Bundesjugendorchester – 29. Euregio Musikfestival

Classical music and jazz - two musical worlds that rarely share the stage. But in this extraordinary project, the German Music Council and its Federal Youth Orchestra and Federal Jazz Orchestra are daring to do just that. Germany's best young musicians from both genres will celebrate musical diversity in a joint concert program under the experienced direction of Jonathan Stockhammer. The highlight will be the performance by Malika Tirolien, the charismatic singer and composer from Guadeloupe. Her music combines jazz, soul, funk and Caribbean influences. Following their Grammy-nominated collaboration, Stefan Behrisch will arrange some of Tirolien's energetic songs into a new suite in which she takes center stage as a soloist.

The diversity of musical influences and styles that come together in this program is symbolic of the added value that arises when different cultures and forms of expression enrich each other. Starting with one of the first jazz-inspired classical works, Darius Milhaud's "La Création du Monde", the entire program will demonstrate the creative dialogue between classical music and jazz and break down supposed boundaries. Wynton Marsalis' "Manhattan to L.A." from his Swing Symphony, for example, combines rousing big band swing with symphonic sonority, as does the classic of crossover, Duke Ellington's imaginative journey to the "Night Creatures". Her "Revue Music" is considered a discovery and unique in Sofia Gubaidulina's oeuvre, which can be understood as a kind of satirical look at the aesthetics of Hollywood film music of the 1970s in an ironic and ghostly way and with many mock quotations from popular music. Inspired by the gesture of Peter Gabriel's 1986 song "Sledgehammer", which symbolizes the powerful effort to break through all barriers, the composer and arranger Libor Šíma, solo bassoonist of the SWR Symphony Orchestra and successful jazz saxophonist, is working on a new composition for this project called "Sledgehammer Reloaded". Finally, Leonard Bernstein's "Three Dance Episodes from 'On the Town'" will reflect the energy of Broadway and the irrepressible joie de vivre that characterizes this project.