Germany Dresden Music Festival 2023 [11] – 5.6.2023, Kulturpalast, Dresden: Till Brönner and Band (Till Brönner [trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals], Olaf Polziehn [piano], Christian von Kaphengst [double bass, bass guitar, keyboard], Bruno Müller [guitar], David ‘Fingers’ Haynes [drums], Jan Miserre [keyboards] and Mark Wyand [saxophone])
It was at Dresden Music Festival 2016 when I attended my first Till Brönner concert Jazz Meets Classics at the Semperoper. That Till Brönner concert had lodged long in my consciousness, and I admit to being excited for this evening’s full house at Kulturpalast.
In his career, this German born and Italian raised trumpeter and singer Till Brönner has gained a large and loyal following. Coming from a musical family Brönner is an award-winning and best-selling jazz musician who has been named the ‘German Chet Baker’. In 2000 he actually released an album Chattin’ With Chet. Brönner, who alternates between trumpet and flugelhorn, has collaborated with a dizzying list of celebrated artists in the jazz world, for example Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Natalie Cole, Kurt Elling, Sérgio Mendes, Chaka Khan and Herbie Hancock.
On the other hand, Brönner is often lambasted for his overly sweet-toothed style, yet it has brought him real success in Germany and Europe. Using a mixture of styles such as jazz fusion, hard-bop, jazz-funk, it wasn’t difficult to hear various influences in Brönner’s works noticeably from Freddie Hubbard, Chet Baker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Courtney Pine and Wynton Marsalis for example.
This was cool jazz in a contemporary groove that I found irresistibly smooth. There was nothing too challenging and little in the way of sharp edges. Slim and stylishly dressed in a black suit, Brönner looked as cool as the music he plays. An adept communicator, I sensed the rapport when Brönner talked to the audience between some of the numbers. A mixing-desk and operator were located on the side of the stage which is what we have come to expect when instruments are amplified.
Brönner and his six-piece band kicked off with an instrumental of The Good Life, from the album of the same name, the famous standard now synonymous with Tony Bennett, and it sounded great on the flugelhorn. His instrumental September Morn from the album On Vacation played on flugelhorn sounded sensational too, sending a shiver of contentment down the spine. Again, from On Vacation we heard one of Brönner’s own, easy listening songs Lemonade with its bossa nova rhythm and high leaps on the flugelhorn it just sparkled. In a similar mellow vein was Café com pão from Rio. Such a talented band, all of Brönner instrumentalists were given a solo. Standing out was the lengthy solo from American drummer David ‘Fingers’ Haynes that was quite sensational, and it felt exhausting just watching.
The hit September from American soul band Earth, Wind & Fire was Brönner’s eleventh work of the evening. A number always guaranteed to set the foot-tapping, it was here that Brönner mustered some participation from the audience who seemed to enjoy the fun. Amid loud applause Brönner and band returned to the stage for their encore. The outcome was perfect, an understated version of the George Michael ballad Jesus to a Child contained on the trumpeter’s Till Christmas album.
You really must see Till Brönner in concert to appreciate the full range of his talents. I can’t think of anyone who would feel short-changed by this outstanding concert.
Dresden Music Festival 2023 [12] – 6.6.2023, Kulturpalast, Dresden: Martin Grubinger (percussion), Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen / Tarmo Peltokoski (conductor)
Works by Ishii Maki, Peter Eötvös, Steve Reich, Zoltán Kodály, Iannis Xenakis, Aaron Copland, Fazil Say, Claude Debussy, Daníel Bjarnason, John Corigliano & Kurt Engel
Martin Grubinger is one of the world’s greatest percussionists and if I didn’t believe that statement, I certainly did so after this Kulturpalast concert. Percussion concertos are works I only encounter infrequently in concert, and I was slightly dubious at the prospect of attending virtually a whole evening of percussion works. This sellout concert featuring Austrian born Grubinger comprising mainly of highlights from his broad percussion repertoire turned out to be an awe-inspiring event, unquestionably exciting and at times jaw dropping in its virtuosity.
