After exciting concerts of the BMW Welt Jazz Award performed by international ensembles, the jury announced the two finalists: the Adam Bałdych Quartet and the Peter Gall Quintet.
With this year’s theme “The Melody at Night” the BMW Welt Jazz Award returned to the roots of jazz music for this season. Therefore, the concerts were performed on Tuesday nights for the first time. Hosted by Hannah Weiss, winner of the BMW Welt Young Artist Jazz Award 2019, jazz fans have been experiencing the musical skills of this year’s performers at the double-coned structure between January and March.
With regard to the current events, the related measures taken to control the coronavirus as well as out of responsibility towards artists, guests and employees, the BMW Group together with the BMW Welt heavy-heartedly decided to postpone the final until the beginning of 2021. Already the sixth concert with the Giovanni Guidi Quintet had to be canceled due to the same reason.
The new target date for the final of the BMW Welt Jazz Award will be announced at www.bmw-welt.com/jazzaward and in the BMW PressClub. Then, both finalists will perform their interpretation of this year’s theme “The Melody at Night” at the auditorium of the BMW Welt. The winning ensemble will be awarded with 10,000 Euro as well as with a trophy designed by BMW Design; the runner-up will receive prize money of 5,000 Euro.
Finalists
Adam Bałdych Quartet
Polish violinist Adam Bałdych was a celebrated child prodigy in his homeland and he began his international career at the age of 16. Bałdych has received critical acclaim for his unique technique and for “redefining the violin sound”. In his current project, “Sacrum Profanum”, he returns to his classical roots: with his fellow countrymen (Krzysztof Dys on piano, Michał Barański on bass, and Dawid Fortuna on drums) he captured the audience of the concert on February 11. The quartet focuses on “sacred music” and its great composers, from medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen, to Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis, to the contemporary Tatar-Russian avant-gardist Sofia Gubaidulina.
Peter Gall Quintet
Hailing from Bad Aibling, but having lived most of his life in Berlin, Peter Gall is one of Germany’s most distinguished drummers and composers. At BMW Welt, Gall presented his first album as a bandleader, “Paradox Dreambox”, an impressive kaleidoscope of modern jazz sounds on February 18. He is joined on stage by other outstanding performers from the innovative German and European jazz scene, namely the Echo Jazz award winner Wanja Slavin on saxophone, Dutch guitar superstar Reinier Baas, winner of the New German Jazz Award Rainer Böhm on piano, as well as up-and-coming bassist Felix Henkelhausen.
Jury
The distinguished jury of expert jurors, that proved a success in previous years, will be headed by Oliver Hochkeppel (Music and cultural affairs journalist, Süddeutsche Zeitung) and will include the following members:
Roland Spiegel, Editor and jazz expert at German broadcasting station Bayerischer Rundfunk BR‑KLASSIK.
Andreas Kolb, Editor-in-chief of JazzZeitung.de and neue musikzeitung.
Heike Lies, Musicologist, Music and Music Theatre Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the state capital Munich.
Christiane Böhnke-Geisse, Artistic Director of the international jazz festival “Bingen swingt”.
The new target date for the final of the BMW Welt Jazz Award and the award ceremony will be announced at www.bmw-welt.com/jazzaward and in the BMW PressClub as soon as possible. Tickets are available at BMW Welt. Already purchased ticket will remain valid.
This edition of the BMW Welt Jazz Award once again enjoyed the generous support of Neue Musikzeitung and the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Munich. For the first time, the Munich hotel Bayerischer Hof is the partner of the BMW Welt Jazz Award. In addition, the radio station ego FM also joined the ranks of new partners and broadcasted all of the concerts.
Source: BMW PressClub
