Press Release
Haydn2032 – "Showing the world of Haydn and its connections" (Giovanni Antonini) Basel, 16 May 2014 Under the musical direction of Giovanni Antonini, the privately-funded music project "Haydn2032" was created to realize a vision: to record and perform – in a unique cycle featuring concerts across Europe – all of Joseph Haydn's 107 symphonies by 2032, the 300th anniversary of the composer's birth. This project's kick-off event, "Radiale Nacht Haydn2032," will take place on Saturday, the 21st of June 2014. Haydn2032 This long-term venture is the brainchild of Swiss Cultural Manager Christoph Müller who, inspired by Giovanni Antonini's conducting of Haydn's works in January 2013, developed the idea of this visionary music project. Haydn2032 strives not only to present a historically accurate and dramaturgically informed reference recording, but to also examine Haydn's symphonic legacy – while questioning its validity for both the present and future – through a thematic and multi-disciplinary approach. Müller found a counterpart in Giovanni Antonini, who assumes the position of Artistic Director for this long-term project and who will work in close collaboration with the kammerorchesterbasel and the Italian chamber orchestra Il Giardino Armonico. A proven specialist of this period, the Italian conductor approaches his repertoire through intensive and meticulous historical research. In May 2014, the NZZ regarded his recording of the Beethoven cycle with the kammerorchesterbasel a "piece of the future." Antonini's gift for bringing out the finest details of musical and harmonic structures, as well as for making the most complex phrases both vivid and tangible for the listener, promises a new and authentic way of experiencing Haydn's music. This project will feature the first complete recording of the symphonies, performed on historical instruments and with the original instrumentation.
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This exploration of Haydn's symphonic universe will not be carried out chronologically but thematically. Antonini, who also considers the study of Haydn's music as a study of human nature, will group the symphonies by theme. In doing so, he presents a musical kaleidoscope of human emotions which are both uniquely portrayed in Haydn's works, and continue to be well-founded and universal in the 21st century. Works by Haydn's contemporaries will also complement the themes of selected works. Starting in 2014, this project will involve both an annual CD production – which will later be increased to two CDs per year – and a Europe-wide concert series. Two concerts a year will take place at residences in Basel, Zurich and Eisentstadt; a successful long-term partnership has also come to fruition with the RADIALSYSTEM V in Berlin, one of the most innovative and experimental venues in Germany. Each of the recordings will be produced together with the French ensemble Outhere Music; it will also be accompanied by a special collector's edition, a book with photos and texts by contemporary photographers and authors. Different photographers from the renowned photo agency MAGNUM PHOTOS will put together photographic cycles based on each of the themes to go along with the project. The Joseph Haydn Foundation was founded in May 2013 as the legal, financial and organizational sponsor of the project Haydn2032. In addition to Christoph Müller, the members of the Foundation's Managing Board include Jeanne Lüdin-Geiger and Hanspeter Lüdin. As active long-time supporters of the visual arts in Switzerland, Jeanne Lüdin-Geiger and Hanspeter Lüdin also serve as consultants and promoters for this project. The Foundation will be the publisher of the collector's edition and promoter for the concert series in Basel. "The Foundation hopes to uphold Joseph Haydn's legacy and to fundamentally revisit his image," remarked Christoph Müller.
La Passione The project Haydn2032 begins with the motto "La Passione." The kick-off event will take place on the 21st of June 2014 at 19:00 in Radialsystem V. There is no other venue in Berlin that allows for the development and presentation of innovative concert formats in such as a way as RADIALSYSTEM V. In this vein, Haydn2032 | La Passione will be celebrated in the form of a "radial night": the ensemble Il Giordino Armonico will perform symphonic works in the Main Hall, while chamber music can be enjoyed in the studios' relaxed atmosphere.
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Complementing the concerts are literary interpretations of Haydn by Bernhard Lassahn and the author and musician Martin Betz, as well as a conversation between Folkert Uhde and Giovanni Antonini and a remix lounge featuring Fabian Russ. These events will take place simultaneously on different levels; audiences are encouraged to move freely through the various halls and studios, listen to different concerts and readings, and put together their own programme. The longest day of the year promises to bring one of those famous Berlin summer nights and guarantee an especially atmospheric musical experience for the senses. The inaugural Haydn2032 CD, La Passione, will be released in early November 2014. In addition to Haydn's symphonies 1, 39 and 49, this recording will include Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck's music to the ballet "Don Juan" – performed for the first time in the original version and with the original instrumentation. The first concert tour, which will take place at the same time, will include performances in Basel, Zurich and at the Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt. The first part of the collector's edition will consist of the recording, a contribution by Giovanni Antonini, photographs by Gueogui Pinkhassov and an essay by Bernhard Lassahn. This collector's edition will also be available starting in November 2014 online through the Joseph Haydn Foundation. Haydn2032 will not only rexamine one of the most significant composers of the 18th century in a new light. It will also tackle the questions regarding the music scene and the lives of musicians today: how will classical music be presented in the future? How will the recording industry and distribution channels change? How will major music projects be financed and organized? As a project unfolding over a span of almost 20 years, Haydn2032 will reflect the current and future developments of the music and media worlds in Europe. Press Contact maren borchers ∙ for artists gmbh Maren Borchers: maren.borchers@forartists.de / Tel: +49 30 414 7817 40 Andrea Kerner: andrea.kerner@forartists.de / Tel: +49 30 414 7817 41 Joseph Haydn Foundation Anna Iskina: anna.iskina@haydn2032.com / Tel: +41 41 79 128 20 74 Media Partner for the Radiale Nacht Haydn2032ď‚˝La Passione kulturradio vom rbb, tip Berlin, taz.die tageszeitung, Exberliner, concerti
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