Munich. The winner of BMW Welt Jazz Award 2017 was
chosen: French bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons and his trio convinced the
jury with their programme “Revoir Paris” against the German bassist
Eva Kruse and her quintet. The award was presented by Dr Nicolas
Peter, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, along with Dr
Hans-Georg-Küppers, head of the Department of Arts and Culture of the
state capital Munich.
“Amazing bass” was this year’s theme, pushing an instrument from the
background to the front, making the big star in all of the six
cost-free matinees and the finale at the sold-out auditorium of BMW
Welt was just as thrilled.
Renaud Garcia-Fons was supported by drummer Stephan Carracci and
David Venitucci playing the accordion, while Garcia-Fons was playing
the usual darker tones of the bass almost violin-like, as heard in his
programme “Revoir Paris”.
The expert jury stated: “Outstanding technique is not always the most
important aspect – in classical music as well as in jazz. Eva Kruse
and her companions demonstrated with ‘On the Mo’ that creativity with
compositions and sensitive power are necessary to enchant an audience.
It is a cast of fortune, if unique virtuosity at the contrabass serves
a musical portrait engaging all senses. Just like Renaud Garcia-Fons’
thrilling homage to his home Paris. At times, it is lyrical delicate,
at times with breath-taking force, leading through musical epochs,
typical styles and emotional states of the French Capital – and last
but not least with a bow play that couldn’t be better executed by
classical musicians. That’s the reason the jury has chosen Renaud
Garcia-Fons and his trio to be the winner of the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2017.”
Renaud Garcia-Fons received 10,000 EUR prize money and a trophy
designed by BMW Design. The runner-up, Eva Kruse and her quintet, were
awarded with 5,000 EUR.
Garcia-Fons won this year’s audience award as well, earning his trio
an exclusive stay at resort Schloss Elmau and an appearance at the
resort’s annual JazzClassica Festival in July 2017.
“Since 2009, 54 jazz ensembles from 17 countries have performed at
BMW Welt Jazz Award. In 2018, we want to celebrate the tenth
anniversary of BMW Welt Jazz Award with even more international guests
and our loyal fans. I very happily congratulate Renaud Garcia-Fons for
winning and also want to deeply thank our long-term partners”, said Dr
Nicolas Peter. During the finale, Dr Nicolas Peter also announced next
year’s theme: 2018’s leitmotif will be “Jazz moves”: BMW Welt
is calling to dance!
“The BMW Group created with the BMW Welt Jazz Award a success story
with international impact, but it’s also a huge gain for our city. Not
only the six matinees, but also this incredible finale were very
unique musical experiences, which will be remembered by the enchanted
audience for a long time”, said the head of the Department of Arts and
Culture of the state capital Munich, Dr Hans-Georg Küppers.
The BMW Welt Jazz Award celebrated its ninth edition in 2017. From
January to March, six renowned international ensembles excited and
delighted a full house during the Sunday matinees at the Double Cone
of the BMW Welt. In addition to the two finalists, the other
participating ensembles were: Chris Minh Doky New Nordic Jazz
(Denmark), Henning Sieverts´ Symmethree (Germany), Lars Danielsson
plays Liberetto feat. Grégory Privat (Sweden/France), Linda May Han
Oh: Sun Pictures (USA).
The distinguished panel of jurors included renowned jazz experts and
specialists of the jazz scene, who chose the winner of BMW Welt Jazz
Award 2017. Chaired by Oliver Hochkeppel (journalist for music and
cultural affairs at the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung), the jury
included the following members: Roland Spiegel (editor at the music
desk and jazz expert at German broadcasting station Bayerischer
Rundfunk BR‑KLASSIK), Andreas Kolb (editor-in-chief of the magazines
JazzZeitung.de and neue musikzeitung), Heike Lies (musicologist, Music
and Music Theatre Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs of
the state capital Munich) and Christiane Böhnke-Geisse (Artistic
Director of the international jazz festival “Bingen swingt”).
The 2017 edition of the BMW Welt Jazz Award once again enjoyed the
generous support of its partners BR-KLASSIK, nmz, nmz-online and
JazzZeitung.de, as well as resort Schloss Elmau and the Department of
Cultural Affairs of the city of Munich.
For further questions please contact:
Dr Thomas Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs
Head of Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49-89-382-24753
Leonie Laskowski
BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs
Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49-89-382-45382
Bernhard Ederer
BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs
Spokesperson BMW Welt
Telephone: +49-89-382-28556
www.press.bmwgroup.com
Email: presse@bmw.de
About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment
For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in
over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main
focus of its long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art,
classical music and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972,
three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter
specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group’s Munich headquarters.
Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim,
Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW.
Currently, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John
Baldessari are creating the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car
Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art
Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich and London,
the company also partners with leading museums and art fairs as well
as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The BMW Group takes
absolute creative freedom in all its cultural activities – as this
initiative is as essential for producing groundbreaking artistic work
as it is for major innovations in a successful business.
Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture
and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview
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BMW Welt – at the heart of the brand, on the pulse of the city
The BMW Welt welcomes over 3 million visitors per year. With its
pioneering architecture, BMW Welt is the heart of all the brands in
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Motor Cars and BMW Motorrad, which are impressively presented in their
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event location for over 400 external events per year. The various
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star gastronomy. In the BMW Welt Junior Campus, children and
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The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the
world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles
and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global
company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities
in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2016, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.367 million cars and
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€ 9.67 billion on revenues amounting to € 94.16 billion. As of 31
December 2016, the BMW Group had a workforce of 124,729 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
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