Michael Wollny etc. - Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic XVI: Piano Night II

Four unique top-flight European jazz pianists, each with limitless freedom of expression. Limitless joy too for the audience in the completely full main hall of the Philharmonie Berlin. But perhaps there is also something even more important here: music’s unique power to unite people.

It was this intense magic that brought the Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic series into being. At the first concert in 2012, there were three pianists: Iiro Rantala, Michael Wollny, and Leszek Możdżer. It all started as a one-off experiment, a specially curated jazz concert at the classical music temple, the Philharmonie Berlin. But that was just the start: this unique series of concerts and recordings has gone from strength to strength.

More than a decade later, Rantala, Wollny, and Możdżer meet again at this special hall, which was always intend-ed to have ‘music at the center.’ This time, the original three are joined by Grégory Privat, another unique pianistic talent. The principle is the same as in 2012, and yet the out-side world has changed immeasurably, so the repertoire choices and interpretations reflect the many contradictions of our time. There is more seriousness now, and thoughtfulness and introspection – but also hope, joy, and curiosity. And, as if to defy all the uncertainties of the world, we hear outbursts of fun – childlike, playful, unrestrained.

Perhaps what Rantala, Wollny, Możdżer and Privat achieve above all is to let us experience the essence of what music as an art form truly is: a reflection of our times, but also a means of expressing pure emotion... and a uniquely powerful form of communication with the power to affect people to their very core.