Insects do not have the best reputation with people. They sting and bite, crawl into corners and crevices and, with their spindly legs and antennae, are simply just disgusting - that is the commonly held perception. At the same time, many insects are extremely important for ecological balance! Beetles, for instance, break up the soil, compost waste, contribute to the pollination of plants and control pests. The band Bad Bugs gives a voice to the oppressed – and fights back against the fact that more and more habitats for insects are being destroyed. With synthesisers, electric guitars and their voices, they bring the »Underground Sound« of the world of bugs onto the stage and musically present their way of looking at things. They do not wish to be repressed any longer! Together with the audience, they transform their environment so that everyone feels comfortable within it, people and animals alike.

EPSG:4326

Twinkle Concert L / Bad Bugs

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

The Canadian trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler (1930 - 2014) was one of the quieter but all the more powerful figures in jazz. His move to Great Britain in 1952 was what we would today call a »match«, a happy and momentous encounter. A lyrical melancholic (»sad music makes me happy«) met the hard-hitting sound and broad rhythm of northern English brass bands and, with an irrepressible desire for freedom, mixed some of the most important and influential large ensemble recordings of the last 60 years.

NDR Bigband / Norma Winstone / Dave Holland / Nikki Iles

A person can lose so much: keys or small change, nerves or courage, memories, home, freedom, dignity. And, although we often don't want to admit it: one day, even life. On the other hand, one can also lose inhibitions, leave something burdening behind, and look forward with freshness and freedom. The Elbphilharmonie's community project offers creative Hamburg residents aged 16 and over the opportunity to explore these topics from different perspectives, together with professional artists. They will present their results as a performance in the Recital Hall, accompanied by the Ensemble Shiraz.

Community-Project »Lost and Found«

The Austrian ensemble Musicabanda Franui, which combines chamber music with band, meets the Australian circus company Circa: they share a love of the music of Gustav Mahler and a talent for poetic productions. In "Primal Light," people fly almost weightlessly across the stage, moving in graceful choreographies. Franui discovers new facets of Mahler's songs.

Musicband Franui / Circa Circus Company

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ_ZQW5C2pw&amp;t=2s

The Artelize Podcast Presenting Will Shutes: 'Bring it down out of the clouds to human being level'

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFe6mW6x9pc

The Artelize Podcast: 'Amplifying What Makes Us Human'. A conversation with Zuly E. Inirio

Podcast link: https://youtu.be/4hagYvrYbuM

The Artelize Podcast and Kasper Holten - Pedefining Opera for the modern world

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d36M5Hi6O80

The Artelize Podcast - A legacy of innovation in Opera: Celebrating Marc A. Scorca

From the circle to the square, from the triangle to the trapezium: these geometric shapes occur in nature as well as in art. And in this dance performance, they are playfully set in motion. Not least is music also concerned with colours and shapes. Anyone who fully opens up their eyes and ears will sense and be astonished by connections everywhere when the shapes begin to dance, infinitely large and small.

Twinkle Concert S / Around to Square

Elbphilharmonie

In African music, she is the face of emancipation par excellence: Sona Jobarteh single-handedly conquered a purely male domain, playing the Kora, for women – and at the same time spiced up a centuries-old music with visions of the future.

Sona Jobarteh

String ensemble meets hip-hop crew: originating from Igor Stravinsky’s ballet »Apollon musagète«, the musicians of Ensemble Resonanz devise the new, crossover piece »Masters of Ceremony« with experts from the HipHop Academy in Hamburg Billstedt. Together, they ask what the ballet, premiered in 1928 in which the god Apollo dances with three muses, has got to do with us today and create new music from the original. The interplay of breakdancing, rap and string music produces such an extraordinary output, which is staged using scenery and visuals in the Grand Hall.

School Concert »Masters of Ceremony«

Two chairs, two guitars, and two microphones – that's all guitarists Jan Pascal and Alexander Kilian need to touch hearts, enchant them, sweep them off their feet, and, transcending all boundaries, unleash a diverse range of emotions. Café del Mundo plays a unique sound. From the very first note, their finely tuned guitars exude that southern joie de vivre that celebrates life while simultaneously mo

Café del Mundo GuitaRevolution Symphonic feat. Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt

Admiralspalast

Metropol Theater Bremen

Palace of Culture

Theater am Marientor

Tonhalle Düsseldorf

Alte Oper

Congress Center Hamburg

Festhalle Harmonie, Theodor Heuss Hall

Haus Auensee

EmslandArena, Lingen

Gasteig HP8

Meistersingerhalle

Beethoven Hall (Beethovensaal)

Described as "one of the most influential pianists of the past decades" (ARTE), American Brad Mehldau delights fans far beyond the jazz world. This is due not only to Mehldau's extraordinary improvisational skills, but also to his compositions, which reflect his deep love of the architecture of music as well as his enthusiasm for good pop music. As part of Mehldau's "Reflektor" festival, some of his compositions can now be heard in new big band arrangements. Mehldau performs them with the hr-Bigband under Darcy James Argue.

Brad Mehldau & Big Band

The two sisters Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik bring the traditional throat singing of the Inuit people up to date in a unique way with modern electronic beats – and are bringing it to Hamburg as part of the "Arctic Voices" festival. The centuries-old "Kattajaq" originally originated as a game to provide entertainment in arctic temperatures: Two women stand opposite each other, hold each other tightly, and sway to the rhythm of their breath. With their voices, they produce sounds that interlock, forming a rhythm – call and response. Who can go the longest without breathing, without losing their timing, coughing, or laughing? PIQSIQ begin each of their songs in this special way, but continue the game endlessly with electronic loops.

