“Popcorn Symphony” – 9th Philharmonic Concert

In this »Popcorn Symphonie«, we play film music from cinema hits such as Superman, Barbie, Gran Torino, The Piano, Elevator to the Gallows, Zorba the Greek, and Jaws, transforming the Frankfurt exhibition hall into a cinema.

Our audience will hear how Superman heroically saves the day and defeats evil, and how the sound of a piano becomes the expressive voice of a mute woman. We will transport you musically into the surreal artificial world of Greta Gerwing’s 2023 film Barbie. This metaphor for equality and diversity has won over 90 film awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song, written by Billie Eilish.

We revisit the classic film Zorba the Greek, in which the Sirtaki dance features prominently. We play music from Clint Eastwood’s film Gran Torino – a biting, partly melancholic, partly bitterly sarcastic drama about a war veteran and Ford worker and the question of what exactly is quintessentially American. The captivating music was composed by Eastwood’s son Kyle, among others.

Film music specialist Bernd Ruf will conduct this concert. He is one of the pioneers in the fusion of symphonic, pop, rock and jazz music. He will be joined on stage by his son Ilja. The pianist, singer, clarinettist and composer has won top prizes in both classical and jazz competitions.