Wien, Porgy & Bess (AT) - Das Blaue Klavier & Begin Again

Lia Pale
12. Juni
3 Min. Lesezeit

Aktualisiert: vor 1 Tag

The whole story of our Porgy concert actually started a couple of days before the show on Friday. On Monday, I got a shocking text message from mathias — a photo of him lying on the concrete… hurt, blood next to his head. The caption read: real or fake? Can you imagine? I instantly knew it wasn’t fake — not at all. When I finally got a hold of him, he was already at the hospital, getting stitched up and taken care of.

He couldn’t remember how he fell or what exactly had happened, but he seemed in good spirits (might’ve been the adrenaline pumping through his veins, though) and at this point thought - he’d still be able to play on Friday… But he looked pretty bad: a deep blue swollen eye, scratches on his arms, a badly bruised finger, a swollen palm, and more. Once he got home, it was clear — there was no way he could perform.

I was on a walk when we talked on the phone, and after we hung up, I needed a moment…

After the initial shock and worry — and also relief that he was okay and already recovering — I started thinking about what to do about the concert. We had all been looking forward to playing The Blue Piano again. But finding someone to learn those arrangements in just a couple of days was close to impossible. Still, canceling wasn’t an option. I knew we had to at least try to find a way. So I had an idea.

That same night, I called Georg Vogel and asked if he could possibly jump in and help out. He had to move some things around, but he said YES!

So, we decided to split the night into two sets:

Set 1 – as originally planned: The Blue Piano Originals, meaning mathias’ Kunstlieder, performed by the wonderful Sabina Hasanova on piano and baritone Benjamin Harasko.

Set 2 – my songs. Songs I’ve been writing, recording, and working on for quite a while. Learning The Blue Pianoarrangements in time would’ve been too much, but I thought: why not play some of my originals instead? Also just a week earlier, my EP Begin Again had come out, with five songs I’ve written over the past years.

It was crazy — but it also made so much sense. Playing my own songs at Porgy was not a small thing for me, having performed there as an interpreter for more than a decade. 😊

We had one rehearsal — a tight 90 minutes on Wednesday morning — to play through the songs from Begin Again. And we did it! Georg and Hans saw my music for the very first time that morning. Ingridi had already played my songs once in Dübendorf and was an incredible support through her playing & being. Stano got to know the tunes during soundcheck 😅… Can you imagine?

Thank you Georg, Hans, Ingrid, and Stano – you were incredible. The way you showed up and navigated all the last-minute changes throughout the week means a lot to me… and to mathias.

And here come the thank yous 💙: Sabina and Benjamin, thank you for your beautiful first set - bringing mathias’ Kunstlieder to life so vividly — giving space to depth and silence. Thank you to the wonderful audience at Porgy, who was with us from the very beginning — open ears, open hearts, supporting us all the way. Thank you to Christoph and the whole Porgy & Bess team. And to our favorite sound guy, Thomas Egger, who is always ready for everything and anything.

I was super nervous, but also super excited. Playing my songs felt… different and new, literally like beginning again. 😊 My mom, best friends, and dear friends were there, showing their support — and I’m truly grateful I got to share this adventurous night with all of you.

Some of the songs like Canvas, My Loneliest Birthday, or Something Got Lost (Along the Way) really started to breathe and take shape in the presence of everyone in the room… I’m still figuring out how to record these songs for the album (coming in fall), but it felt right to play them live at Porgy — to listen, explore, and let myself discover how they could sound...

mathias was watching the whole time via livestream — thinking of us, being with us. He loved it, and we greeted him more than once from the stage! By now, mathias is as good as new, and we’re heading off to Jazzfestival Ascona next.

It’s crazy how things can shift so fast. His fall led to my last-minute release concert — to a beginning, again.

Thank you, Porgy

Yours, Julia