Munich: The concert program in the Brunnenhof – Munich

There are things that just don’t lose value. The fountain courtyard in the south wing of the residence is such an evergreen. We owe it to Duke Albrecht V, who had it built almost half a millennium ago. It used to be used for tournaments and as a carriage driveway, but today this gem is celebrated above all for its excellent acoustics. For example at the Brunnenhof Open Airs, where not only do you see and hear loved ones again, you also discover completely new horizons.

Already the first week of August has something of everything in the program. On Tuesday the Jazz rush big band with their acclaimed mix of techno and big band jazz. The new album “téchne” demonstrates the artistic interaction of cultural and humanities topics. The title refers to the ancient Greek “τέχνη”, which is still important today for understanding art, science and technology. The young musicians reflect their awareness of the flowing transitions of these levels, compositionally and lyrically using mathematical, philosophical and literary themes, tonally through the combination of jazz, classic and techno. The following day, comedian Chris Boettcher, known as the creator of the Wiesn hit “10 Meter geh'”, manages with a few levels less, before the band “Austria Project” revives the Austro-Pop era on Saturday, as it has done for 20 years beautiful. On the playlist: chart-toppers like “Großvater”, “Fürstenfeld” “Schifoan” and “Herz wia a Bergwerk” – who can say no to that?

From carpentry apprenticeship to diatonic

Under no circumstances should you watch the guest performance of the Herbert Pixner project miss. The mid-forties from South Tyrol, who grew up with five siblings on a mountain farm in a side valley of the Passeier Valley, has a long and fascinating journey behind him. After an apprenticeship as a carpenter, he was drawn more and more to folk music with the diatonic and countless other instruments. For 15 years he spent his summers as a dairyman in South Tyrol or Switzerland, and even worked for a few months as a bar musician in the posh ski resort of Vail, Colorado – a path that many Alpine people had walked before him, but mostly with a pair of skis in their luggage.

Pixner remained a seeker, played across the genres, from folk music to jazz to classical and contemporary music, produced recordings with the Ostbahn-Kurti, but also with André Heller – who can do such a balancing act without an accident? In 2005, together with Heidi Pixner (harp), Manuel Randi (guitar) and Werner Unterlercher (bass), he founded the project named after him, which soon garnered its first awards: in 2008, for example, the prize for young artists from the Hanns Seidel Foundation. Since 2019 he has been living and working in Gnadenwald near Innsbruck, in his “Gnadenlos” studio, where the new album was also created: “Schian”, which means beautiful in South Tyrolean dialect. “A cross-section of 17 years of the Herbert Pixner project,” says the artist, “clean sounds, a rather quiet album, twelve new songs.” Guitarist Randi describes the genesis as follows: “The melodies swing in the air, Herbert catches them, takes us with him, then we fly on this magic carpet and the music develops by itself.”

A large part of the further Brunnenhof program is also self-explanatory: On August 9th, Michael Jackson – or rather: “The Tribute Show” with a best of the pop titan, which should take a few hours. The next day, Willy Astor & Friends can be seen as part of their Sound of Islands tour, which, almost like their colleague Pixner, cuts across musical styles, from bossa nova to tango, African influences, flamenco to Bavarian folk music. On August 12th it’s off to the Brenner, into the “Italo Pop Night” with “I dolci signori”, the six sugar-sweet boys and the tearjerkers by Zucchero, Umberto Tozzi, Al Bano, Ricchi e Poveri and Eros Ramazotti – for fans does that just mean felicita: happiness. Further cover shows follow with “Pink Floyd performed by Echoes” (13.8.), “The spirit of Falco” (18.8.), “The Queen Tribute Show” (19.8.), the “Abba-Night” (20.8.) . The “Summer Night of Film Music”, performed live by a symphony orchestra, rises on August 14, before it becomes classic on the following three evenings: “Carmina Burana”, “The Night of the Tenors” and Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”. “La notte italiana” with the most beautiful Italian opera arias – another evergreen that simply doesn’t want to lose value – will then form the certainly atmospheric conclusion on August 21st.

Jazzrausch Bigband, Tuesday, August 2, 8 p.m.; Chris Boettcher & Big BandWed., August 3, 8 p.m.; Munich open air summerAugust 6 to 21, fountain courtyard of the residence