Hamburgs Blues & Rock Night

ORSO Rock Symphony Night

For over 25 years, the Rock Symphoniker of ORSO have offered a unique blend of rock, pop, 19th/20th-century symphonic music, film scores, opera, musicals, jazz, and soul. The 130-member Rock Symphony Orchestra includes a symphony orchestra, rock band, choir, and various soloists. They perform spectacular arrangements by Wolfgang Roese from legends like Led Zeppelin, Queen, and many others. Visit www.orso.co for information and tickets.

Night of the 5 Tenors

Vincenzo Sanso, Luigi Frattola, Orfeo Zanetti, Emil Pavlov and Alejo Ruiz can usually be seen performing in the world’s greatest opera houses. For the »Night of the 5 Tenors«, now in its 15th year, they join forces to present a programme of the most popular arias from the operatic repertoire, including: »Rigoletto«, »Turandot« and »Carmen«. They are accompanied by the Bulgarian Plovdiv Symphonic Orchestra. Sought-after soprano Andrea Hörkens supplies a congenial commentary to guide us through the evening.

Autour du rock

Ensemble NIGHT

The landscape of Nepal stretches from tropical plains to the icy, sublime peaks of the Himalayas. Its music possesses a similarly exciting diversity. The Ensemble NIGHT brings out these hidden treasures located between rural folklore, Indian echoes and spiritual colouring. The quintet was formed in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu in 2006 by singer and multi-instrumentalist Jason Kunwar. After an initial phase as a metal band, the musicians decided to explore and preserve the cultural cosmos of the country’s more than 100 ethnic groups and languages. Accompanied by intensive field research trips to remote villages, they have developed a repertoire in which old songs and almost lost instruments come back into play. These include the paluwa flute made from fresh leaves, the three-stringed sarangi covered with sheepskin, and the Tamang stringed instrument known as the tungna. The ensemble also writes new songs based on its deep understanding of traditional music. This »new school folk« tells of spirituality as well as depicting the hardships of life in the countryside. The ensemble also documents its work on film – giving Nepal an opportunity to pass on its exciting heritage to future generations and to the world at large.

Guest performance Rock the Opera

Hits by Pink Floyd, Queen, Guns NʼRoses, Deep Purple, Van Halen, Radiohead, U2, AC/DC and Europe

Rock the Opera

Mit Rock the Opera gelingt Dirigent Friedemann Riehle das Unmögliche: Eine perfekte Verbindung von Klassik und Rock. Riehle konzipierte das Programm ursprünglich für seine Konzerte in der Wiener Staatsoper. Mit dem Orchester katapultiert er Rockmusik in eine neue Dimension und bewahrt zugleich die Atmosphäre und Kraft der originalen Songs. Hervorragende Rockstimmen, eine Band und ein grosses Sinfonieorchester garantieren einen Abend, der in Erinnerung bleibt. Mit neuem Programm kehrt Rock the Opera ins Gewandhaus zurück. Auf der Setlist stehen legendäre Songs wie z.B.: Pink Floyd Comfortably Numb Another Brick in the Wall Queen Don't Stop Me Now Seven Seas of Rhye Under Pressure Guns N 'Roses November Rain Deep Purple Highway Star Perfect Strangers und viele weitere

Rock The Opera

The Symphonic Rock Orchestra blasts 50 years of rock hits into a new dimension with spectacular orchestral sounds. The show has been playing almost every August since 2015 at the Vienna State Opera and throughout the season at many music centers across Europe. Three exceptional female vocalists and star guest Giacomo Voli bridge two seemingly incompatible worlds. Along with the Symphonic Rock Orchestra from Prague and drummer František Hönig, who already played with Frank Zappa, they take the audience into a musical world where everything is possible.

Late Night: Hinako Omori

»The relationship with ourselves is consistent, and when it’s healed, wonderful things can come from that«, says Japanese composer and singer Hinako Omori. Wonderful music, for example, as her latest album »stillness, softness...« shows. While her previous album »a journey...« focussed on nature, she now turns her attention to the inner self. As casual as the title sounds, listeners sink into the hypnotic stream of synthesiser sounds over which Omori’s gentle voice glides. Perfect for a late night session at the Elbphilharmonie and a relaxed end to the evening. Hinako Omori performs at the invitation of Swiss singer-songwriter Sophie Hunger, who is curating an entire weekend with musical friends in March – Hunger’s »Reflektor« festival. These two artists know each other from Hunger’s album »Halluzinationen«, which they recorded together with other musicians in Omori’s adopted home of London.

André Heller’s Sufi Night

André Heller’s Reflektor festival opens with an evening of spiritual music from Morocco and Pakistan. The rhythmic music of the gnawa singer Hind Ennaira from Essaouira, Morocco, in the first half of the concert is followed by the powerful qawwali of the Sufi ensemble of Fareed Ayaz and his brother Abu Muhammad from Pakistan. Listening to gnawa music, with its dynamic rhythms and chants, is a physical experience that brings both the players and the listeners to ecstasy. This ecstatic state induced through the medium of music is also important in qawwali, and is said to bring the audience and the performers closer to God. The concert begins with the powerful qawwali singing of the Pakistani Sufi ensemble led by Fareed Ayaz and his brother Abu Muhammad. The ensemble’s musical roots reach back 700 years to the tradition of Delhi’s devotional singers. In Sufi mysticism, qawwali – which is known as the »path of the heart« – expresses fervent devotion to God. The music begins with a meditative rhythm of chants, melodies and percussion. Gradually, the rhythm ramps up, reaching intoxicating climaxes that are said to lead the musicians and listeners closer to the divine. The brothers and their ensemble have been internationally known for more than 30 years, and are Pakistan’s most popular qawwal group. They are followed by the 26-year-old gnawa musician and gimbri player Hind Ennaira who is one of the few female maâlems or master musicians among the hundred or so gnawa artists in Morocco, whose musical tradition is usually passed down from father to son. As a maâlem, she – with her bassy gimbri lute – leads the gnawa ensemble consisting of dancing singers who play the castanet-like instrument krakebs.

Guest performance Italian night