March 24, 2017

Wolfsburg

The second of our concerts with Sabine Meyer, Knut Erik Sundquist and Goran Sollscher is upon us, and in the surroundings of one of the finest refurbished concert halls in Germany (in my opinion, at least) where we have enjoyed KS-only performances in the past.I find the wonderful thing about sharing a stage with world-class musicians is that the level of collaboration is so exciting! With this trio, it's been so easy to slot together and make music, and already the performances are growing and changing. The hallmark of a successful ensemble is that is is able to adapt to changing acoustics and audiences; naturally, when on stage, you are affected by the energy and mood of the public, and the performance evolves accordingly. Over the years we have worked with several other musicians, but this is one of the most exciting so far!This is also a chance to approach new repertoire - and to perform an entire concert in German. The recording made by the group back in the 1980s, with Sabine playing clarinet, was one of my favourites for years before I was able to sing the repertoire. It's an oddly German/Austrian genre, the Strauss waltzes and polkas, and possibly wouldn't work outside German-speaking territories, but I find the arrangements charming. In a way, they're like the German version of Flanders and Swann - or Tom Lehrer. One of the pieces concerns the joys of trains, another is "the Heartbreak Polka" and yet another speaks of the wonderfully tasty "Viennese Blood" from the perspective of vampires!Enormous fun - and I shall miss these musicians when we part, next week.