Chris Thile is a genius – and officially as well, ever since the American MacArthur Foundation awarded him its highly-endowed »Genius Grant«. And if we take a closer look at the career of the fourfold Grammy prizewinner, the term »genius« seems more than justified.
Genre boundaries have never interested the 35-year-old musician. He originally became known as the mandolin player of the group »Nickel Creek«. He followed up with three solo albums, the most successful of which, »How to Grow a Woman from the Ground« (2007), led to the setting- up of the »Punch Brothers«, who combined influences from pop, rock and classical music. However, Chris Thile’s roots lie in bluegrass and folk music. Thus his fans were both amazed and delighted at his decision to record Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin in 2013 – though this idea was not as odd as it sounds: the mandolin and the violin are tuned to exactly the same pitch.
Thile’s arrangements of Bach’s works now form the basis of a new solo programme that he will be performing in Hamburg, and which also includes compositions from his own pen as well as contemporary pieces.
Performers
Chris Thile mandolin
Estimated end time
22:00