Concerts

The young Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman is giving a recital in Bonn on March 15 at 8pm. The concert is part of Deutsche Welle’s concerto discreto series. Born in 1977, Measha trained as an opera singer in Toronto and Düsseldorf and was chosen to sing the Olympic Hymn at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. At the Bonn recital she’ll be performing music from Surprise, her first solo album on Deutsche Grammophon, together with her partner Justus Zeyen (piano).

I have it on good authority that "Oh No Ono" is a band to watch.  They're already big in their homeland of Denmark and are now breaking into Europe and the US.  Their style is a pretty mixed bag of alternative pop, electro-clash, funk and new wave, and they've been compared to a host of other Danish bands (that I'm afraid I've never heard of) and The Raveonettes (who I have heard of). Their intricate and otherworldly music defies conventions and expectations (and sometimes gravity).

Old school funk/soul fans will love Lee Fields and The Expressions. Born and raised in Wilson, North Carolina, Lee began his singing career, working with the bands that lay the foundation for funk music, including Kool and the Gang, Sammy Gordon and the Hip-Huggers, and Little Royal.

Where were you when Air burst onto the mainstream with their dreamy, synthetic pop inspired Moon Safari?  I can tell you exactly where I was because it was the soundtrack to my life for a few months in 1998.  Air is a music duo from Versailles, France, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel.

You know you are becoming a local when you start following local bands - and if you're a local in the Rhineland you've got a great bunch of local bands to choose from.  The little town of Düsseldorf is actually the birthplace of electronic music, having produced the world-renowned electro meisters - Kraftwerk.  They're a reclusive bunch and don't have much to do with journos on the whole, but they have been known to frequent a Düsseldorf bike shop where journos and fans often lurk to catch a glimpse of the 70's electro pioneers.

If you've followed the career of Dave Grohl, post Nirvana, you will have noticed that he's not averse to sharing his musical talents with friends and colleagues. He played drums for a while with the Queens of the Stone Age, made an iconic metal album under the name "Probot" with various metal legends, including Lemmy from Motorhead, as well as doing stints with the likes of Killing Joke, Tenacious D, Nine Inch Nails and The Prodigy.

Fans of "The Verve" might be interested in this London band who've been bubbling just under the mainstream since 2001.  Sneering lyrics, menacing bass riffs and an atmospheric interplay of distorted bass and layered guitars create a bunch of balls-out rock songs with a lyrical intelligence that makes them more than just another fuzz-rock band. After carefully building a large following with countless live shows and a superb first album, Exits, released back in 2005, the band has suffered some serious set-backs in their career.

If you're not a fan of all things shiny and "schicki-micki" - then Pretty Vacant is one place in Düsseldorf where you'll feel right at home.  It's the best place for indie and alternative rock, and features DJ's, club nights, parties and live bands.  On Tuesday 20th October you can catch the wonderfully named "Die Toten Crackhuren im Kofferraum".  With a name like that how can you resist?  They're an Electro inspired Berlin girlband who'll be making a big noise on a tiny stage - so be prepared to get up close and personal.

British alternative rockers Maximo Park will be performing in the Phillipshalle on Wednesday the 22nd October.  Formed in 2000 the Sunderland band have released three studio albums: their 2005 debut album A Certain Trigger, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize, the 2007 follow-up Our Earthly Pleasures, and their third album named Quicken the Heart, was released in May 2009. Simple and direct with contagious melodies and introspective lyrical themes Maximo Park's first two albums went double platinum.

The LSO, under Valery Gergiev, put in an appearance at Bonn’s Beethovenhalle last night, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 2 op. 19 and Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony. Pianist Alexei Volodin gave a beautiful performance of Beethoven’s late-18th century work, accompanied by a reduced LSO. The orchestra returned in full force after the intermission for a divine interpretation of Bruckner's Ninth, his unfinished and monumental last symphony.