BABYLON SWING · NEW YORK MEETS BERLIN
A CONCERT EVENING LIKE A LEAP THROUGH TIME
A concert evening like a leap through time – from the Harlem of the 1920s to the dance palaces of modern Berlin.
Pulsating, urban, dramatic: a musical portrait of two cities in transition, building bridges between cultures, eras, and soundscapes. The great popularity of the ARD series Babylon Berlin shows just how powerful the fascination with this era remains to this day.
BABYLON SWING ~ New York meets Berlin raises the curtain on a passionate show filled with magical atmosphere.
Lighting design, dance, vocals, and a first-class orchestra transport the audience into the thrilling world of jazz’s origins – from Ragtime and Harlem Stride to Berlin’s nightlife of the 1920s.
And how these beginnings gave rise to Swing is revealed by the program in all its breadth – culminating in a rousing finale with the Big Band sound of Benny Goodman.
It was an era full of contrasts – marked by crime, luxury, drugs, and excess: “Babylon” – the biblical term for decadence and sin. Musically, too, Berlin was a
boiling cauldron of creativity. The new rhythm from America traveled through Chicago and New York to Europe, igniting an unprecedented dance frenzy in the German capital.
A special highlight is the moderation, which serves as a guiding thread throughout the evening – dramaturgically composed, vividly delivered, and full of charm and depth. Each piece is framed both atmospherically and thematically, often enhanced by visual projections – far removed from mere presentation, and deeply connected with the audience.
A MUSICAL HIGHLIGHT is George Gershwin’s world-famous “Rhapsody in Blue” – presented in a rarely heard version for a classic big band. Over the course of twelve minutes, orchestral sophistication, jazzy passion, and pianistic virtuosity blend into one.
At the center: BERTHOLD MATSCHAT, the outstanding pianist of the King of Swing Orchestra, performing with devotion, sensitivity, and masterful technique.
Featuring music by, among others:
Scott Joplin (The Entertainer), George Gershwin (Rhapsody in Blue), Jerome Kern (Showboat), Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman (Sing, Sing, Sing), Kurt Weill (Mack the Knife), Werner Richard Heymann (Irgendwo auf der Welt), Walter Kollo (Wenn ein Mädel einen Herrn hat), Friedrich Hollaender (Falling in Love Again / Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt), Theo Mackeben (Die Nacht ist nicht allein zum Schlafen da), and Teddy Stauffer (Goody Goody).