festival artist Barbara Hannigan
discover all the activities with Barbara Hannigan during the festival
The festival artist of this year's edition is none other than Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan. Discover what this entails below.
Festival theme: Become music
Become music: it could even be her motto. Because when Barbara Hannigan is on stage, she does not consider herself so much a leader as a connector. That connection shimmers through the room, across the stage and all the way to the audience. Together we form a musical community, one in which the many, often unexpected interactions between conductor and orchestra, between musicians and audience, create a social and musical cocktail that it is impossible to reproduce afterwards. And sometimes, there is a moment when all the puzzle pieces fall exactly together. Barbara Hannigan then speaks of a magical 'equilibrium'. Together we ‘make’, or rather ‘become’ music.
10.03 opening concert with the London Symphony Orchestra
On Friday 10 March, Barbara Hannigan will kick off Klarafestival together with the London Symphony Orchestra. In Messiaen's L'Ascension, the heavens ring with triumphant trumpets and serene strings. In Mahler's Fourth Symphony, a hungry child dreams of a delightful afterlife, where wildlife parades through the streets and fish swim towards you on fasting day.
16.03 Music among friends in flagey
'Equilibrium': it not only represents that magical moment between the musicians and the audience, but also Barbara Hannigan's special mentorship project. On 16 March, she shares the stage with soloists from her Equilibrium Young Artists programme and reunites them with her beloved LUDWIG Orchestra. During this musical reunion in Flagey, they will perform modernist chamber music by Ravel, Delage and Stravinsky.
16.03 trainees of the eu
Together with the Traineeships Office of the Council of the European Union, Klarafestival annually invites a group of trainees from European institutions. This year, the young, international group will be guests at the Music among friends concert. Beforehand, they will be welcomed by minister Sven Gatz and artistic director Joost Fonteyne, after which Barbara Hannigan and Equilibrium members Rolf Verbeek and Emma Posman will share their experiences.
17.03 Open masterclass
On 17 March, Barbara Hannigan will be the guest of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. During this inspiration day, Hannigan will collaborate with artists in residence at the Music Chapel and share her musical vision that underpins her Equilibrium Young Artists programme. She will do so in the company of author and performance coach Jackie Reardon.
17.03 Film & aftertalk
The intimate film portrait I'm a Creative Animal takes viewers into the extraordinary world of Barbara Hannigan, one ruled by passion and discipline. Her boundary-pushing curiosity and sense of adventure make her one of the most fascinating and versatile artists of our time. After the film, there will be an aftertalk with none other than Barbara Hannigan and Joost Fonteyne, artistic director of Klarafestival.