Just to look at the stage itself was quite a spectacular sight. The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen was in the traditional position at the centre of the stage surrounded by several banks of percussion instruments. There was at times so much frantic activity by Grubinger and the other percussion players moving, sometimes running, around into position on the jam-packed stage, sometimes perilously close to the edge, that it appeared to be a health and safety hazard. It was incredible just how Grubinger and his colleagues managed to find where all the instruments were, but they did, and with remarkable expertise. There were occasions when the audience seated behind the stage in the choir gallery wouldn’t have been able to see the all the drumming and I could see some people in the side galleries adjacent to the choir standing or craning their necks to obtain a better view of the action.
This was my first concert played by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and was it conducted by its principal guest conductor Tarmo Peltokoski. Of the eleven works programmed only three were purely orchestral, without Grubinger providing percussion. It has been a while since I last heard Kodály’s Dances of Galánta a piece based on folk music from Galánta now part of Slovakia. In a performance as gratifying as this I was surprised just how much impact the Dances of Galánta made. Full marks to the Bremen brass and percussionists for their rendition of Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, an imposing outburst of sound that could have hardly been played better. Heralding a distinct change of mood was Debussy’s much loved masterwork Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, with its prominent flute part. From Greek mythology this warm and colourful impression of the faun who awakes trying to recall memories of forest nymphs was given a beguilingly atmospheric account under Peltokoski.
Percussionist Martin Grubinger ruled the stage with his choice of eight eminently worthy works, each containing various gradations of excitement, even drama. My highlights include the opening work of the concert Dyu-Ha, quite substantial at some fourteen minutes, which set a resolute and redoubtable tone. Dyu-Ha written by Japanese composer Maki Ishii had Grubinger one of five percussionists playing, with both stick and hand, large sets of drums that were placed at head height, close to the rear wall of the stage. Standing out too was Speaking Drums for solo percussion and orchestra by contemporary Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös. This was another substantial work, its three movements taking over twenty minutes to perform, and was conspicuous for the sense of theatre it communicates. In addition to playing a battalion of percussion instruments Grubinger was also required to chant, shout and scream complex but short Hungarian texts by twentieth-century poet Sándor Weöres and also text from twelfth-century Sanskrit poet Jayadeva. For this Eötvös work I am puzzled why texts and translations were not provided in the leaflet handed out, or surtitles used.
One of the greatest living composers is in my book is Turkey born Fazil Say and his Concerto for percussion and orchestra was premiered in 2019 here at Kulturpalast Dresden. Say’s exceptionally vital percussion concerto was written especially for Grubinger who chose to play the fourth and final movement Marimba – Boobams that took him around ten minutes. Here I relished watching Grubinger playing the marimba, boobam, rototom and waterphone all with such mastery. No Turkish instruments are employed by Say in his exciting and exuberant score full of orchestral outbursts, although distinctive Anatolian features could be heard.
Worthy of praise, Tarmo Peltokoski and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen provided consistent first-rate support for Grubinger all evening. Played by soloist Martin Grubinger these works require a vast percussion battery, remarkable for the virtuosity and strenuous activity required, made for tremendous theatre.
Michael Cookson
Programme:
Maki Ishii – Dyu-Ha (1981)
Eötvös – Speaking Drums (2012/13)
Reich – Drumming (1970/1971)
Kodály – Dances of Galánta (1933)
Xenakis – Peaux from Pléïades (1978)
Copland – Fanfare for the Common Man (1942)
Fazil Say – Marimba – Boobams (IV) from Concerto for percussion and orchestra (2018/19)
Debussy – Prélude à L’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) (1892-94)
Daníel Bjarnason – Satz (I) from Inferno, Concerto for solo percussion and orchestra (2022)
John Corigliano – SKIN (III) from Conjurer, Concerto for percussionist and orchestra (2007)
Encore: Kurt Engel – Look out little Ruth (edited Martin Grubinger)