Xenon, Summerwinds and Ciudades!

ByWillem van Merwijk

Last Thursday 1st of September 2022 I drove to a small town in Germany called Oelde to witness the premiere of the ‘four saxes plus symphony orchestra’ version of three Ciudades (Córdoba, Sarajevo and Addis Ababa). Performed by the wonderful Xenon Quartet and the Nord West Deutsche Phiharmonie in an open air venue in a beautiful park in Oelde. This event was part of a very interesting Festival in the Münsterland region called ‘Summerwinds’ . I am extremely grateful to Susanne Schulte, director of this Festival, because this premiere was planned for 2020 and of course canceled because of the pandemic. However she decided to plan it again this year and Xenon and the NWD performed it twice under the guidance of the young and energetic conductor Gábor Hontvári. Great to be there and hear this latest version of ‘Ciudades’.

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