BMW Welt Jazz Award Final 2020

Munich. After exciting concerts of the BMW Welt Jazz Award performed by international ensembles, the jury announced the two finalists: the Adam Bałdych Quartet and the Peter Gall Quintet.

With this year’s theme “The Melody at Night” the BMW Welt Jazz Award returned to the roots of jazz music for this season. Therefore, the concerts were performed on Tuesday nights for the first time. Hosted by Hannah Weiss, winner of the BMW Welt Young Artist Jazz Award 2019, jazz fans have been experiencing the musical skills of this year’s performers at the double-coned structure between January and March.

With regard to the current events, the related measures taken to control the corona virus as well as out of responsibility towards artists, guests and employees, the BMW Group together with the BMW Welt heavy-heartedly decided to postpone the final until the beginning of 2021. Already the sixth concert with the Giovanni Guidi Quintet had to be cancelled due to the same reason.

The new target date for the final of the BMW Welt Jazz Award will be announced at www.bmw-welt.com/jazzaward and in the BMW PressClub. Then, both finalists will perform their interpretation of this year’s theme “The Melody at Night” at the auditorium of the BMW Welt. The winning ensemble will be awarded with 10,000 Euro as well as with a trophy designed by BMW Design; the runner-up will receive a prize money of 5,000 Euro.

Finalists

Adam Bałdych Quartet

Polish violinist Adam Bałdych was a celebrated child prodigy in his homeland and he began his international career at the age of 16. Bałdych has received critical acclaim for his unique technique and for “redefining the violin sound”. In his current project, “Sacrum Profanum”, he returns to his classical roots: with his fellow countrymen (Krzysztof Dys on piano, Michał Barański on bass, and Dawid Fortuna on drums) he captured the audience of the concert on February 11. The quartet focuses on “sacred music” and its great composers, from medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen, to Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis, to the contemporary Tatar-Russian avant-gardist Sofia Gubaidulina.

Peter Gall Quintet

Hailing from Bad Aibling, but having lived most of his life in Berlin, Peter Gall is one of Germany’s most distinguished drummers and composers. At BMW Welt, Gall presented his first album as bandleader, “Paradox Dreambox”, an impressive kaleidoscope of modern jazz sounds on February 18. He is joined on stage by other outstanding performers from the innovative German and European jazz scene, namely the Echo Jazz award winner Wanja Slavin on saxophone, Dutch guitar superstar Reinier Baas, winner of the New German Jazz Award Rainer Böhm on piano, as well as up-and-coming bassist Felix Henkelhausen.

Jury

The distinguished jury of expert jurors, that proved success in previous years, will be headed by Oliver Hochkeppel (Music and cultural affairs journalist, Süddeutsche Zeitung) and will include the following members:

Roland Spiegel, Editor and jazz expert at German broadcasting station Bayerischer Rundfunk BR‑KLASSIK.

Andreas Kolb, Editor-in-chief of JazzZeitung.de and neue musikzeitung.

Heike Lies, Musicologist, Music and Music Theatre Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the state capital Munich.

Christiane Böhnke-Geisse, Artistic Director of the international jazz festival “Bingen swingt”.

The new target date for the final of the BMW Welt Jazz Award and the award ceremony will be announced at www.bmw-welt.com/jazzaward and in the BMW PressClub as soon as possible. Tickets are available at BMW Welt. Already purchased ticket will remain valid.

This edition of BMW Welt Jazz Award once again enjoyed the generous support of neue Musikzeitung and the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Munich. For the first time, the Munich hotel Bayerischer Hof is partner of the BMW Welt Jazz Award. In addition, the radio station egoFM also joined the ranks of new partners and broadcasted all of the concerts.

For further questions please contact:

Daria Nikitina

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Corporate and Cultural Communication

Telephone: +49 89 382 60340

Email: Daria.Nikitina@bmw.de

Prof. Dr Thomas Girst

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Head of Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49 89 382 247 53

Email: Thomas.Girst@bmwgroup.com

Christophe Koenig

Spokesperson BMW Brand und Marketing

Telephone: +49 89 382 56097

Email: Christophe.Koenig@bmw.de

www.press.bmwgroup.com

Email: presse@bmw.de

About BMW Group Cultural Engagement
For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical music and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group’s Munich headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW. In 2016 and 2017, Cao Fei from China and American John Baldessari created the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car Collection. For years, the BMW Group and its partners have been initiating and establishing their own formats such as BMW Tate Live, BMW Welt Jazz Award, BMW Open Work, the BMW Art Journey and the "Opera for All" concerts in Berlin, Munich, Moscow and London. The company also partners with leading museums, art fairs and orchestras as well as jazz festivals and opera houses around the world. With BMW OPERA NEXT, the new partnership with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the opportunities presented by digitalisation are used to open up new ways of accessing the world of opera for young audiences. As part of its art programme “Muse”, Rolls-Royce partners for the initiative “The Dream Commission” with two internationally esteemed art institutions. Together with Fondation Beyeler and Serpentine Galleries, emerging and established artists are invited to submit a moving-image work that delivers an immersive sensory experience. The artists are nominated and chosen by renowned personalities of the art world like Daniel, Birnbaum, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Cao Fei, and Theodora Vischer. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all its cultural activities for granted – as this initiative is as essential for producing groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business.

Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMW-Group-Culture

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmwgroupculture/

@BMWGroupCulture

#BMWGroupCulture

BMW Welt – at the heart of the brand, on the pulse of the city

The BMW Welt welcomes over 3 million visitors per year. With its pioneering architecture, BMW Welt is the heart of all the brands in the BMW Group – BMW, the sub-brands BMW M and BMW i, MINI, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and BMW Motorrad, which are impressively presented in their own worlds of experience. But it is not only the exhibitions and the collection of new vehicles that are highlights for car lovers from all over the world. Visitors can enjoy a year-round programme of varied events covering culture, art and entertainment as well as a popular event location for over 400 external events per year. The various restaurants of the BMW Welt offer a variety of culinary delights up to star gastronomy. In the BMW Welt Junior Campus, children and youngsters can enjoy exciting guided tours and workshops on the themes of mobility and sustainability.

Further Information: www.bmw-welt.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bmw.welt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmwwelt/

Twitter: @BMW_Welt

#bmwwelt #bmwweltjazzaward

The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2019, the BMW Group sold over 2.5 million passenger vehicles and more than 175,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2019 was € 7.118 billion on revenues amounting to € 104.210 billion. As of 31 December 2019, the BMW Group had a workforce of 133,778 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

www.bmwgroup.com  

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup  

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmwgroup 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bmwgroup/