Eran Zur feat. Geva Alon, Sivan Shavit. Opening Acts: Hamuchtar & Avshalom Caspi | Shaul Bustan Trio
Eran Zur: Kreuzberg Sonata
Radialsystem Halle
ERAN ZUR: Kreuzberg Sonata’ feat. Sivan Shavit und Geva Alon
The Israeli rock star Eran Zur is on stage in Germany for the first time! In an exciting exchange of poetry and music, he and his companions risk an up-to-date look at Tolstoy’s Kreutzer Sonata.
In Kreuzberg Sonata Israeli rock star Eran Zur will lead the audience on a journey, highlighting some past and present stations in his career, including his work with folk-indie star Geva Alon, with THE female voice of the Israeli alternative Rock scene, Sivan Shavit, and the music of his band which brought him to fame in Israel, “Carmela Gross Wagner.”
In his distinctive narrative style, Eran Zur will also recite passages from Tolstoy’s Kreutzer Sonata, which was first translated into Hebrew and published as early as 1916, soon after Tolstoy’s death – in Pinsk, now Belarus. At that time Tolstoy’s oeuvre enjoyed great popularity among Eastern European Jews, who were also known for their spectacular Shavuot celebrations which included a great deal of singing and recitation. In turn, Kreuzberg Sonata will now juxtapose Zur’s recitations with the emotionally intense music of Leoš Janáček, whose modernist composition is likewise inspired by the Tolstoy novel.
Eran Zur is known for testing limits in his work. His poetry and music both embrace the obvious and explicit as well as the enigmatic and obscure. It is hard to label his lyrics: Is it songwriting? Is it poetry? In his concerts, Eran often switches to recitation: His idiosyncratic style of speech, a trademark for which he is perhaps best known, has a rich emotional palette. At times it is tender and sensual, but it can also become vulgar.
For the ID Festival 2022 he will now give the Berlin audience a taste of it for the first time. But before that, the Shaul Bustan Trio and the singer-songwriter Hamuchtar will deliver a sweaty entrée between classical avant-garde, world music, jazz, song recital and free improvisation.
Eran Zur: Bass and Vocals
Amir Zoref: Guitar
Avshalom Caspi: Keyboards
Chris Fahr: Drums
Geva Alon: Guitar and Vocals
Hila Karni: Cello
Lir Vaginsky: Violin
Ohad Ben-Ari: Piano
Sivan Shavit: Vocals

Opening Acts: Shaul Bustan Trio & Hamuchtar with Avshalom Caspi
Shaul Bustan Trio
A mixture of Israeli music from the desert with European sounds, Shaul Bustan Trios combines past and future, pain and joy of life, Orient and Occident. The Israeli oud and double bass player Shaul Bustan, who lives in Schleswig-Holstein, was born in a small kibbutz in the Negev desert. He was able to find inspiration in his family history: his great-grandfathers, originally from Romania and Iran, both came from families of musicians. Together with Julia Czerniawska (violin) and Lillia Keyes (cello) he formed the Shaul Bustan Trio. For the ID Festival, the three have put together a mix between classical avant-garde, world music, jazz and free improvisation.
Shaul Bustan: Oud and Double-bass
Julia Czerniawska: Violin
Lillia Keyes: Cello

Hamuchtar & Avshalom Caspi
A phenomenon within the Israeli theater and music scene since the early 90s, Hamuchtar’s performance blends poetry and decadence, combining cabaret with Yemeni, Middle Eastern and electronic musical styles. He has released more than a dozen music albums and has numerous film and theater works to his credit as a writer, director and performer. With his deep bass voice and theatrical delivery, Hamuchtar will perform a selection of his Hebrew, English and German numbers. He will be accompanied at the piano by Avshalom Caspi, a Berlin based award-winning Israeli film composer.
Hamuchtar (Gilad Philip Ben-David): Performance
Avshalom Caspi: Piano


