Audi 2007 Annual Report Download - page 49

company has even evolved into an events
organizer. This commitment goes far be-
yond mere sponsorship. In organizing
this summer concert series, Audi aims
not just to support classical music as a
cause, but also to participate in defining
what classical actually is. With this com-
mitment, Audi is thus accepting cultural
responsibility, and its position is ab-
solutely clear: Classical is a mixture of
the unforgettable, performed by the best
exponents of their art, but it is also the
nurturing of a new generation and a
commitment to the avant garde.
Guest performers at the 2007 Audi
Summer Concerts, the 18th edition of
the festival, included Lang Lang, An-
nette Dasch and Christoph Eschenbach.
Lang Lang is one of today’s most cele-
brated virtuosos, and together with
Christoph Eschenbach has brought
Beethoven’s piano concertos to the
classical music charts. Soprano Annette
Dasch is a new talent discovered at last
year’s Salzburg Festival: With her light
and agile voice, she is particularly con-
vincing in Baroque opera. At the sum-
mer concerts, she brought Haydn’s long-
forgotten masterpiece “Armida” into the
present day, demonstrating just how
modern classical music can be.
For Audi, however, the concept of
classical is not just about having the
stars of today reviving the successes of
yesteryear. Being classical is also about
promoting the future. This is the second
pillar of the Audi Summer Concerts.
Thus, the festival has some of the
region’s young musicians performing
alongside the legends of classical music,
and music is made accessible for the
audience of the future. This year, there
was the children’s classic “Pinocchio,”
the world premiere of the “Little Mer-
maid” as set to music by a young Israeli
composer, and that other perennial
favorite, “Carnival of the Animals”
by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Just like the automotive industry, the
world of classical music is also keen to
transmit knowledge to future genera-
tions and to develop a sense of tradition
– always with the aim of achieving inno-
vation and renewal through passion.
Over recent years, classical music has
radically changed its marketing strategy.
It has become open to the world, and
knows what strengths it can play to,
namely tradition and vision. Classical
music is an art that especially in this age
of globalization and individualism is
becoming increasingly popular. Audi
has long been aware of this interest,
which it intends to continue cultivating
through its festival commitments and its
very own summer concerts. •
Axel Brüggemann is music critic and chief
editor of the classic magazine Crescendo.
“Classical is international, music
is a global language.” Axel Brüggemann
Above
A star on opera night: Diana Damrau.
Below
Standing ovations for superstars Lang
Lang and Christoph Eschenbach.
Photos: AUDI AG