Gipfeltreffen | Hopkinson Smith & Wolfgang Muthspiel
Lute Meets GuitarsWorks by Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger, John Dowland, George Gershwin, The Beatles, Wolfgang Muthspiel
Concert Introduction: Albert Hosp
World Premiere
Description
Hopkinson Smith | 8-course Renaissance lute
Wolfgang Muthspiel | acoustic guitar, electric guitar
The title of this evening might sound somewhat provocative, but it is hits the nail on the head: Hopkinson Smith is one of the most important lute players on the globe. Born in New York, he has been releasing one award-winning album after another since the 1970s. The music magazine Gramophone called his version of Bach’s violin partitas “the best recording of these works on any instrument.” But he also has a soft spot for “early baroque maniacs“ (Smith) such as the eccentric Venetian G.G. Kapsberger or the “singer-songwriter of the Renaissance” John Dowland.
Wolfgang Muthspiel, born in Judenburg, Styria, has been a mainstay in the international jazz scene for more than 30 years. You will find his name side by side with Gary Burton, Brad Mehldau, and Chris Cheek. When New York organises a guitar summit, he is quite likely among the invited guests. And his latest album “Etudes / Quietudes” is quickly becoming a reference work in acoustic guitar literature.
Smith & Muthspiel: one has a degree from Harvard, the other from Berklee College, the Mecca of jazz schools in Boston. The fact that both are teaching in Basel formed the geographical starting point for this – indeed – summit meeting commissioned by Imago Dei. The two will begin by playing solo for us and then perform with their combined talents
Weitere Termine
Befreiung zum Frieden
Israel In Egypt - From Slavery to FreedomAn oratorio of three world religions based on “Israel in Egypt” (1738), composed by George Frideric Handel, interwoven with Jewish and Muslim music.
Concept: Werner Ehrhardt, Yair Dalal, and Clemens Birnbaum
Festival Opening Words: Konrad Paul Liessmann
Austrian Premiere
Befreiung zum Frieden
Israel In Egypt - From Slavery To FreedomAn oratorio of three world religions based on “Israel in Egypt” (1738), composed by George Frideric Handel, interwoven with Jewish and Muslim music.
Concept: Werner Ehrhardt, Yair Dalal, and Clemens Birnbaum
Talk with Werner Ehrhardt, Yair Dalal, and Tobias Grabher.
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Concert Introduction: Talk with Lena Willemark
Austrian Premiere
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Concert Introduction: Albert Hosp
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Concert Introduction: Albert Hosp
Composition commissioned by the State of Lower Austria
World Premiere