When the city grows quieter, the Late Night of the Dortmunder Philharmoniker is just getting started. Later in the evening, the music drops every mask: this is no concert on tiptoe, but one with a loosened collar. Here, music is allowed to come closer, to breathe, to wander. Perspectives do too. Listening habits are gently shaken, along with the boundaries between stage and audience. In the salt store of the Hansa Coking Plant, raw and full of history, the sound loses its frame and strives for freedom: it is allowed to roam. Between steel and vastness, it loses its manners—and gains character. Late Night is an experiential space: awe gives way to curiosity, the unheard becomes audible. Music as a reflection of our being—with us as the sounding board. And yes: perhaps closer to oneself than one or two might like? Let’s find out together. Evenings for the curious, the thoughtful, and night owls.

Living Dortmund history comes alive through music: Inspired by the fantastic location of the salt store, our Featured Composer & Creative Partner Matthew Aucoin musically explores the fascination with the machine world of the early 20th century. The concert leads right up to the present day, where the uncanny nature of machines and mechanical processes stands much more clearly before our eyes. A concert program like no other: raw, percussive, driving, resistant, and intense.

Program:

Pierre Schaeffer Étude aux chemins de fer 

Louis Andriessen Worker’s Union 

Duke Ellington Daybreak Express 

Arrangement: Matthew Aucoin 

Benjamin Britten Night Mail 

Henry Purcell Wondorus Machine 

Arrangement: Matthew Aucoin 

Harrison Birtwistle Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum 

John Adams Shaker Loops