Download Press release 11th of May 2016, 22 o`clock Discovering the new Silk

Press release
11th of May 2016, 22 o’clock
Discovering the new Silk Road with Don Juan, the fire bird and five elements:
Silk Road Symphony Orchestra to play its opening concert in Berlin’s
RBB concert hall
BERLIN. Gold, Jade, spices, China ware – and above all the silk that gave the famous trade route
its name: Merchants traded these goods along the 6000 kilometres of the Silk Road from China to
Europe. Not only goods travelled, so did people, their ideas and cultures. The silk that is in the
focus of the Silk Road Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming journey symbolizes one of the biggest
gifts that cultures can give each other: Music. It knows no borders, and helps us transgress habits of
hearing towards new musical worlds.
The Silk Road Symphony Orchestra, a new, international music project, will introduce itself
11. June 2016 with a first concert featuring music by Richard Strauß, Igor Stravinsky as well as
contemporary Chinese-French composer Qigang Chen.
“With our music we invite and involve audiences in the countries along the old and new silk road in
a way that only a professional orchestra can”, says Jan Moritz Onken, artistic director and cofounder of the initiative. Already in advance, lovers of classical music are invited to contribute their
idea of music, of the culture that we already share or that we might come to share along this
legendary road.
For this, the initiators of the Silk Road Symphony Orchestra have created an interactive online
platform: the silk road cultural belt. It invites everyone to share their “silk” – and just weeks after
the launch, people from China to Germany have already placed their favourite music on the
platform. “From Wagner to Qigang Chen there is already a considerable and often surprising
diversity of works and interpretations”, says Onken. He was also surprised to find that the attraction
of the new Silk Road is not limited to its geographical area. Music lovers from Greenland to the
Democratic Republic of Congo have shared their silk.
The online platform has recently been recognized via a Google Grant, which will help the further
promotion of this intercultural platform for music lovers.
Orchestra and platform are supported by an international circle around the Berlin-based Callias
Foundation, which seeks to promote curiosity for each other with the help of music. Currently there
are two important global developments: the People’s Republic of China along with other states
heavily invests into the infrastructure and transportation means along the Silk Roads. At the same
time, cultures are increasingly under pressure due to political conflicts, cultural isolation and wars
in the Middle East and Central Asia.
“It is about time to honour the musical side of the new Silk Roads of our time, beyond economic
and geostrategic goals“, says Onken. The conductor, aged 38, brings the appropriate education and
experience to the orchestra: trained at the legendary St. Petersburg conservatory, he has since also
worked with numerous orchestras along the countries of the Silk Road.
Pressekontakt: Nicole Lappe [email protected]
Tickets via Papagena: 030-47997447.
CALLIAS FOUNDATION
Bergstr. 25
10115 Berlin
T: +49 (0) 30 65010810
M: +49 (0) 1777100388
callias-foundation.org
HRB 174464 B
(Amtsgericht Charlottenburg)