BMW Welt Jazz Award 2020 final to be held on July 23, 2021. Adam Bałdych Quartet and Peter Gall Quintet to compete in final concert. Philharmonic Hall at Gasteig as new venue.

Munich. Having been postponed for over a year due to the global pandemic, the final of the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2020 will now take place on July 23, 2021 at 7:00 pm at the philharmonic hall at Gasteig. Adam Bałdych Quartet and Peter Gall Quintet will present their individual interpretations of the theme “The Melody at Night”. As one of the partners of the award, the Department of Cultural Affairs of the city of Munich has offered the BMW Group to hold the final concert at the philharmonic hall. The winning ensemble will receive a prize money of 10,000 Euro as well as a trophy created by BMW Design and the runner-up will receive 5,000 Euro. 

Ilka Horstmeier, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Director of Human Resources and Labour Relations, said, “In the light of rapid change responsibility and reliability are of the greatest value. As is culture. During the pandemic, many things have changed and in the field of culture there are new paths to be explored as well. Eventually, ‘The Melody at Night’ will be heard in Munich. I am particularly grateful to the Department of Culture of the city of Munich for their generous offer to host the final concert at the philharmonic hall at their expense. This once again highlights our long-standing and trusting partnership.” 

The finalists
The series of free concerts of the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2020 followed the theme “The Melody at Night”. For the first time, each concert was presented as an evening event at the double-coned structure of BMW Welt from last year’s January to March. Hosted by Hannah Weiss, winner of the BMW Welt Young Artist Jazz Award 2019, the virtuosity of both ensembles won over the audiences of music enthusiasts.

Adam Bałdych Quartet
Polish violinist Adam Bałdych was a celebrated child prodigy in his homeland and he began his international career at the age of 16. Bałdych has received critical acclaim for his unique technique and for “redefining the violin sound”. In his current project, “Sacrum Profanum”, he returns to his classical roots: with his fellow countrymen (Krzysztof Dys on piano, Michał Barański on bass, and Dawid Fortuna on drums) he captured the audience of the concert on February 11. The quartet focuses on “sacred music” and its great composers, from medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen, to Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis, to the contemporary Tatar-Russian avant-gardist Sofia Gubaidulina.

Peter Gall Quintet
Hailing from Bad Aibling, but having lived most of his life in Berlin, Peter Gall is one of Germany’s most distinguished drummers and composers. At BMW Welt, Gall presented his first album as bandleader, “Paradox Dreambox”, an impressive kaleidoscope of modern jazz sounds on February 18. He is joined on stage by other outstanding performers from the innovative German and European jazz scene, namely the Echo Jazz award winner Wanja Slavin on saxophone, Dutch guitar superstar Reinier Baas, winner of the New German Jazz Award Rainer Böhm on piano, as well as up-and-coming bassist Felix Henkelhausen. 

Jury
The distinguished panel of expert jurors, that proved successful in previous years, headed by Oliver Hochkeppel (music and cultural affairs journalist, Süddeutsche Zeitung) will include the following members:
Roland Spiegel, editor and jazz expert at German broadcasting station Bayerischer Rundfunk BR‑KLASSIK,
Andreas Kolb, Editor-in-Chief of JazzZeitung.de and nmz – neue musikzeitung,
Heike Lies, musicologist, Music and Music Theatre Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the city of Munich, and
Christiane Böhnke-Geisse, Artistic Director of the international jazz festival “Bingen swingt”.

Tickets for the final concert of the BMW Welt Jazz Award
As of June 10, 2021, tickets will be available exclusively via MünchenTicket. Those ones bought for the final concert in 2020 will no longer be valid. Previously purchased tickets can be reimbursed at the respective ticket office (purchased at BMW Welt – return at BMW Welt; purchased via MünchenTicket – return via MünchenTicket). 

Partners of BMW Welt Jazz Award
As in previous years, the BMW Welt Jazz Award enjoyed the generous support of its partners, the Department of Cultural Affairs of the city of Munich and nmz. The Munich hotel Bayerischer Hof is a partner of BMW Welt Jazz Award 2020 and will host the performance of the winners of the audience award. In addition, the city’s radio station egoFM, which already presented the series of concerts in 2020, will also broadcast the final concert of the BMW Welt Jazz Award.