Amir Zoref

Avshalom Caspi

Chris Farr

Eran Zur

Geva Alon

Hamuchtar

Hila Karni

Julia Czerniawska

Lir Vaginsky

Lillia Keyes

Ohad Ben-Ari

Shaul Bustan

Sivan Shavit
biographies
Amir Zoref is a highly established musician, guitar player, music producer and a composer of many beautiful songs that were embraced by the Israeli audience and radio. He is a music producer of around 30 Israeli Albums and worked with musicians like: Shalom Chanoch, Yehudit Ravitz, Evyatar Banai, Knesiat hasechel, Girafot and more. Amir Zoref is Sivan Shavit’s partner in life and in music, both wrote all songs of shavit, and Zoref is the music producer and co arranger of all of shavit’s songs.
Avshalom Caspi is a composer based in London and Berlin. Trained at the Royal College of Music, he composes for orchestral ensembles, voices and electronics. His music has been featured in over 40 film, TV and theater projects – i. e. by Pedro Almodóvar, Anne Lister or Ian Brown – and is winner of Best Score at the Shanghai International Film Festival 2012 and Goya Nominee 2012. Caspi has also collaborated with bands such as Snow Patrol, Doves and Bloc Party on orchestral and choral arrangements for both recording and live projects. More info here.
American born Chris Farr, who currently resides in Berlin, Germany, made the transatlantic move after 7 years in the NYC music scene. A graduate of Berklee College of Music (’99-’02), Farr was given a scholarship to the college and was asked to play the Commencement concert in ’02 honoring Shirley Horn and David Foster. He had the privilege of studying with drum greats Dave Dicenso, Kenwood Dennard, Jonathan Joseph, and Jackie Santos. Farr has performed throughout the U.S., U.K. and Europe as both a headliner and support act with artists such as Hiromi, Albert Lee, Johnny A, Jon Faddis, Oli Rockberger, James Burton, Emma Elisabeth, Kinbom and Keßner, Sophie Auster and the Moka Efti Orchestra.
Israeli singer, composer and writer Eran Zur was born in Haifa in 1965 and has been active in the Israeli rock music scene since the 1980s. He was a member of the bands Tattoo and Carmela, Gross, Wagner before embarking on a successful solo career. Zur has released about a dozen studio albums, six of them as a solo artist. He has also published two novels and composed music for film and theater. Eran Zur has received numerous awards for his achievements, including the 2011 Hebrew Poetry Prize and the Meir Ariel Prize for Creativity in the Hebrew Language, awarded to Eran Zur by the Israeli Prime Minister in 2013. Zur lives in Tel Aviv and is a faculty member at the Rimon School of Music. More info here.
Israeli folk/rock singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso Geva Alon is one of the most influential musicians in Israel today. Alon is considered as one of the best guitarists of all times in Israel, a mesmerizing vocalist and a unique songwriter that arouses great anticipation and excitement with every new project or release that he takes part in. Since 2006 Alon recorded and released seven albums and one EP, toured Israel, Europe, and the USA constantly, collaborated with prime artists and received outstanding reviews both for his breathtaking live performances as well as his entire discography.
Hamuchtar aka Gilad Philip Ben-David is a singer and cabaret artist who began his career in Tel Aviv in the late 1980s. He has also appeared in various films, most notably “Amazing Grace” by the late director Amos Guttman. He has released more than a dozen music albums and has numerous film and theater works to his credit as a writer, director and performer. His musical style incorporates cabaret, mizrahi music, Yemenite music and electronica.
Hila Karni, born in Tel Aviv, has toured Europe, Canada and the United States as a cellist from the age of 13. She studied with Zvi Harel, Uzi Wiesel, David Geringas and the legendary Bernard Greenhouse. Together with violinist Daniel Bard and pianist Ohad Ben-Ari, she founded the successful Trio Mondrian in 2006, which won numerous prizes, including 1st prize at the International Chamber Music Competition in Trieste. Hila has been a member of Trio Lirico since 2021. Hila Karni’s recordings with the Hamburg Camerata and the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg have received enthusiastic critical reviews. In 2015, at the suggestion of her daughter Lir Vaginsky, she established the successful chamber music series “Prelude Concerts” in Berlin, which offers young talents the opportunity to perform with professional musicians