Piqsiq

In Bavaria, people yodel, in Scandinavia, they joik. And she is the figurehead of this Nordic musical tradition: the singer, songwriter, and activist Mari Boine. Since the early 1980s, she has released 14 albums, toured internationally, and brought the traditional joik, this ancient singing form of the Sami people from the Arctic regions of Sweden, Norway, and Finland, to warmer corners of the world. Now she is coming to the Elbphilharmonie with her latest album, "Alva," as part of the "Arctic Voices" festival.

Mari Boine

»Young, cool and brilliant: This is the string quartet of the future« (Sydney Morning Herald): the Vision String Quartet has generated enthusiasm worldwide for years – also because it is so unlike other string quartets. The four young musicians from Berlin, who also see themselves as a band, enjoy experimenting with concert formats and not only play classical works, but also their own pieces in which they dive into many musical worlds, from folk, pop and rock to minimal music. With exactly the same, varied programme of classical quartet works, poppy pieces (and perhaps one or two surprises), they now make a guest appearance at the Elbphilharmonie.

Vision String Quartet

Here, a zany jazz trio fronted by Danish Rune Thorsteinsson, proficient in all kinds of instruments from the mouth-blown melodica to body percussion. There, the award-winning young symphony orchestra »Ensemble Reflektor« full of energy. The result is a thrilling concert with a cool crossover that is simply fun – particularly as the audience may also repeatedly join in.

Twinkle Concert XL / Rune Thorsteinsson Patchwork

The cimbalom is a true chameleon: Like only the piano, the Hungarian dulcimer feels at home in all genres and styles. And so does Áron Horváth, who, as the European Concert Hall Organization's "Rising Star," tours the continent's major concert halls. With his World Music Quartet, the young cimbalom virtuoso will explore jazz and folk music from Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria at the Elbphilharmonie.

Áron Horváth, Cimbalom

»Young, cool and brilliant: This is the string quartet of the future« (Sydney Morning Herald): the vision string quartet has generated enthusiasm worldwide for years – also because it is so unlike other string quartets. The four young musicians from Berlin, who also see themselves as a band, enjoy experimenting with concert formats and not only play classical works, but also their own pieces in which they dive into many musical worlds, from folk, pop and rock to minimal music. With exactly the same, varied programme of classical quartet works, poppy pieces (and perhaps one or two surprises), they now make a guest appearance at the Elbphilharmonie.

School Concert »Vision String Quartet«

Dorsaf Hamdani is considered one of Tunisia's greatest voices. She has sung classical Arab-Andalusian music at the Cairo Opera, but has also worked with musicians from a variety of genres with equal passion. Above all, she is committed to sharing the cultural influences of her vocal art – these include, above all, the great singers of the Middle East: Umm Kulthum from Egypt, Asmahan from Syria, and Fairuz from Lebanon. Hamdani dedicated a very personal album to these three icons in 2011, which she now translates into a concert program.

Dorsaf Hamdani / Pierre Clavé / Yousef Zayed

The »Herbert Pixner Projekt« is celebrating its 20th anniversary on stage and the birthday programme has it all: euphoria, energy, excitement, improvisation – a firework display of alpine music, flamenco, jazz, blues, rock and world music.

Herbert Pixner Project

Shkoon – Thorben Diekmann and Ameen Khayer, a Syrian-German duo formed in Hamburg in 2015. Their music combines Arabic folklore, song, and rap with Western electronic music. With this danceable mix – Shkoon calls it "musical diplomacy" – the duo has enjoyed worldwide success and has been touring between Doha and Toronto, Beirut, and Paris since December 2024 with their "Greater than One" tour.

Shkoon

Teodor Currentzis is a charismatic, eccentric, and downright notorious for his interpretations, which reveal entirely new facets of music in terms of tempo and dynamics. Now the audience favorite returns to the Elbphilharmonie with his top-class international orchestra. They bring with them the "Ring Without Words," a kind of best-of of the most beautiful passages from Wagner's opera tetralogy "The Ring of the Nibelung" – entirely without singing.

Utopia / Teodor Currentzis

A musical journey through the diverse sounds of the guitar couldn't be more varied. From virtuosically played classical music to melodic jazz and swinging rhythms – Colors of Guitars demonstrates the infinite versatility and beauty of this instrument.

Cross-over events in Hamburg

Twinkle Concert L / Bad B...

Elbphilharmonie

NDR Bigband / Norma Winst...

Elbphilharmonie

Community-Project »Lost a...

Elbphilharmonie

Musicband Franui / Circa ...

Elbphilharmonie

The Artelize Podcast Pres...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast: 'Am...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast - A ...

Artelize

Twinkle Concert S / Aroun...

Elbphilharmonie

Sona Jobarteh

Elbphilharmonie

School Concert »Masters o...

Elbphilharmonie

Café del Mundo GuitaRevol...

Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt

Brad Mehldau & Big Band

Elbphilharmonie

Piqsiq

Elbphilharmonie

Mari Boine

Elbphilharmonie

Vision String Quartet

Elbphilharmonie

Twinkle Concert XL / Rune...

Elbphilharmonie

Áron Horváth, Cimbalom

Elbphilharmonie

School Concert »Vision St...

Elbphilharmonie

Dorsaf Hamdani / Pierre C...

Elbphilharmonie

Herbert Pixner Project

Elbphilharmonie

Shkoon

Elbphilharmonie

Utopia / Teodor Currentzi...

Elbphilharmonie

Colors of Guitars

Elbphilharmonie