JazzAscona meets classicAscona Vision String Quartet & Elina Duni

An evening of encounters across borders promises JazzAscona meets classicAscona. The trio featuring Albanian-Swiss singer Elina Duni, British guitarist Rob Luft, and Swiss flugelhornist Matthieu Michel is known for its natural movement between jazz, folk, and chanson. He meets Berlin’s Vision String Quartet, which often plays from memory and standing, creating an energetic, almost pop-band-like stage presence.

Elina Duni, British guitarist Rob Luft, and Swiss flugelhornist Matthieu Michel are known for their forays into jazz, folk, and chanson. They meet Berlin’s Vision String Quartet, which often performs its programs from memory and on its feet, creating an energetic, almost pop-like stage presence. In addition to classical repertoire such as Šostakovič, they arrange and compose their own works that blend jazz, pop, and rock with the world of classical music.

Officially, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet was dedicated to the “victims of fascism and war.” He composed it in three days in July 1960, allowing deep autobiographical elements to surface through the DSCH motif, the musical monogram of his name. This motif recurs obsessively in all five movements, serving as the secret center of a work implicitly critical of the regime.