What can art learn from nature? With chirping birds marking the new breeding season, it’s a good time to think about humanity’s relationship with flora and fauna. Organized by the Faculty of Music at the Universität der Künste Berlin, this year’s Crescendo festival shows how this interplay influences classical music. The 16-day online program starts tomorrow (21.05.2021) with solo performances, chamber music, plus big band and orchestra concerts from students, professors and international artists. The opening concert conducted by Reinhard Goebel kicks things off with the Pastoral Symphony by Beethoven, whose 250th birthday was marked last year and whose works constantly drew inspiration from nature. Meanwhile, synaesthetics (the ability to perceive sounds as images and colors), insects and quarks are the inspirations for Markus Groh’s piano recital, which sees the festival’s artistic director join UdK Berlin students to perform works by composers Aleksandre Scriabin and Graham Lack. Scriabin himself had synaesthesia, while quarks – tiny subatomic particles – provide the inspiration for Lack’s music.
Next up, the Vox Balaenae concert combines music with visual imagery that conjures both myths and realities, including the songs of humpback whales. Don’t miss the master’s graduation concert by the award-winning vision string quartet, who combine elements of jazz, pop and rock with original compositions for their final performance as UdK Berlin students. Finally, violinist Lisa Batiashvili’s master class brings together five violin students to demonstrate in real time how specific interpretations of musical works come together through collaboration. Time to dive into the concerts and get a much-needed break from Spotify playlists – May is set to be a very musical month…
Text: Hanna Komornitzyk / Photos & Graphic: Beethoven ©UdK Berlin, Saxophon: Jazz-Institut Berlin Big Band ©pixabay & Konzertsaal: Konzertsaal der UdK Berlin ©Matthias Heyde
Crescendo festival (21.05–05.06.2021) from the UdK Berlin Faculty of Music is available online.
The festival relies on public support: you can make a donation to the UdK-Freundeskreis via Betterplace.
