New York Stories

New York City has been the metropolis of jazz since the 1950s. Bebop, disco, punk rock and new wave all came into being on the city’s streets. In Greenwich Village, folk became folk rock, and the sounds of the DJs in the clubs of the Bronx led to the development of hip-hop. This is also where the American classical avant-garde developed and it is still evident here to this day with several key figures and locations.

A number of the pieces performed by the JACK Quartet reflect the influence of the urban setting on the composers who live here. John Zorn gathers more than 30 long-standing and current musician colleagues on stage for his marathon. And with Anohni, New York pop avant-garde arrives in our Hanseatic city.

However, New York City also means Broadway – and the origin of countless hits by George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. One of the best-known interpreters of the Great American Songbook, Michael Feinstein, puts together a special programme of songs from this golden era with support from the WDR Big Band.

Finally, the New York Philharmonic, the oldest of the American »Big Five«, comes to Hamburg, bringing with it the premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s new cello concerto, which was written for the world-class, New York-trained cellist Yo-Yo Ma.