4th International Chamber Music Festival June 7th - 28th, 2009
Sounding Jerusalem succeeded in winning an ensuing, always-broader audience in its fourth year. A growing attendance of more than 4100 visitors during about 20 concerts encouraged a creative exchange within the festival. Sounding Jerusalem brought music to the people, sometimes to regions where classical concerts erratically happen, creating a place where people can meet without prejudices.
The festival ended with a spectacular finale up in the sky of Jerusalem’s old city. The world premiere of “Jerusalem Refrains” performed on the roofs of the different quarters of the old City of Jerusalem, a piece especially composed for the evening by German-American composer Sidney Corbett. A vision of the connection of different worlds in a town, where people usually live more beside each other than with each other.
The diverse cultural traditions of Jerusalem’s melting pot get involved and conflated into the artistic process of the “Mélange Oriental” series allowing the audience, just as well the artists to overcome boarders through music and to launch a vibrant creative process, enabling them not only to discover thrilling aspects of diversity of the various cultures, but also oneself. “Mélange Oriental” gave birth to a dynamic composition reflecting cultural roots between past and future with a distinctive token of entitlement to diversity.
The simple fact that Sounding Jerusalem is equally open for all people of the region– specifically for Palestinians and Israelis – has always triggered various reactions; This year we had to cancel one concert in the West bank and change another concert venue in West Jerusalem on short notice due to the organisers demur. Sounding Jerusalem however is a festival explicitly concerned in music and humans. The moment humans engage in music, intimate personal feelings are automatically released, which is the most important function of music and art; to precipitate something in humans.
I would like to thank all participants of the Sounding Jerusalem Festivals as well as our partners and supporters who have helped us to bring this season of Sounding Jerusalem to fruition.
Yours,
Erich Oskar Huetter
(Artistic Director)
SOUNDING JERUSALEM
The “Sounding Jerusalem” Festival of Chamber Music was founded in 2006 with the aim of fostering a cultural dialogue between European, Israeli and Palestinian artists and audience to a maximum according to the current social and political possibilities.
With 25 concerts and a rich educational programme for the youth all over the region of Jerusalem – from the Old City, West and East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Abu Gosh, Jericho, En Karem to Nablus and many other places - the ultimate aim is to go beyond human borders, opening space for a vivant process of intercultural encounter and differentiation.