the mastery of a classical ensemble lies in the magic of virtuoso interplay: historical works are brought to new life in each performance. the genius of jazz lies in composing in the here and now. this evening offers a unique dialogue between ensembles from two musical worlds. devised by hans-joachim gögl, this concert format brings classical interpretation and jazz improvisation together in an extraordinary way.

after more than 3,000 concerts on every continent, our curator david helbock is taking a creative sabbatical in 2027 with no concert appearances. he is making one exception for this evening: his only concert in 2027 – something we are especially delighted about.

first, classical repertoire meets jazz improvisation at two grand pianos. this develops into a dialogue between a classical trio and a jazz trio, before the evening culminates in an encounter between a classical string quartet and a jazz quartet.

bach, mozart and saygun will be heard both in their original form and in fresh jazz interpretations.

part 1

two grand pianos stand on stage. yunus kaya, an opus klassik nominee and piano lecturer at the stella vorarlberg private university of music in feldkirch, plays works from the classical repertoire. david helbock, a prizewinner at the world’s largest jazz solo piano competition in montreux, improvises a response to each piece.

part 2

a classical piano trio and a jazz trio meet on stage. alongside yunus kaya on piano, the classical trio features violinist judith hirzberger, who has played with the vienna symphony and the southwest german philharmonic orchestra konstanz and teaches in liechtenstein, and cellist bianca riesner, who teaches at stella and tours worldwide with jordi savall’s ensemble le concert des nations.

david helbock brings his longstanding trio to götzis with drummer reinhold schmölzer, a recipient of austria’s outstanding artist award, and raphael preuschl on the rarely heard bass ukulele, who has worked with wolfgang puschnig, nguyên lê and alex machacek, among others. helbock has travelled the world with this trio and released three albums, including the acclaimed into the mystic (act).

the jazz trio transforms the classical melodies, rhythms and themes into new, grooving jazz interpretations.

part 3

to close, a jazz quartet enters into dialogue with great works of the string quartet repertoire. bianca riesner and judith hirzberger are joined by michaela girardi, principal player with camerata salzburg and concertmaster of the symphonieorchester vorarlberg, and guy speyers, who played in the eastern cape philharmonic orchestra in his native south africa and now plays in the symphonieorchester vorarlberg.

david helbock’s trio joins forces with our artist in residence sasha berliner on vibraphone – “a young mallet master”, according to jazztimes – to form a jazz quartet.

experience an evening that brings classical music and jazz together in an extraordinary way, opening up new perspectives on listening.

www.davidhelbock.com

www.yunus-kaya.com