Tanz ins Glück

With dance music from four countries, the Chur Orchestra invites you to a special listening pleasure - and the rare feast for the eyes of a dulcimer in the middle of an orchestra - on Friday, October 3 in the Heiligkreuzkirche:

The dulcimer is a well-known, integral part of folk dance music. In the Concerto for dulcimer and string orchestra by the Swiss composer Paul Huber, this old tradition of virtuoso or gallant dulcimer playing of the 18th century mixes with the folksy tone: "In my concert, I tried to free the instrument from its attachment to folk music and to use it as a fully valid solo instrument." Christoph Pfändler will interpret Huber's concert.

This concert, created in 1993, will be framed by three well-known composers:
From Johannes Brahms' popular Hungarian dances, the lively Dance No. 5 can be heard, which exudes exuberant joie de vivre.
Gabriel Fauré's melancholic Pavane op. 50, which is reminiscent of the slow Spanish court dance. The work was included in the repertoire of the legendary "Ballets Russes" by the famous Russian ballet pressario Sergei Diaghilev. The Czech Suite op. 39 by Antonín Dvorak concludes this concert with its five movements in different dance styles, with polka, minuet, a romance and a brilliant finale.

Christoph Pfändler
Christoph Pfändler had Töbi Tobler as his dulcimer teacher from the beginning, which proved to be an absolute stroke of luck. He let Pfändler do what he wanted in both traditional and unconventional ways and supported his broad interest in music from metal to new music. This led Pfändler to study music at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, completing his bachelor's degree with a focus on folk music in 2013 and his master's degree in music education with a minor in composition in 2015. Since 2013, Pfändler has been playing in the band of the dialect singer "Kunz". In addition to his own CDs with the "Metal Kapelle", he released the free improv record "TOPF 1" with Töbi Tobler and the album "Roots" with "Stalldrang", with which Pfändler found his way back to his folk music roots. The solo album "Stimmig" followed in 2024. He is a sought-after soloist for various orchestral works.
Christoph Pfändler is a lecturer for dulcimer at the HSLU and dulcimer teacher at the Zug Music School. Since 2022, he has been studying for a master's degree in composition with Dieter Ammann.