Schwetzingen SWR Festival: Rock Lounge

In the third part of the quartet marathon, the Signum Quartet performs classical works as well as rock music in quartet arrangements. What is serious, what is entertainment? What is light, what is heavy music? And what is classical? The four musicians of the Signum Quartet describe themselves as musical omnivores, meaning: they consume everything. They have participated in recordings with bands like Die Fantastischen Vier and Die Toten Hosen, have played in bands themselves, and in their programs, they present pieces from the 18th century as well as arrangements of well-known rock songs. For them, these are just as classical as Mozart's entertainment music. And isn't Beethoven's Great Fugue, in its immediacy, dynamics, and intensity, somehow also rock music? In its Rock Lounge, the Schwetzingen Residence Ensemble brings together "U" and "E" music. After all, both are essentially chamber music, based on an intense dialogue between the performers. The arrangements by composer and songwriter, classical violinist, and electric bassist Matthijs van Dijk mix the best of both worlds into very free rock paraphrases. Those who listen closely will find not only music from the band Cream in his arrangement of Sunshine of Your Love but also quotes from pieces by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Bob Marley, and... stay alert!