It ain't easy to speak while you're playing an instrument, without getting stuck or losing the rhythm. Jazz musicians sometimes can.  ‘Speaking Drums’ takes another approach with the drummer speaking rhythmic syllables, passing the rhythm on to his instrument, teaching it to speak, so to speak, until it can alone. The first two movements are based on three poems by Sándor Weöres, and the third on a poem by Jayadeva. An unusual work to look forward by the Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös, who died last year, and Alexej Gerassimez, who returns for another concert in this series this season.

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8th Sunday & Monday Symphonic Concerts

Alte Oper

With the concert, we explore musical boundaries, or rather: the brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen do, together with the two percussionists Alexej Gerassimez and Emil Kuyumcuyan. They present a diverse program that focuses on rhythms and sounds. John Adams' rapid "Short Ride in a Fast Machine" is virtually a musical adrenaline rush, which in this arrangement for piano and percussion unleashes all its pulsating energy in a concentrated form. Fazil Say's Variations for two pianos and percussion combine Turkish folk music with energetic modern sounds. Steve Reich's Quartet for two pianos and two vibraphones is hypnotic and precise - minimalist music that unfolds a unique pull through its shimmering patterns. The Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story," on the other hand, bring Broadway to the concert stage: passionate, dramatic, and full of dance rhythms. By invitation of the Dresden Philharmonic in cooperation with DK Deutsche Klassik.

Jussen Brothers

Palace of Culture

It's about to get exciting! When piano-playing brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen join forces with top drummers Alexej Gerassimez and Emil Kuyumcuyan, musical sparks fly. All four already know each other from previous tours. Audiences can therefore look forward to a well-rehearsed team whose enthusiasm for experimentation, sense of rhythm, and outstanding virtuosity promise a veritable firework display on keys and drumsticks. In addition to original compositions for this unusual ensemble, including works by Steve Reich, the program also includes arrangements of repertoire classics such as the Symphonic Dances from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story and George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

Lucas & Arthur Jussen / Alexej Gerassimez / Emil Kuyumcuyan

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Prepare for a feast for the senses with this captivating programme. Star percussionist Alexej Gerassimez takes centre stage in Corigliano’s thrilling Concerto ‘Conjurer’, showcasing his artistry on a myriad of instruments, from marimba to cymbals. Each composer offers a unique orchestral palette: Corigliano highlights percussion, Stravinsky focuses on winds, and Bartók blends the full symphonic forces. United by the elemental sounds of wood, metal, skin, and wind, the music feels almost tangible. Under the dynamic baton of Tito Muñoz, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra delivers a performance that will leave you spellbound.

Concerto for percussion

Queen Elisabeth Hall

Night of the Drums

Libeskind Auditorium

Kulturwerft Gollan GmbH & Co. KG

When Alexej Gerassimez and his colleagues finished their brilliant concert in the main hall of the State Theater in April 2023, they left the audience fascinated and happy. The musicians are now following the popular request to hear them again soon and are once again showing what can arise from the meeting of different materials and substances when five percussionists (including piano) are in their element.

10th Chamber Concert

Staatstheater Darmstadt

Dance, language and fantastic images: the three orchestral works in this concert programme contain a great deal of creative energy. Ravel wrote "Daphnis et Chloé" as ballet music for Diaghilev's famous Ballets Russes. However, the composition initially enjoyed great success as suites on the concert stage, where its genius comes into its own. Ravel had a "great musical fresco" in mind for the ancient love story of the two foundlings, "less concerned with archaism than with loyalty to the Greece of my dreams". In outstanding colours, he pours the rising sun, the song of the nymph and an ecstatic final frenzy into a painting from the early 20th century.

7th Philharmonic Concert

Percussion students of Matthew Strauss collaborate with instrumentalists from various studios to perform works by Lansky, Gubaidulina, Stockhausen, Jolivet, Ortiz, and Lavenda.

Mixed Chamber Music for Percussion

Alice Pratt Brown Hall

Der Ozean. Unendliche Weiten, blaue Wogen, schimmernde Wellen. Fast alle Komponisten haben sich irgendwann einmal von ihm inspirieren lassen. Doch dieses Konzert bringt keine sanft plätschernden Beachclub-Sounds, sondern geht aufs Ganze. Der Japaner Toru Takemitsu setzte mit „Toward the Sea“ 1981 im Auftrag von Greenpeace ein Statement gegen den Walfang und orientierte sich dabei an „Moby Dick“. Ebenfalls ein Seemonster ist der Leviathan, in diesem Fall aus der jüdischen Mythologie. Der neuseeländisch-griechische Komponist John Psathas nutzte die Figur für ein spektakuläres Schlagzeugkonzert für das trommelnde Energiebündel Alexej Gerassimez – und zugleich als Mahnung an den Klimawandel, auf Initiative der UN. Anna Clyne wiederum begreift das Meer als Metapher für das Weibliche. Ihr packendes Stück „Restless Oceans“ schrieb sie für ein reines Frauenorchester; uraufgeführt wurde es zur Eröffnung des Weltwirtschaftsforums in Davos 2019. Eines ihrer Idole dürfte Amy Beach sein: Deren „Gaelic Symphony“ von 1894 ist die erste Sinfonie einer weiblichen amerikanischen Komponistin und erinnert an schottische und irische Volkmusik.

Ozeanblau

Prinzregententheater

Heeyeon Kim, Percussion and Stacey Chung, Cello

The Juilliard School

The North German Philharmonic Orchestra Rostock is starting its new concert season passionately and legendary, this time again in the charming industrial ambience of Hall 207. Star percussionist Alexej Gerassimez has been invited as a soloist, whose phenomenal power and virtuosity will give the old walls a special vibration. The exceptional percussionist has brought with him the Concerto Leviathan by New Zealander John Psathas, which was created for the Beethoven project Pastorale , an initiative by UN Climate Change and BTHVN2020 in the year of Beethoven's 250th birthday to address climate and environmental change. Alexej Gerassimez himself premiered this concerto in 2021 in the Berlin Philharmonic.

Alexej Gerassimez

Events

Past events

19 - 20 Apr, 2026

8th Sunday & Monday Symphonic Concerts · Oper Frankfurt

Mar 24, 2026

Jussen Brothers · Dresdner Philharmonie

Future and recently performed repertoire

Percussion in Conjurer by Corigliano

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Percussion in Speaking Drums by Eötvös

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Percussion in Beyond Stickability by Gerassimez

Dresdner Philharmonie

About

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