Introduction

A dance piece to the most famous solo piano recording of all time - Keith Jarrett's Köln Concert.

Before The Köln Concert is played, we first hear four songs by another artist: the Canadian musician Joni Mitchell. She opens the evening, setting the stage for the music of Keith Jarrett and for the seven dancers of the dance ensemble. Trajal Harrell's Köln Concert seeks a way for people to meet despite different languages, different world views, different identities.

The shared experience of people, of tender and strong people disclosing their vulnerability, dancing, functions as a reminder of the need to stay close, to have respect, and never to forget that there are many stories of people who are hardly ever heard or seen; people pushed into the shadows, the lonely, the addicted, the abandoned, the homeless, the sad, who defy their abandonment proudly and in beauty. It is to them that this evening belongs. No language needed, no special effects - only music and dance.

"The masterpiece of the art of improvisation becomes in Harrell's sense the master class of a mourning community. Although Joni Mitchell is Jarrett's opening act, her voice sounds as clear as a bell and like an angel. But later and with Jarrett, the choreography becomes melancholic, earth, and also heartbreakingly sentimental. It is a farewell to everything that was once an intact body - and a healthy relationship between bodies". (NZZ)

The Köln Concert was named Best Dance Performances of 2023 by The New York Times. After its premiere it has toured extensively at the main dance venues of Europe and the US.