Sofia Gubaidulina (*1931)
Revuemusik for symphony orchestra and jazz band (1976/1995/2002)
Michael Wertmüller (*1966)
Shlimazl for symphony orchestra and big band (2023) UA
Commissioned by the Basel Sinfonietta and the Ruhrtriennale
With financial support from Pro Helvetia and the Fondation SUISA
Simon Steen-Andersen (*1976)
TRIO for orchestra, big band, choir and video (2019)
Titus Engel, conductor
NDR Bigband
Chorwerk Ruhr
The Basel Sinfonietta launches its first season with a bang under its new Principal Conductor Titus Engel, together with the NDR Bigband and the Chorwerk Ruhr. The program, which the orchestra previously performed as part of the Ruhrtriennale's prestigious Festival of the Arts, features electrifying music in large-scale format, oscillating between the poles of new music and jazz. Big band and symphony orchestra are much like the penguin and the polar bear – they never cross paths. Almost never!
For the Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina, it is precisely the otherness of these two worlds that is so fascinating: her hauntingly ironic Revue Music is like a Tatar mystic's take on the aesthetics of Hollywood film music of the 1970s.
For Swiss composer and jazz musician Michael Wertmüller, it makes no significant difference whether he is facing a classical orchestra or a big band, as he is rooted in both environments. In his work for symphony orchestra and big band, commissioned by the Basel Sinfonietta, he brings these worlds together – and proves how complexity and coolness are effortlessly compatible.
Meanwhile, in his Trio for symphony orchestra, vocal ensemble and big band, the Danish composer Simon Steen-Andersen, who is closely linked to the Basel Sinfonietta, merges the ensembles with historical audiovisual material to create a fantastical time machine. He calls upon the ensembles present and those corresponding in the video feed from the SWR archives in service of his boundless sense of playfulness.
In cooperation with the Ruhrtriennale and the NDR
With financial support from Pro Helvetia and the Fondation SUISA
UA World premiere
Program subject to change
