Foto © Frederik Olsson

Reapproaching Bach

Concept and performance: Heather Ware and Jakob Koranyi

What happens when the age old music of Bach is brought into a contemporary conversation with modern dance? And what arises when a cellist and a dancer meet through the intuitive communication between their art forms? Reapproaching Bach is an exploration of what dance and music mean to the performer as well as to the audience.

In Reapproaching Bach, the conventions of what a classical concert should be are twisted. Small stories, humor, and play come in contact with Bach's awe inspiring music. By searching out new territories, we find places where we are vulnerable and perhaps all too human, as well as places where we can give ourselves over to the beauty of Bach. The result is a performance that strives to expand our expectations and play with our preconceptions of what Bach and dance have to be.

The collaboration between Canadian dancer Heather Ware and Swedish cellist Jakob Koranyi is based on a mutual love for the music of Bach and a desire to explore the communicative nature of this music.

Reapproaching Bach is supported by the talent development program of LeineRoebana (Netherlands), the Nieuwe Makers - regeling of the Dutch Performing Arts Fund (Netherlands), Statens Musikverk (Sweden), Kulturhuset i Ytterjärna (Sweden) Podium Bloos (Netherlands) and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Canada).

Heather Ware (Canada, 1980)

Heather has been a core member of the well known Dutch company LeineRoebana from 2003-2017, becoming a well respected and highly celebrated dancer in the Dutch dance world. In 2010 she was awarded de Zwaan (the Swan) for most impressive dance performance of the year, for her role in LeineRoebana's 172 Suggesties aan een Lichaam (172 Suggestions to a Body). As a dance maker, Heather is fascinated by the possibilities of the human, dancing body, and how complex coordinations can influence how we experience and share emotion.

Jakob Koranyi (Sweden, 1983)

Swedish cellist JakobKoranyi has firmly established himself on the classical music scene as one of Europe’s most interesting young soloists. Acclaimed for his commanding virtuosity and passion for diverse and innovative programs, he has toured extensively performing as a recitalist as well as a soloist all over the world. Orchestral highlights of previous seasons include performances with the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra working with conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Jean-Pascal Tortillier, David Atherton, Jaime Martin, and Christian Lindberg.

A committed chamber musician, he collaborates with distinguished musicians such as Yura Lee, Simon Crawford-Phillips, and Juho Pohjonen and has appeared in chamber music concerts alongside such international stars as Vilde Frang, Kim Kashkashian, Leonidas Kavakos, Misha Maisky, Martin Fröst, Lawrence Power, and Denis Kozukhin. He also enjoys working with artists of other disciplines and has a lasting collaboration with dancer Heather Ware.

The 2016-17 season saw the premiere and Dutch tour of their new piece BattleAbbey, as well as performances with the Helsinki Philharmonic, Orquesta Filarmonica de Bogota, and the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The new season will see the Hadyn C Concerto with Vasteras Sinfonietta and subsequently with Gävle symfoniorkester, The Atteberg Concerto with Swedish Radio Symphony, as well as other interesting projects and festivals. Mr. Koranyi performs regularly with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and plays an Iosephi Gratiani cello built in 1756 in Genoa.