Julia Czerniawska grew up in a family of musicians and began playing the violin at the age of six. After completing her violin studies in Poland and Austria (Mozarteum University Salzburg), she performed with various European orchestras and smaller ensembles. Already during her classical education, she discovered her fascination for jazz and improvised music. By playing in various bands and studying jazz with Didier Lockwood in Paris, she developed her musical freedom and joy in exploring different musical styles.
Israeli violinist Lir Vaginsky has performed worldwide and is a regular guest soloist of renowned festivals and orchestras. Highlights of past seasons feature solo performances in the Laeiszhalle, Elbphilharmonie, Berliner Philharmonie and more. Recently, she performed alongside Max Richter at the Konzerthaus Berlin. As a member of the LGT Young Soloists, Lir recorded as soloist two CD’s under the label RCA Red Seal Sony. She is a laureate of the Ysaye, Young Paganini” and Grand Prize Virtuoso International Competition. Lir currently plays on a violin by G.B. Guadagnini from 1745, kindly loaned through the Beare’s International Violin Society. More info here.
Lillia Keyes was born in Poughkeepsie, NY, USA. After completing her junior studies in cello performance under Ardyth Alton and Fred Sherry at the Juilliard School in New York, she studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Prof. Stephen Geber. Following her bachelor’s degree, she was accepted into the Orchestra Academy of the Staatskapelle Berlin under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. She successfully completed her master studies at the Berlin University of the Arts with Prof. Markus Nyikos. She performs as a guest with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Staatskapelle Berlin and Ensemble United Berlin. Lillia is a founding member of ‘she plays cello’ and ‘Duo Nuage’.
Israeli-born pianist and composer Ohad Ben-Ari is the artistic director of ID Festival, which he founded in 2015. Trained as a classical musician, Ohad’s career has taken surprising twists and turns leading to diverse collaborations, from Kanye West to Sir Simon Rattle. Today, Ohad lives with his family in Berlin, where he regularly teams up as a pianist with Guy Braunstein, Avi Avital, Noah Bendix-Balgley and Emmanuel Pahud, among many others. Ben-Ari’s compositions and arrangements are performed around the globe. His most recent work, the song cycle “Paterson” written for mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, will have its premiere with the Georgian Chamber Orchestra in Ingolstadt next season. More info here.
Israeli composer, double bass and oud player Shaul Bustan was born in 1983 in the south of Israel. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Composition from the Jerusalem Academy of Music in 2009. He wrote over 400 compositions throughout his career: from opera to chamber and orchestral music to melodies for film and theater. Shaul Bustan has been living in Germany since 2011. In addition to his work as a composer, he directs several choirs and performs with his trio throughout Germany.
Sivan Shavit is an Israeli singer-songwriter, based in Berlin. Shavit began her career in Tel Aviv in the 1990s and quickly gained recognition for her unique “Melancholic Indie Pop” melodies and cinematic lyrics. Her songs were also enthusiastically received by the radio and are still broadcast daily. They seem to capture something classic that stands the test of time. Shavit composed all her songs together with her life and music partner Amir Zoref, and collaborated with some of Israel’s greatest musicians, such as Yehudit Ravitz, Nurit Galron, Eviatar Banai and Assaf Amdursky.
Sun 5 June 19:00 PREMIER
Category
Concert – Israeli Rock / Alternative Rock / Indie Folk / Classical Modernism
Venue
Radialsystem Halle
Tickets
ERAN ZUR: KREUZBERG SONATA 26 | 20 €
COMBO TICKET EVENING PROGRAM 38 | 28 €
Length
2,5 hours
Language
English & Hebrew