PRESS RELEASE for Music Never Sleeps Dresden Music Festival
Music Never Sleeps NYC announces Music Never Sleeps Dresden Music Festival
24-Hour Livestream Festival on May 16, 2020 12:00PM New York / 5:00PM London / 6:00pm Dresden
Festival director Jan Vogler unveils Music Never Sleeps Dresden Music Festival following the international success of Music Never Sleeps NYC.
Over fifty artists will participate including Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Avi Avital, Ian Bostridge, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, José Cura, Pape Diouf, Tan Dun, James Ehnes, Zlatomir Fung, Martin Grubinger, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Ute Lemper, Mischa Maisky, China Moses, New York Gypsy All-Stars, Aoife O’Donovan, Gil Shaham, The Knights, and Rufus Wainwright
May 7, 2020 - The Dresden Music Festival turns the internet into a concert hall this month. Cellist Jan Vogler, Artistic Director of the Festival, invites audiences in Dresden and all over the world to join him and co-host singer Ute Lemper on May 16 beginning at 12:00PM EDT / 5:00PM GMT / 6 pm CET for Music Never Sleeps DMF, a 24-Hour Livestream Festival.
The event will feature over 50 artists including some of the most important classical, jazz and world music stars.
The online festival is presented in collaboration with Jan Vogler’s initiative Music Never Sleeps NYC which took place from March 27 - 28, 2020. Vogler brought together artists from around New York for a 24-hour Livestream Marathon benefiting organizations supporting artists affected by Covid-19.
The Music Never Sleeps Dresden Music Festival edition will feature more than 50 artists including many who have been associated with the festival for many years. The Livestream Festival will be co-hosted by Jan Vogler and Ute Lemper and carry the unique festival atmosphere to living rooms across the globe.
Jan Vogler stated, "In times of crisis like these it is crucial that we think of our audience, our artists and our partners like the City of Dresden, the Free State of Saxony as well as our sponsors and celebrate the 2020 Dresden Music Festival intensely - at least for 24 hours."
Artists participating and performing from their homes and rehearsal spaces will include many of the leading classical, jazz and world music stars. The following are those confirmed as of now:
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Avi Avital, Ian Bostridge & Saskia Giorgini, Santiago Cañón-Valenci, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Jamie Cullum, José Cura, Lise de la Salle, Pape Diouf, Tan Dun, James Ehnes, Asya Fateyava & Stepan Simonian, Zlatomir Fung, Duo Thomas Gansch & Georg Breinschmid, Boris Giltburg, Martin Grubinger, Eldbjorg Hemsing & Sveinung Bjelland, Robin Johanssen, Simone Kermes & Gianluca Geremia, Omer Klein, Anastasia Kobekina, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Nils Landgren & Thomas Steinfeld, Ute Lemper, Anneleen Lenaerts, Fabio Luisi, Mischa Maisky, China Moses, New York Gypsy All-Stars, Aoife O’Donavan, Tamasz Palfalvi, Francesco Piemontesi, Kimmo Pohjonen, Erika Pluhar, Tiffany Poon, Julian Pregardien, Jarko Riihimäki, Valer Sabadus, Xavier Sabata & Dani Espasa, Gil Shaham, Martin Stadtfeld, Mark Steinberg, The Knights, Francesco Tristano, Lars Vogt, Rufus Wainwright and Omer Meir Wellber.
Additionally, the Dresden Festival Orchestra under the baton Ivor Bolton and the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre under Valery Gergiev will appear in the stream with programs from previous years.
The stream will be broadcast on the Dresden Music Festival’s website, Youtube and Facebook channels, along with the channels of Music Never Sleeps NYC. The latest updates regarding the program can be found on the festival’s website and social media channels.
The 43rd Dresden Music Festival was scheduled for May 12 to June 12, 2020, and was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tickets already purchased can now be converted into vouchers, donated to benefit the Music Festival or refunded. For further information, please visit www.musikfestspiele.com.
PRESS RELEASE for "Where the Music Never Sleeps with Jan Vogler"
Music Never Sleeps NYC announces new radio series "Where the Music Never Sleeps with Jan Vogler" in collaboration with WQXR.
Special Radio Series Hosted by Jan Vogler premieres Saturday, May 9 on WQXR 105.9 FM and WQXR.org.
Featuring At-Home Classical Performances by New York City’s Classical Musicians.
Debut episode features Eric and Colin Jacobsen,Aoife O’Donovan, Tiffany Poon and Gil Shaham.
Future guests include Nico Muhly, Emanuel Ax, Zlatomir Fung, Sandbox Percussion and Time for Three.
