KLAENG Festival 2025

Tag 2

Boundaries blur and genres collide - the 16th edition of the international KLAENG Festival presents the "now" in contemporary music on November 29 & 30 in Cologne's Stadtgarten.

Sunday, 30.11.2025

Robert Landfermann "RHENUS"
In his project Rhenus, Robert Landfermann brings together all his musical facets. It is his largest ensemble to date, an orchestral reservoir of his artistic personality, enhanced by the depth of expression of his fellow musicians. With long-time companions such as percussionists Jonas Burgwinkel and Leif Berger, pianist Elias Stemeseder, saxophonist Sebastian Gille, harpist Kathrin Pechlof, trumpeter Percy Pursglove and Rhodes specialist Jozef Dumoulin unfold a cosmos of sound ranging from complex structures to simple melodies. Improvising, the message of jazz is revealed: recognize diversity, welcome the unfamiliar and find your own answer in the moment.

Liam Byrne & Elina Albach
When Irish gambist Liam Byrne and German harpsichordist Elina Albach take to the stage together, past and present meet in an intense musical dialog. Their duo concert combines baroque soundscapes with contemporary compositions by Max Andrzejewski and Yuri Umemoto as well as free improvisation. Historical instruments such as the viola da gamba and harpsichord become intermediaries between centuries and sound languages. Byrne and Albach design their concerts as lively experiments full of curiosity and joy of playing, in which familiar works shine anew and the unheard-of emerges - an experience that makes early music radically fresh and immediately tangible.

WRENS
"Why not?" - WRENS answers with sound, texture and fearless lyricism. The super collective weaves improvisation and electronics into vibrant soundscapes that move between ecstasy and nonchalance and captivate listeners. With Jason Nazary (drums), Lester St. Louis (cello), Ryan Easter (trumpet/vocals) and Elias Stemeseder (keys/synths), precise virtuosity meets eruptive freedom. Their debut "Alligator Shoes" [flatbush records] mixes jazzy impulses, electronic sharpness and surprising rap offsets - a flight, a rush, an invitation to take off.