Art of the moment
Opening concert of the "Schupra" competition with improviser Helmut Lörscher
The opening concert of the 16th CARL BECHSTEIN National Competition for Practical Piano Playing at Schools at the Weimar Music university promises wit, brilliance and spontaneity. The virtuoso pianist Helmut Lörscher will take to the keys on Thursday, 25 April at 8:00 p.m. in the Saal Am Palais with his programme "Die Kunst des Augenblicks - Soirée der Improvisation".
Tickets cost 20 euros, concessions 15 euros, and are available from March at the Weimar Tourist Information Centre and at the box office.
Helmut Lörscher is considered a master of improvisation. The Freiburg university professor is one of the few contemporary pianists who is at home in both jazz and classical music. The programme features a varied mix of jazz standards, sophisticated arrangements and his own compositions. But despite the sophistication of the arrangements, the joy of playing, groove and esprit always take centre stage.
As a special treat, Helmut Lörscher will involve the audience in the "art of the moment" during the concert: He will spontaneously improvise on themes called out to him by the concert guests.
Lörscher has been familiar with the "Schupra" competition from the very beginning: He was an interested observer back in 1991. Since then, he has accompanied and helped shape the competition for many years, often as a jury member or as a specialist representative and coach for his students, many of whom have been honoured as winners of the competition.
Back in 2016, Helmut Lörscher played the opening concert of the National Competition for Practical Piano Playing in Schools, back then in a jazz trio with Bernd Heitzler (bass) and Matthias Daneck (drums). "It is a special pleasure for me to say goodbye to my active Weimar career with this concert," says the pianist and university professor. "Let yourself be surprised and look forward to an exciting evening."
Following the opening concert, prospective music teachers will showcase their skills on the piano and with their voices until 28 April. In three public evaluation rounds in the Saal Am Palais, a jury will assess whose skills on the concert grand piano are most outstanding in free improvisation, song playing, score playing and sight-reading in the 16th CARL BECHSTEIN Federal Competition for Practical Piano Playing in Schools.
Helmut Lörscher was born in Wittlich in 1957 and grew up in Trier. Trained as a classical pianist and music theorist, his multifaceted artistic activities today are primarily characterised by the art of improvisation. Following the highly acclaimed jazz trio album "badinerie - reflections in jazz", he released the CD "tristanesque" in 2013, a profound and entertaining reflection on Richard Wagner's music. His latest album "triosonate - chamber jazz explorations" was released in autumn 2023.
In collaboration with cabaret artists such as Matthias Deutschmann, Georg Schramm and Hanns-Dieter Hüsch, Helmut Lörscher has made effective use of his extraordinary ability to improvise in a variety of styles, which has also led to joint television and radio productions. Helmut Lörscher has been a professor at the University of Music Freiburg since 1990.
Further information: www.hfm-weimar.de/schupra
[12 April 2024]