The success of Music Never Sleeps NYC has resulted in a special radio series "Where the Music Never Sleeps with Jan Vogler" to be aired on New York's classical music station WQXR 105.9 FM and WQXR.org. It will debut on Saturday, May 9, 2020 at 7:00PM EDT and air every Saturday thereafter during the month of May. The series will feature recordings made in homes and apartments of some of New York's most well-known artists as well as rising stars including pianist Emanuel Ax, cellist Zlatomir Fung, composer Nico Muhly, quartet Sandbox Percussion, and Time for Three. The debut episode will feature performances by violinist Gil Shaham; Eric and Colin Jacobsen, founders of The Knights; pianist Tiffany Poon; folk singer Aoife O’Donovan, and more.
PRESS QUOTES about Music Never Sleeps NYC March Livestream
“Last weekend, live streams escalated to marathons. The cellist Jan Vogler organized a 24-hour event called Music Never Sleeps NYC…
Music Never Sleeps was a feel-good miracle of coordination and collaboration across musical forms and genres. When it overlapped, at 7 p.m. Eastern time, with a moment for New Yorkers to applaud out their windows for those on the front lines of the pandemic, the conductor David Robertson and the pianist Orli Shaham cleverly offered Steve Reich’s “Clapping Music.” Later, Inon Barnatan gave an elegant, at times sublime performance of Schubert’s Piano Sonata in B flat that I hope to one day hear in person.
…Music Never Sleeps was a soft fund-raiser — not quite a telethon, but presented with the suggestion that fans donate to the NYC Covid-19 Response & Impact Fund and the Local 802 Musicians’ Emergency Relief Fund.”
—The New York Times, March 31, 2020
“Musicians everywhere have had their scheduled public performances silenced. Hats off, then, to those living in New York for turning something disastrous into 24 hours of lyrical joy.”
“I can’t boast that I heard every minute of Music Never Sleeps NYC, which ran free of charge on YouTube from 6pm on Friday (New York time) to 6pm on Saturday. I did, however, catch about 30
solo instrumentalists or family groups, all streaming live from the apartments to which they were confined by quarantine — and I was staggered by the variety, virtuosity and beauty of what they offered.”
“It was all pulled together, in under a week, by the renowned cellist Jan Vogler. What a shining example he has set. Wouldn’t it now be great if the musicians of London, Berlin, Paris and the other great cultural
capitals filled every weekend until the end of this crisis with continuous streamed live music? Isolation would fly by.”
“Yes, there were technical flaws. Sound frequently lagged behind pictures. Vogler and his co-presenters sometimes jumped in too early. The screen occasionally went blank. Yet that only added to the charm. It was like
a neighbourhood support group meeting via Zoom — except that this neighbourhood included top-notch instrumentalists, and the whole world had been invited to eavesdrop. I’m glad I did.”
—Excerpts from “Music Never Sleeps NYC review – Musicians Defy the Crisis in Joyous Style” by Richard Morrison, The Times (UK), March 30, 2020
“On the morning of Saturday March 28, I came across a tweet promoting an event called Music Never Sleeps NYC, “a 24-hour music video livestream marathon event . . . featuring performances from New York-based artists”, including big names such as composer Nico Muhly and pianist Jeremy Denk.
I brought up the YouTube channel on my television and caught violinist Yevgeny Kutik at home performing Sheila Silver’s “Six Beads on a String”, and a little later Abigel Kralik and Benjamin Beilman played violin duets as their dog lounged on an armchair behind them.
The marathon event was the idea of cellist Jan Vogler, artistic director of the Dresden Music Festival, who said it had “completely absorbed me for the 24 hours and afterwards it felt similar to when a big concert has gone really well”. The broadcast used the Kiswe cloud-based streaming service.”
—Josh Spero, Financial Times, March 31, 2020
“So far Music Never Sleeps NYC has been the most impressive out of the many signs of life the classical music industry has sent in these times of lockdown.”
– Michael Stallknecht, Suddeutsche Zeitung, March 29, 2020
People who tune in to “Music Never Sleeps NYC” are going to be astonished by the variety. “New York is one of those great creative cities with people creating all kinds of things. After 20 years living there, I’m still amazed at how new generations grow up and bring new things to the table”. There’s going to be plenty of top end “straight” classical (Midori, for example, playing a whole Bach solo violin partita). There will be several duos (partners can play together in this time). But there will also be “some really cool stuff that could only happen in NY – some people who have special talents where I just sit there and go ‘Ooh, I wish I could do that.’” The roster includes “some of the most magical crossover artists I know”, like Bela Fleck, a banjoist whose own albums are impossibly eclectic but who Vogler considers equal in musicality to the best the classical world has to offer. Mandolinist Chris Thile normally plays bluegrass but happens to play Bach quite superbly; folk-based singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan blew Vogler away when he saw her two years ago: “so in tune that no classical musician can have such an intonation.”
