‘Ich will euch trösten’ (I will comfort you), sings the soprano in Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem. Indeed, this is music of comfort, not of lamentation. With this work, Mariss Jansons is continuing the Requiem ritual started in 2011 to allow listeners to contemplate the transience of life at the beginning of autumn. Rather than using the standard Latin mass text, however, Brahms selected his own text from the Bible. He completed the work after the death of his mother. Following the premiere, the music critic Hanslick wrote, ‘Since Bach’s Mass in B minor and Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, nothing in this vein has been written which is comparable to Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem.’ It was this work, which became immensely popular, that truly established Brahms as a composer.
RCO: Mariss Jansons conducts the Christmas Matinee (Kerstmatinee 2012)
‘Rarely is such a warm, captivating and smooth voice heard here in the Netherlands,’ wrote Peter van der Lint in the Dutch newspaper Trouw following the Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto’s last performance with the RCO, for which he garnered wide acclaim with the orchestra singing Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death on 25 August 2010. Now he returns with his favourite arias from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni. After the interval, a truly unique event takes place: for the very first time, a work by Anton Bruckner is performed at one of the legendary Concertgebouw Christmas Matinee’s – and what’s more, it is conducted by chief conductor Mariss Jansons. ——- Program: W.A. MOZART: ‘Madamina, il catalogo è questo’ from ‘Don Giovanni’ KV 527; ‘Non più andrai, farfallone amoroso’ from ‘Le nozze di Figaro’ KV 492; Overture to ‘Le nozze di Figaro’ // ANTON BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 7. (Cat. No. UNITEL A865500010000)
Wacken Open Air 2012
The two 60’ min ‘BEST OF’ compilations of Wacken Opem Air 2012 include the following acts: Part 1: Edguy: LAVATORY LOVE MACHINE / MINISTRY OF SAINTS / SUPERHEROES / D.A.D. MONSTER PHILOSOPHY / SLEEPING MY DAY AWAY // Hammerfall: LAST MAN STANDING / ONE MORE TIME / HEARTS ON FIRE // Dimmu Borgir: DIMMU BORGIR // Amon Amarth: DEATH IN FIRE / TWILIGHT OF THE THUNDER GOD / GUARDIANS OF ASGAARD — Part 2: Sepultura: TERRITOR / RATAMAHATTA / ROOTS // Testament: TRUE AMERICAN HATE / MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE / DARK ROOTS OF EARTH // Overkill: ELECTRIC RATTLESNAKE / IRONBOUND // Ministry RELAPSE / N.W.O. / JUST ONE FIX
For Elise – Beethoven’s Besteller
It’s one of the most popular pieces of classical music in the world. A catchy tune that won’t let go. It’s in every stack of piano music. It’s been used in music scores for Hollywood films like “Rosemarys Baby” or “Inglorious Basterds”. “For Elise” can be heard tinkling from mobile ringtones, telephone waiting loops, Fabergé eggs and toy pianos. The American rapper Nas based his hit “I can” on the melody of “For Elise”. How could this piece of music, just 928 notes in length, ever achieve such international distribution and celebrity? Within this documentary famous Pianists such as Alice Sara Ott, Gabriela Montero, Kit Armstrong, Richard Clayderman, composer Detlev Glanert and others give their interpretations of “For Elise”. The film sets off in search of the meaning and merit of “For Elise”. Prominent classical music experts and historians in Berlin, Vienna and Bonn work out the secrets of the magic that this best known and most frequently played of Beethoven’s pieces sparks anew in every generation around the world.
The Steve Miller Band plays Avo Session
Steve Miller’s parents taught him to love jazz, his friends were hippies and he liked rock. And he wanted to bring all of that together, so he skipped his final literature exams to become a professional musician. In 1967, at the tender age of 24, Steve founded the Steve Miller Band, where he fusioned the blues, psychedelic music and rock with reverb and echo effects to pioneer a new music form that music critics labelled blues rock. Six years later, after making Texas his new home, the guitar hero put his blues sentiment in a nutshell: «Some people call me the space cowboy, some call me the gangster of love». He called the track «The Joker». He’s been filling stadiums in America ever since and he rarely finds the time to come to Europe. It’s great that Steve Miller is finally «headed down» to Switzerland and to the AVO SESSION Basel.
Nick Lowe and Mavis Staples play Avo Session
Mavis Staples and Nick Lowe join forces to define the dichotomy that blues musicians mean when they sing «Standing At The Crossroads» – and the two could not contrast more as a duo. Mavis is an established American gospel singer. Englishman Nick performed in pubs and was as a punk rocker before he discovered country music. They are united by their love for the blues.
Madredeus play Avo Session
Since 1986, Madredeus have spearheaded the long tradition of fado and a woman’s voice was always at the centre, now it is the voice of Beatrix Nunes. The mastermind of the band, guitarist Pedro Ayres Magalhães, helps to ensure the future of fado with his compositions, which are not museum pieces, but rather a reflection of the realities of Lisbon in 2012. They perform some classic works as well as new songs at AVO SESSION.
Nick Lowe plays Avo Session
A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. He is best known for his songs “Cruel to Be Kind” (a US Top 40 single), and “I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass” (a top 10 UK hit), as well as his production work with Elvis Costello, Graham Parker and others. Lowe also wrote “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding”, a hit for Costello. Nick Lowe rocked English pubs in the 70s, then produced punk greats like the Pretenders and finally found the blues by way of the country band Little Village. Nick explores the dichotomies in the classic blues motifs: fear of God, pact with the devil, domesticity and wanderlust and partying on a Saturday night before the Sunday morning church service.
Nubya plays Avo Session
With her new album «Today», the young Basel soul singer Nubya takes a daring solo departure and has truly come into her own and won over the hearts of her fans. With her beautifully arranged songs, all written by the artist herself, she is a powerhouse.
Stefanie Heinzmann plays Avo Session
The 22-year-old singer Stefanie Heinzmann stormed onto the scene and won over our hearts four years ago with her loud mouth and bubbly personality. In the meantime, the teenager with the formidable voice has become a performer with depth who is taken very seriously. This powerful singer fearlessly explores the boundaries of soulful pop. On her current album, named grippingly simply after her, she demonstrates once again that her music and her personality are still just as upbeat as ever as she sings about dealing with Facebook and Angry Birds and about music that goes deeper than Lady Gaga. She gives impressive proof of her talent at AVO SESSION Basel.