In the 2024/25 season, the Basel Sinfonietta is once again breaking new musical ground with its program: the 6 subscription concerts feature a total of 20 works in tune with the times, including a number of premieres and world premieres, with «classics» of contemporary music such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Sergei Nevsky, Moritz Eggert and jazz trombonist Alex Paxton. This is also the second season with Principal Conductor Titus Engel, who will hand over the musical direction to Jessica Cottis and Kevin John Edusei for the third and fourth subscription concerts.
In addition to the performances at the Stadtcasino Basel, a guest appearance at the Forum Jean-Marie Zoellé in Saint-Louis is on the agenda. Once again the female perspective will be given plenty of space over the course of the season. In addition, the Basel Sinfonietta is collaborating for the first time with photographer Lucia Hunziker on the visual design of the concert subjects, which set an emblematic scene for the concert programs.
With «Die und Wir?» (Them and Us?), the first subscription concert on September 29, 2024, the Basel Sinfonietta opens up a space for different perspectives, uncomfortable questions and even opposing positions. This is already evident in the composers on this program, whose works cast a critical light on a world thrown out of joint by war and crises: Yurii Pikush is from Ukraine, Sergei Nevsky is a Russian exile living in Germany, Aleksandra Słyż hails from Poland, and Stefan Keller is Swiss.
«Disruptive Tradition» on December 8 juxtaposes works by Unsuk Chin and Sofia Gubaidulina, which are characterized by a fluid connection to (old) traditions. Gubaidulina’s music is characterized by spiritual-religious inspirations and forces, which is something that can hardly be said of Chin, who was awarded the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 2024. She will be joined by pianist Alice Di Piazza, who will perform works by Gubaidulina.
The third subscription concert, «Von Maria zu Fatimah» (From Maria to Fatimah) on January 26, 2025, under the direction of Jessica Cottis, will present what has long seemed unthinkable: a female perspective on female figures in cultural history: Lera Auerbach’s «Sogno di Stabat Mater», Liza Lim’s «Annunciation Triptych» and the much-anticipated new composition by Helga Arias, a work commissioned by the Basel Sinfonietta and the Real Filharmonía de Galicia.
The fourth subscription concert on March 30 in cooperation with the Kaserne Basel is a celebration of life’s vibrant colourfulness and diversity. Under the motto «Diversity matters», the Ghanaian-German conductor Kevin John Edusei and the composer, jazz improviser and trombonist Alex Paxton join forces to present an extremely varied program. In addition to works by Paxton, they will perform compositions by Missy Mazzoli, Julius Eastman, Jessie Cox and Derrick Skye.
The European Women’s Soccer Championship 2025 starts and ends in Basel. Theater Basel and the Basel Sinfonietta will mark the occasion on May 22 and 25 with the soccer oratorio «Die Tiefe des Raumes» (The Depth of the Field) by Moritz Eggert. The German composer and friend of the Basel Sinfonietta originally wrote the piece for the 2006 World Cup in Germany and has now created a Basel version of the work.
Olivier Messiaen’s «Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuoru» and Thierry Pécou’s «Cara Bali» will take centre stage at the Basel Sinfonietta’s sixth subscription concert on June 5. A video installation by Jérôme Tromson will accompany Messiaen’s composition, which commemorates the victims of the two world wars. Pécou’s work, inspired by Indonesian gamelan music, will be performed by French pianist Alexandre Tharaud.
The Basel Sinfonietta is a symphonic orchestra specializing in contemporary music – making it a unique ensemble in the classical music scene. The Principal Conductor of the Basel Sinfonietta is Titus Engel.
Driven by its commitment to performing music in tune with the times, the Basel Sinfonietta has been transcending classical concert conventions since its founding in 1980 and embraces an exploratory approach to other genres and cultures in its programming. The Basel Sinfonietta collaborates with the leading composers of our time. The orchestra has commissioned numerous works and has presented more than 220 world premieres and national premieres since its foundation.
All subscription concerts with details of the performers, soloists, conductors and cooperation partners can be found here.
