Evangelist / Yannick Debus, Christ / Kateryna Kasper, soprano / Philippe Jaroussky, alto / Zachary Wilder, tenor / Andreas Wolf, bass / Zürcher Sing-Akademie / Francesco Corti, conductor J. S. Bach: St Matthew Passion BWV 244

06 April, Tongyeong International Music Festival
BACH & TELEMANN
Antoine Tamestit, viola / Gottfried von der Goltz, violin & viola / Francesco Corti, harpsichord & conductor
Works by G.- Ph. Telemann, A. Vivaldi & J.-S. Bach

• a Carmen premiere with B’Rock Orchestra
• a Milanese string quartet expedition with Europa Galante
• a courtly firework display of sound with Finnish Baroque Orchestra
• one St Matthew Passion in Korea with Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
• and another one at the Philharmonie Essen with Vox Luminis
• well-tempered consort music with Phantasm Viol Consort
• an all-Beethoven programme with Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century
• what we have to do with Classical:NEXT?
  
  … We look forward to the coming weeks!

Original sound from the Renaissance to the present day – we are looking forward to a musical excursion into the world of Romanticism with Compagnia di Punto and Ian Bostridge, to a special Easter setting in the Hungarian Archabbey of Pannonhalma with Belgian choir Vox Luminis, to another get-together of Il Giardino Armonico and Avi Avital, to excursions into emotional depths with Europa Galante and Phantasm Viol Consort, to the Babylon ORCHESTRA and a new version of their programme ECHOES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN, and a special concert programme by Ensemble Polyharmonique on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2024!

Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie is celebrating one of the most important German artists of the 19th century, poet Heinrich Heine – without any anniversary, without a (half or quarter) round birthday. Ian Bostridge, Compagnia di Punto and the actress Marina Galic juxtapose some of Robert Schumann’s settings of Heine with Büchner’s epochal work Woyzeck, which remains a fragment, and thus open up a broader perspective on the art of the early 19th century.

Founded in 2010, Compagnia di Punto is an ensemble of historical performance practice that plays music from the Baroque to the early Romantic period, in fluid transitions from chamber ensemble to orchestral formation. Accordingly, the ensemble performs this programme on instruments from the early 19th century.

9 February 2024, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
HEINRICH HEINE MEETS GEORG BÜCHNER
R. Schumann: Songs
G. Büchner: Excerpts from Woyzeck
Ian Bostridge, tenor / Marina Galic, actress / Christian Binde, leader / Matthias Schlothfeldt, concept & composition

Sarah Willis has thrilled the international music scene with her favourite project Moart y Mzambo: three highly acclaimed recordings, several invitations to the most renowned concert halls and the founding of her own salsa band, Sarahbanda, are the result of the intensive collaboration between the horn player, the Havana Lyceum Orchestra and its conductor José Antonio Mendez. In February 2024, Sarahbanda will bring Caribbean flair to wintry Europe with European art music, South American compositions and Cuban rhythms! 25 January 2024, Società Filarmonica Trento / 27 January 2024, Schloss Elmau / 29 January 2025, HUK-Coburg / 04 February 2024, Nikolaisaal Potsdam CUBAN DANCES Sarah Willis, horn & musical leader / Yuniet Lombida, saxophone / Jorge Aragón, piano Carlos García, doubble bass / Aylin Pino, violine / Adel González & Alejandro Aguilar, percussion Works based on W. A. Mozart and by Jorge Aragón, Yuniet Lombida, Ernesto Oliva a.o.