For an event on this scale, the quality of programming becomes critical. As well as using his own experience from Dresden and Moritzburg, Vogler enlisted some highly experienced friends: Eric Jacobsen, founder of The Knights, and Kathy Schuman, Artistic Director of the Caramoor Festival. The constrained time hasn’t stopped them putting immense thought into the curation, providing an enticing, coherent, varied programme: “We’re mixing younger and older, mixing instruments, mixing different colours. We have humour, we have very deep music, some musical jokes, all kinds of things. Programming is like playing – it’s an artistic work.”
Excerpts from Bachtrack.com interview
with Jan Vogler, March 26, 2020
PRESS RELEASE for Music Never Sleeps NYC March Livestream
Cellist Jan Vogler announces Music Never Sleeps NYC.
A 24-Hour Music Video Livestream Marathon Event beginning at 6:00PM EDT on Friday, March 27, 2020.
Performances by New York–based artists including Adele Anthony, Inon Barnatan, Alessio Bax, Benjamin Beilman,
Brentano Quartet, Lucille Chung, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Jeremy Denk, Bela Fleck, Zlatomir Fung, Paul Huang, Colin Jacobsen,
Eric Jacobsen, The Knights, Tessa Lark, Nathan Meltzer, Midori, Nico Muhly, Aoife O’Donovan, Sandbox Percussion, Tiffany Poon,
Pablo Sáinz Villegas, Gil Shaham, Arnaud Sussman, Chris Thile, Michael Thurber, Nina Totenberg, Danbi Um, Jan Vogler,
Mira Wang, Abigail Washburn and Kevin Zhu.
Artist produced performances from New York.
More artists to be added in the coming days.
New York–based charitable causes will be announced.
Social distancing will be strictly observed in content creation.
Website: www.musicneversleepsnyc.com
Social Media Hashtag: #musicneversleepsNYC
March 20, 2020, New York – Jan Vogler, the New York-based cellist and Artistic Director of the Dresden Music Festival, today announced
a 24-hour music video livestream marathon event: Music Never Sleeps NYC. Headlined by New York-based artists, Music Never Sleeps NYC
will feature 24 hours of original content produced by New York-based artists of all generations beginning on Friday, March 27, 2020 at 6:00PM EDT.
New York–based charitable causes will be announced and viewers will be encouraged to contribute to the well-being of New York City’s artists.
Social distancing will be strictly observed in the creation of original content.
New York–based artists to contribute performances and content include Adele Anthony, Inon Barnatan, Alessio Bax,
Benjamin Beilman, Brentano Quartet, Lucille Chung, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Jeremy Denk, Bela Fleck, Zlatomir Fung, Paul Huang,
Colin Jacobsen, Eric Jacobsen, The Knights, Tessa Lark, Nathan Meltzer, Midori, Nico Muhly, Aoife O’Donovan,
Sandbox Percussion, Tiffany Poon, Pablo Sáinz Villegas, Gil Shaham, Arnaud Sussman, Chris Thile, Michael Thurber,
Nina Totenberg, Danbi Um, Jan Vogler, Mira Wang, Abigail Washburn and Kevin Zhu.
Jan Vogler issued the following statement:
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) global crisis has changed all of our lives drastically and has shutdown every performing arts institution
and venue we artists call our homes. While practicing at home on the Upper West Side, I realized that we can still contribute something
during this fight against this pandemic.
After hours of conversations with my New York-based friends and colleagues I understood they are more eager than ever to express their
artistry. These friends and colleagues have agreed to create original performance content for Music Never Sleeps NYC to be livestreamed
over a 24-hour period beginning on March 27 at 6:00PM EDT.
We will all unite to send a musical message of courage, empathy, friendship, hope and love from New York to the entire world. We will
also encourage those watching the Music Never Sleeps NYC to support various New York charitable causes that directly benefit New York-based artists.
We hope to inspire other artists in cities around the world to join together and recplicate Music Never Sleeps NYC in their own city. We want to
create a global pastiche of artistic expression with other cities joining our initiative, e.g. #musicneversleepsLA, #musicneversleepsBerlin,
#musicneversleepsTokyo, etc.
Visit www.musicneversleepsnyc.com for updates about the programming and additional artists.
Music Never Sleeps NYC will be streamed across social media platforms including Youtube.
Follow Music Never Sleeps NYC on social media:
Instagram: musicneversleepsnyc
Twitter: @mnsnyc (name is Music Never Sleeps NYC)
Facebook: Music Never Sleeps NYC
Artists will update their social media platforms with information.
Hashtag: #musicneversleepsNYC
Special thanks to the following:
Dresden Music Festival
Tanja Dorn of Dorn Music
Lawrence Perelman of Semantix Creative Group
Gabriele Schiller of PR2 classic
Kathy Schuman of Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
Rare Violins of New York.
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New York PR/Communications Contact for MUSIC NEVER SLEEPS NYC:
Lawrence Perelman
Founder & CEO
Semantix Creative Group
Phone: +1 917 541 7665
E-mail: [email protected]