Music Shop of Quadro Nuevo

Songs for the Christmas season interpreted in an atmospheric, intimate and festive way.

In their 20 years of touring, the adventure-loving musicians of Quadro Nuevo have travelled to countless places, explored bold and daring ways of playing and won the ECHO twice.

Some time ago, the World Music group started giving concerts just before Christmas. For the four musicians, who play Tango and cool Balkan rhythms for the rest of the year, this sprang from a deep need. During the weeks of Advent, they fill the halls with more contemplative melodies.

The adventure, the idea of bringing the concept of brotherly love to life with a large and colourful group of instruments, sometimes rejoicing and jubilant, sometimes kneeling in contemplation.

The musicians say of their album:

“Winter nights have a very special atmosphere.

We wanted to create music that carries this mood within itself.

This has a lot to do with the original idea of Christmas: The arrival of a new time that brings light and warmth into darkness.”

“We see these songs less from the Christian aspect.  For us, these old melodies deal with existential themes such as love, joy, hope and peace.

For example: ”Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen” (Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming”) describes the symbolic power of the rose which also blooms in winter, in the icy cold, in adverse circumstances. The seemingly impossible made possible.

Or: “Maria durch ein Dornwald ging”  (Mary Walked amid the Thorns) tells of self-sacrificing, selfless motherly love.

Accordionist Andreas Hinterseher wrote a three-part suite to the old hymn „Macht hoch die Tür” (Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates).” For us, the core statement of this melody is: “Allow yourself to be open. Be ready for something new. For spiritual development.  The time for a new orientation has come, away from the wasting of our resources, from the destruction of our planet, from ideologies and religious dogmatism.”

In their new album, Music for Christmas Nights, the musicians also focus on the geographical origin of the Christmas story, the Middle East, with its ancient cultures and fascinating musical traditions.  It is a part of the world which Quadro Nuevo has extensively explored in concerts and in their travels to Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Antioch.

An evocative encounter between improvising virtuosos and a classical Orchestral sound, of the Occident and the Orient, of the familiar, the newly created and of beloved childhood memories.

“We simply enjoy playing with these melodies, some of which are very simple, others very powerful. Working with strings and woodwinds offered us a whole realm of fantastic possibilities.

For “ Laßt uns froh und munter sein” (Let us be happy and full of cheer),  Quadro Nuevo bassist Didi Lowka set his bass aside to take up the Oriental drum Tarambouka, creating a groove somewhere between the Orient, the German Middle Ages and New Orleans. The bass function was taken over by the orchestral basses, bassoon and bass clarinet.

Or in the American classic Winter Wonderland: we deliberately left out the orchestral Strings that would normally be expected here. As Quadro Nuevo, we play it with only the Orchestra’s woodwinds and in this way, recreate a beautiful wooded winter forest.”

Andreas Hinterseher: Accordion, Bandoneon, Vibrandoneon

D.D. Lowka: Double Bass, Percussion

Mulo Francel: Saxophones, Clarinets

Evelyn Huber: Harp, Salterio

and The Munich Symphony Orchestra

Under the direction of Andreas Kowalewitz

The musicians of Quadro Nuevo have this to say about their project with the Orchestra:

“We’re very aware that the Orchestra isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Some listeners are a bit wary of being lulled too much into the world of classical sound.

Personally, we love the sound possibilities of orchestral instruments and use them consciously and carefully. For example, a lonely French horn emerging from within our Quadro Nuevo sound creates an almost sacred atmosphere.

Or with our beloved “Maria durch ein Dornwald ging”: here we have worked with strings, which lends a soothing spaciousness to this very intense song.”

With their program End of the Rainbow, Quadro Nuevo has already shared the stage with well-known orchestras such as the NDR Orchestra, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Salzburg Philharmonic and the Babelsberg Film Orchestra.

With the Munich Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Andreas Kowalewitz, they have performed sold-out concerts in the Munich Philharmonie and in the Meistersingerhalle in Nuremberg.