Audi 2007 Annual Report Download - page 48

46 ARTS & ARTISTS
Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,”
performed by the Bremer Shakespeare
Company.
he word classic means “time-
less,” but also denotes a contrast
between the modern and the traditional.
The essence of classical music is the
perpetual reexamination of a musical
masterpiece from the standpoint of
the present day. Pianist Lang Lang,
sopranos Diana Damrau and Annette
Dasch, and conductor Christoph Es-
chenbach are as important to classical
music as Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.
They are the ones who bring an other-
wise silent score to life, making us
experience why these composers still
have the power to move us today, what is
timeless – classical – about them.
The classical defies fashion, yet it
also absorbs it, develops it and leads it
into another dimension. Classical music
is international, it is a global language.
Being classical is an art, as is making
cars, which also relies on both the tradi-
tional and the contemporary. A new au-
tomobile ought to be a classic, remind-
ing us of a great past while pointing the
way to an exciting future. Naturally, a
car also needs to look good, pleasing to
the eye – and perfectly designed. Archi-
tecture is music made into material,
they say, while music is also inspiration
cast in sound. Hardly surprising then,
that car manufacturers are basically ori-
ented towards the classical. Ultimately,
they need to be masters of their art, in
the same way as Bach, Mozart and
Beethoven, Lang Lang, Annette Dasch
and Christoph Eschenbach. Classical
music is the perfect paradigm for
anyone who turns the classical into a
trademark.
Classical has never been so modern.
In Germany, opera houses and concert
halls now attract at least as many visitors
as do the matches of the country’s pre-
mier soccer division. Worldwide classi-
cal music in recent years has even pro-
duced pop stars such as Anna Netrebko.
As ambassadors of timelessness, rap-
ture, perfection and passion, they have
long transcended the arts sections of
the papers and are now at home on
glossy magazine covers and television
programs. In terms of music sales, the
classical market is one of the most sta-
ble. Small wonder then that festivals
such as that in Salzburg have become
places of pilgrimage. Classical is a new
“attitude,” echoing a desire for contem-
plation and new meaning.
Having recognized the importance of
music, Audi was quick to set a trend,
and has long been a sponsor of events in
Salzburg and elsewhere. And with the
25 dates on the Audi Summer Concert
calendar in and around Ingolstadt, the
Diana Damrau, soprano
Lang Lang, pianist
Annette Dasch, soprano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Bruckner Orchester Linz
Ars Nova Copenhagen, choir
Bremer Shakespeare Company
Martin Stadtfeld, pianist
Hessisches Staatstheater
NeoBarock, string quartet
Schleswig-Holstein Festival Chor
Lautten Compagney
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2007
AUDI SUMMER CONCERTS
Modern
classics
Each year, international
superstars from the world
of classical music perform
at the Audi Summer
Concerts – now a well-
established feature on the
musical calendar.
COPY Axel Brüggemann
T