Concert | 20th anniversary

BigBand der Deutschen Oper Berlin

Manfred Honetschläger – conductor
Reinhardt / Vian / Brel / Legrand

Three men play wind instruments in a vaulted cellar. They can be seen from behind, with people standing in front of them.

Jazz concert in La Huchette, Paris 1954 © Daniel Frasnay / akg-images

The BigBand of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its foundation and devoting itself to French jazz. This music became a symbol of freedom and the spirit of resistance during the German Occupation and subsequently became the soundtrack for Existentialism and the expression of the joie de vivre of an entire generation. Musicians including Miles Davis and Sidney Bechet encountered Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Boris Vian in the nightclubs of Saint-Germaindes- Prés. Juliette Gréco was the undisputed muse of the bohemian world and Paris became the place of yearning for many jazz musicians from the USA, far away from racial segregation and the McCarthy era.

Work introduction
18:10, South Foyer


To listen
Live Radio broadcast on 20 September 2025, 20:04

The concert is celebrating the spirit of the eventful years and its music from the period when French jazz from during the war and the pre-war years became uniquely blended with the chanson and influences of bebop and modern jazz. Compositions by jazz guitar grandmaster Django Reinhardt will be performed alongside chansons by Jacques Brel and Boris Vian. Another highlight of the programme will be pieces by French jazz and film music legend Michel Legrand.

Jazz de Paris

Vernon Duke (arr. Count Basie)
April in Paris (1932)

Rüdiger Ruppert
Jazz de Paris (2025)
Au bar Le Tabou (2025)

Boris Vian / Alain Goraguer (arr. Manfred Honetschläger)
Je bois (1956)

Django Reinhardt
Nuits de Saint-Germain-des-Prés (1951) (arr. Richard Bergmann)
Nuages (1940) (arr. Joan Reinders)
Daphné (1937) (arr. Joan Reinders)
Djangology (1949) (arr. Jan Wessels)

Jimmy Walter (arr. Manfred Honetschläger)
Je suis snob (1954)

Jacques Brel / Gérard Jouannest
Ne me quitte pas (1958)

Ray Noble (arr. Peter Herbolzheimer)
Cherokee (1938)

Michel Legrand (arr. Manfred Honetschläger)
Medley: Quand ça balance (1964)
Le petit journal (1992)
Ray Blues (1982)
La femme coupé en morceaux
Nous voyageons de ville en ville
from the film: Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967)
What are you doing the rest of your life? from the film: The happy ending (1969)

Pierre Papadiamandis (arr. Konrad Koselleck)
Le Blues du blanc (1984)

Contributors

Mathilde Vendramin vocals, violoncello
Thomas Pigor chansons
Biréli Lagrène guitar

BigBand der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Manfred Honetschläger
conductor

An event by Deutsche Oper Berlin in cooperation with Berliner Festspiele / Musikfest Berlin