Night of Guitars

Night of Guitars

The »Night of the Guitars« is an ode to acoustic guitar music. Four musicians come together to create a concert evening. Original compositions and cover versions are performed in unique solo, duet and quartet performances. The speciality of the evening lies in the mix of artists who come together from all over the world. In addition to well-known luminaries from the scene, young, unknown musicians will also take to the stage. Together they create a concert evening of unrivalled virtuoso perfection.

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.

Jewish Music Night

Sacral and spiritual music is the focus of this three-part evening that brings together Jewish singing traditions from several continents. The Piyut Ensemble takes its name from a form of religious Jewish poetry. Synagogue songs and music from North Africa and the Middle East are the sources of inspiration for its spiritual and artistic work, which is deeply rooted in the Jewish faith and Jewish ceremonies. The band Yemen Blues received unanimous acclaim from the audience here back in the Elbphilharmonie’s opening year. Almost seven years later, their singer Ravid Kahalani returns to Hamburg with his equally exciting ensemble Voices of Yemen. Jewish-Yemeni songs intoned with an amazing rawness to the accompaniment of an electric guitar, percussion and the relentlessly pulsating bass of Shanir Blumenkranz promise once more to lead the Hamburg audience to a state of trance, joy and ecstasy. For a number of years now, young Hassidic singers in Brooklyn have been intensively searching together for the synagogue songs of their ancestors. Sound recordings from the pre-war era provide valuable points of reference for producing historically accurate yet individual interpretations. The strong, beautiful singing exudes an uplifting joy and optimism, which probably gave their ancestors strength and solace as they experienced persecution, expulsion and flight, and were forced to start new lives in foreign countries. The Brooklyn Cantors’ programme also includes a song by Yossele Rosenblatt, who worked in Hamburg from 1906 until 1912, before he made it big in the USA. Rosenblatt is still regarded as one of the greatest cantors of all time. This video gives a taste of the Brooklyn Cantors’ impressive singing.

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.

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.

Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic Piano Night

Few other musicians have shaped the Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic series as much as pianists Michael Wollny, iiro Rantala and Leszek Możdżer. The three played the legendary opening concert of the series in 2012 and have appeared time and again in recent years with memorable performances. In this concert, they are joined by pianist Grégory Privat from Martinique. The artists, who are very different in character and temperament, are united by their roots in classical music. And so we can look forward to an evening in which the four pianists combine classical music, jazz and Caribbean flair to create a very special sound world.

Night Session

‘We tell ourselves stories through good music,’ our chief conductor Joana Mallwitz is convinced. And that's why there are once again two Night Sessions this season, which she has newly developed with and for the Konzerthaus Berlin. The concerts with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, which start at 9.30 pm on Fridays, always revolve around a theme that she presents in an unusual stage setting and to which a guest panellist contributes a different perspective on the common topic.

Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic “Italian night” with Stefano Bollani

When Stefano Bollani interprets the hit song “O sole mio”, all languor and indulgence disappears. Instead, you hear light-footed, astonishing imagination. Now the pianist, who is at home in both jazz and classical music, celebrates the music of his homeland for an entire Italian night. There will be well-known melodies, virtuosic improvisation, and imaginative arrangements with plenty of humour. Stefano Bollani is joined by clarinettist Gabriele Mirabassi, guitarist Matteo Mancuso, trumpeter Luca Aquino and singer Valentina Cenni.

Tango Late Night

Due to the high demand, we are organising an exclusive Tango Late Night following the chamber concert "Argentinian Tango"! The Argentinian tangos from the first concert will be supplemented by further tangos in a varied line-up.

Chamber Music Night