Jazz residency with Michael Wollny

Michael Wollny © Jörg Steinmetz

"The more open things are, the less fear I feel."

Jazz pianist? This job description doesn’t really do justice to this artist, who fearlessly but by no means disrespectfully throws himself into new sound adventures. This is something known by everyone who has experienced Michael Wollny in recent years at one of his celebrated performances at the Alte Oper. The way he artfully dissected Schubert’s Winter Journey and brought it to the worlds of jazz and pop, for example. The way he made the links between music and texts tangible. The way he casually transcended the boundaries between composition and improvisation, just as he did the boundaries between epochs and genres. “Ultimately, I always turn my back on order – and journey into chaos”, is how the pianist describes his approach. It must be said that this chaos is always uniquely beautiful.

Past events