Mathias Eick Quintet receives BMW Welt Jazz Award 2012. Sequel of the award in 2013 following the motto “Leading Drums”.

Munich. Tonight, the final concert of the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2012 which has been sold out for weeks, featured two ensembles. The nominated finalists, Agustí Fernández’ AURORA Trio and Mathias Eick Quintet, competed for the award in the Grand Auditorium of BMW Welt. And the winner of the 2012 BMW Welt Jazz Award is Mathias Eick Quintet. Following this year’s motto “Jazz and the City”, a total of six ensembles presented their very own musical compositions at BMW Welt. Tonight’s host Ulrich Habersetzer, jazz journalist at the Bayerischer Rundfunk, presented the evening’s final concert with plenty of charm and expertise. Among the select guests of the evening was Dr. Hans-Georg Küppers, head of the Department of Culture of the city of Munich.

In addition, it was announced that there will be yet another edition of the Jazz Award in 2013, this time following the motto “Leading Drums”.

The distinguished panel of judges included Oliver Hochkeppel (head judge, and music and culture journalist at the daily newpaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung”), Andreas Kolb (editor-in-chief of the publications “JazzZeitung” and “neue musikzeitung”), Roland Spiegel (music editor, main focus on jazz, at Bayerischer Rundfunk), Heike Lies (MA in musicology, working in the field of music and musical theatre at the Department of Culture of Munich), and Christiane Böhnke-Geisse (artistic director at jazz club “Unterfahrt”). The judge’s statement reads as follows:

“The toughest decision the jury was ever faced with. Both ensembles have a similar idea and vision: turning the poetic, melancholic tunes of their home countries into pure energy. The decision honours the innovative concept of the Mathias Eick Quintet, to the elegiac compositions of the outstanding trumpet player pushed along by two roaring drums. All five musicians bounce freely off of each other despite their tremendous focus.”

Ian Robertson, member of the board of management of BMW AG, and Oliver Hochkeppel, head judge, had the honour of presenting the winning ensemble with the trophy. Dr. Hans‑Georg Küppers, head of the Munich’s Department of Culture, also congratulated the winners and presented them with certificates. The first prize is endowed with a sum of 10,000 Euro and the ensemble receiving second prize, Agustí Fernández’ AURORA Trio, will receive a sum of 5,000 Euro.

Frank-Peter Arndt, also member of the board of management of BMW AG, expressing his delight at the decision:

“Allow me to congratulate the winner Mathias Eick Quintet! The winning ensemble’s outstanding performance and quality that we witnessed here tonight can quite appropriately be called the highlight of the cycle of matinees. At this point I would also like to take a moment to thank everyone for their commitment, their enthusiasm and their passion! We are pleased to present the ensemble Mathias Eick Quintet with the BMW Welt Jazz Award, which has become one of the most important awards of the European jazz scene and we are very much looking forward to its sequel in 2013.”

Winner of this year’s audience award, donated by Schloss Elmau, is an ensemble from Oslo, the Mathias Eick Quintet. The audience presents the musicians with an exclusive stay at Schloss Elmau’s facilities as well as the opportunity to give a concert for select visitors of Schloss Elmau.           

A total of six ensembles were invited to compete for the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2012. Erik Truffaz Quartet, Augustí Fernández‘ AURORA Trio, Hoppy Kamiyama, Den Tepfer Trio, Mathias Eick Quintet and Wolfgang Muthspiel Drumfree all presented exceptional performances during the Sunday morning matinees.

Sponsoring partners of the BMW Welt Jazz Award include BR Klassik, JazzZeitung, Ludwig Beck department store, Schloss Elmau and the Department of Culture of the city of Munich.

Photographic material is available at www.press.bmwgroup.com or www.bmw-welt.com/jazzaward

For further information, please contact LoeschHundLiepold Kommunikation GmbH for all PR topics regarding BMW Welt. Phone: +49-89-720187-10 Mail: bmw-welt@lhlk.de             

www.bmwgroup.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview

For further questions please contact: 

Dr. Thomas Girst

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Head of Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49 89-382-24753, Fax: +49 89-382-10881

Antonia Niederländer

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Spokesperson Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49 89-382-10422, Fax: +49 89-382-10881 

Media Website: www.press.bmwgroup.com

E-mail: presse@bmw.de