classic meets art: Shedhalle x Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich

In June 2024, we transformed the grand staircase in the foyer of the Zurich Kunsthaus into a grandstand for the public with short concerts and introductions. We responded to Faith Ringgold's colourful quilts with music inspired by the Harlem Renaissance - Florence B. Price, William Grant Still and Harry T. Burleigh - like the works of the African-American artist.

In June 2025, music director Paavo Järvi and artist Jeffrey Gibson met for an interdisciplinary talk at the Löwenbräukunst-Areal / schwarzescafé. The result was an entertaining and friendly exchange about dealing with audience expectations and the question of how art is created - and how long it lasts.

On 14 June 2026, we will be part of the ZAW's closing event and are teaming up for the first time with the Shedhalle Zürich, a highly creative and relatively young art venue on the site of the Rote Fabrik. This in turn was built in the 1890s - at the same time as the (new) Zurich Tonhalle.

Thinking about the similarities between different art forms is the starting point for "classic meets art" - the format in which our orchestra musicians fly out with chamber music and play directly in exhibition spaces. If the space allows, we design the dialogue as a parcours. Musicians and audience move from station to station with the works played, accompanied by short presentations about the exhibition and the music.

The current exhibition in the Shedhalle is called "Aaaand... Scene / Und... Szene" and shows so-called re-props by 13 artists. The term comes from theatre and film production and refers to reusable stage elements that are used again in different scenes. Walls, plinths, benches and other installations are both works of art and architectural frames - and they are in a state of flux. They will remain part of the programme for several years, reappearing in different exhibitions and adapting to new artistic contexts and spatial configurations.

The musical programme responds to this setting and these ideas with compositions and excerpts from works by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Ernst von Dohnányi. What influence does a new stage have on works that we have known for a long time? Does a work of art only begin on stage? And how do you put composers on a stage pedestal?

Peter McGuire violin
Antonia Siegers-Reid viola
Ioana Geangalau-Donoukaras Violoncello
Laura Amann Marín Curator
Jen Kratochvil Curator
Ulrike Thiele Moderation

Address: Shedhalle, Seestrasse 395, 8038 Zurich
Duration: 1 hour
Language: English
Free entry
RSVP: www.eventbrite.ch
Zurich Art Weekend

The evening continues from 7.30pm with DJ sets by Oz for Afterthoughts & Dance Backroom "Acts of Kindness".

Food and drinks will be available throughout the event.