Especially since his composition contract at the famous Metropolitan Opera of New York, he is one of the most famous songwriters of our time. Rufus Wainwright is also an exceptionally gifted singer and piano player. With Release the Stars, his fifth album in a decade, Wainwright artfully establishes the intimacy he was reaching for. The hard-working Wainwright tours the world in support of Release the Stars and will perform in Basel in an intimate atmosphere in front of only 1530 fans.
Suzanne Vega plays Avo Session
On “Beauty & Crime”, the Manhattan native Suzanne Vega uses New York City as the backdrop for a collection of eleven new songs that juxtapose acoustic guitar-driven melodies with coolly synthesized beats. “Beauty & Crime” is her first new studio album in six years. The album has the warmth of analog but the technology of the digital world. Among the players joining Vega and members of her touring band are guitarists Gerry Leonard (David Bowie, Rufus Wainwright) and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth; Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall contributed background vocals and vocal arrangements.
The Hooters play Avo Session
debut release Nervous Night sold in excess of 2 million copies and included Billboard Top 40 hits such as Day By Day, And We Danced and Where Do The Children Go. With a total of six albums, The Hooters achieved worldwide superstar status throughout the 80’s and 90’s. The Hooters recorded their first album of new material since 1993. Time Stand Still was released in 2007, preceded by a tour of Europe, with shows in Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands and: Basel – Switzerland!
Lucinda Williams plays Avo Session
Lucinda Williams received the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1994. The long-awaited release, 1998’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, was Williams’ breakthrough to the mainstream and received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. She moved further from the country music establishment while winning fans in the alternative music world. She won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock performance for the single Get Right With God. Her last album titled West was released in 2007. Vanity Fair has praised it, saying ‘Lucinda Williams has made the record of a lifetime – part Hank Williams, part Bob Dylan, part Keith Richards circa Exile On Main Street…’
Patti Austin Plays Avo Session
Patti Austin crosses all musical genres, has many solo albums to her credit, has performed her award nominated hit songs on the Grammys and Oscars. Her 1998 Jazz Album “In and out of Love” spent almost two years on the contemporary jazz charts. With live performances, along with her appearances with symphony orchestras throughout the world, Austin can look at her latest accomplishments with much justifiable pride. And Patti Austin continues to create milestones in an incredible career as a Jazz singer.
Reamonn plays Avo Session
Reamonn – a German rock band, well known all over Europe – was officially set up in 1998. They produced their first album Tuesday and the first single Supergirl was a major success, it went to gold and became the most played song on German radio in 2000. Reamonn became stars and played at many festivals and concerts. Their third album Beautiful Sky was released in 2003 and went double platinum. They toured with Robbie Williams in Switzerland and Austria. And now they are on tour again – with their latest album Wish.
John Cage – Journeys in Sound
On the occasion of the 100th birthday of the American composer in autumn 2012, the documentary honors one of the most extraordinary protagonists of 20th century music. The program is directed by Oscar® winner Allan Miller, whom the ‘New York Times’ called ‘America’s foremost filmmaker of documentaries on classical music’, co-directed by Paul Smaczny. Shot in America, Germany and Japan, the program premieres rare archival footage; presenting concert excerpts and a set of short stories, featuring associates of Cage and contemporary artists, playfully delineating different aspects of John Cage. Protagonists are Yoko Ono, David Tudor, Christian Wolff, Steffen Schleiermacher, Toshio Hosokawa, Mayumi Miyata, Calvin Tomkins and many others. The film was awarded as ‘best documentary’ at the Golden Prague Festival 2012 and best educational program at FIFA Montréal 2013.
Sibelius Symphony No. 1
It couldn’t be more authentic: the Philharmonic Orchestra Helsinki performs all seven symphonies by Jean Sibelius live in the spectacular concert hall of the Finnish capital’s modern Music Centre — the place where almost all of them had their premieres. Over a period of approximately 25 years, Jean Sibelius composed his seven symphonies. All of them, except for the seventh, were premiered in Helsinki under the composer’s own direction. Now, more than 100 years later, a symphony cycle by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by its chief conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste, offers a unique and moving experience.
Sibelius Symphony No. 2
It couldn’t be more authentic: the Philharmonic Orchestra Helsinki performs all seven symphonies by Jean Sibelius live in the spectacular concert hall of the Finnish capital’s modern Music Centre — the place where almost all of them had their premieres. Over a period of approximately 25 years, Jean Sibelius composed his seven symphonies. All of them, except for the seventh, were premiered in Helsinki under the composer’s own direction. Now, more than 100 years later, a symphony cycle by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by its chief conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste, offers a unique and moving experience.
Sibelius Symphony No. 4
It couldn’t be more authentic: the Philharmonic Orchestra Helsinki performs all seven symphonies by Jean Sibelius live in the spectacular concert hall of the Finnish capital’s modern Music Centre — the place where almost all of them had their premieres. Over a period of approximately 25 years, Jean Sibelius composed his seven symphonies. All of them, except for the seventh, were premiered in Helsinki under the composer’s own direction. Now, more than 100 years later, a symphony cycle by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by its chief conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste, offers a unique and moving experience.