Music Pavilion | Christian Benning

The Fundació Mies van der Rohe, together with the Fundación Goethe, invite you to a new concert where percussion turns the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion into the Music Pavilion.

With Soundscapes. Rhythm and architecture the multi-percussionist Christian Benning, accompanied by ESMUC percussion students Iñigo Dúcar Marco and Manuel Kustermann, takes us to the game of the connection between sound and the space of the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion.

A selection of pulsating rhythms from a very wide spectrum of styles including from contemporary compositions by Robert Marino or Casey Cangelosi, to pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach or Isaac Albéniz.

Book your ticket here and come to vibrate with the Pavilion.
We are waiting for you!

Percussionist Christian Benning has prepared the concert for the Music Hall looking for musical references in the architecture of the Mies van der Rohe Hall. His interest in emphasizing the symbiosis between mathematics/architecture and music/percussion already led him, in 2022, to design the official birthday concerts of the composer and architect Iannis Xenakis, student and partner of Le Corbusier (at the Prinzregententheater in Munich, the Kraftwerk in Berlin, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris and the George Enescu Hall in Bucharest among others) and on this occasion presents a German-Catalan program that will transport us with the percussion to the premises that gave rise to the creation of the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion.

In the words of Christian Benning himself: “I would like to weave the undeniable historical significance of the pavilion into my performance to create a timeless connection between architecture and music. My aim would be to take the audience and listeners on a journey through history and the spirit of the 1929 pavilion through colors and sonic rhythms, especially considering that the history of percussion as a solo and chamber music instrument also began at this time.”

Íñigo Dúcar, born in Navarra in 1999, is a percussionist who studied the Professional Grade in Tarazona (Aragón) with Marina Quílez and Rubén García Sebastián and the Bachelor Grade of Music at ESMUC (Barcelona), where he was mentored by Lorenzo Ferrándiz, Miquel Bernat and Marc Aixa. He is currently continuing his training there, studying for a Master’s Degree in Performance. Dúcar has also trained in masterclasses and has worked with Conrado Moya, Luis Tabuenca, Alejandro Coello, Carlos Vera, Raymond Curfs and Sam Walton.

Dúcar’s experience spans many styles and fields. He has worked with the Jove Orquestra de Catalunya and is a regular collaborator with the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallés. He has given chamber music concerts at the Palau de la Música Catalana with the ensemble “Percussions de l’Esmuc” and has played as a soloist with Magnus Lindberg in his work “KRAFT”.

Manuel Kustermann, born in Kaufbeuren in 1996, received his first percussion lessons at the age of 6. After graduating from Jakob-Brucker-Gymnasium, he gained his first ground-breaking orchestral experience with the Bundeswehr Staff Music Corps in Berlin from 2015-2017.

Manuel Kustermann has been studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich since 2017, initially studying school music, which he successfully completed with the first state examination. He is currently studying timpani and classical percussion with Carlos Vera-Larrucea and Christian Wissel, as well as at the Escuela Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Barcelona with Lorenzo Ferrandiz, Marc Aixa and Miquel Bernat.

Since completing his studies, Manuel Kustermann has performed regularly as a substitute and guest artist with major orchestras and ensembles such as the Bulgarian State Opera in Sofia, the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, the Bavarian State Opera and the Bayreuth Festival. He has performed under renowned conductors of our time, including Donald Runnicles, Jonathan Nott and Peter Djikstra, as well as Vladimir Jurowski, Pablo Heras-Casado and Zubin Mehta.