Press reviews of the saxophone concert

“Leonard Küßner has poured this into three tonal episodes in the spirit of Romantic-influenced program music, without ignoring the dynamic power of modern sound creations. Drama, orchestral fullness and power, rhythmic eruptions and touching nuances, sounds full of confidence: the saxophone of the soloist, who also comes from Offenburg, is at the center of the action, creating soft soundscapes in opposition to the powerfully trumpeting orchestra and producing double tones with vocals and instrument. The 25-minute work was convincing without losing sight of Küßner‘s musical roots, film music.”

(Jürgen Haberer, Mittelbadische Presse)

“It is a great sign that children are the first to hear the work. And this despite the fact that it is anything but children‘s music and doesn‘t want to be. But the feelings that such music triggers can be understood at any age. And the message that great symphony orchestras do not always have to play only works by composers who died a long time ago cannot be proclaimed loudly enough on the classical music scene. […] The thirty-year-old clearly feels a connection to late Romanticism, the big emotions, the beautiful melancholy of the harmonies, the warmth of the musical gestures roar over the audience right from the start. The Philharmonie am Forum under the direction of Rolf Schilli is audibly at ease with this work, which not only seems to be tailor-made for soloist Hannah Koob, but also for the orchestra.”

(Juliana Eiland-Jung, Badische Zeitung)

“Young audiences already know him from the children’s channel Kika, the dynamic presenter Juri Tetzlaff. He is a reporter and presenter for the programs “Trickboxx”, “Baumhaus” and “Mit-Mach-Mühle” – and now he was actually live on stage in front of the children. He didn’t bring the tree house or the usual treasure chest, but he did bring a real, much bigger treasure: Leonard Küßner, a genuine Gengenbach film music composer with his piece “Zeitenwende”, which was premiered that morning by the Philharmonie am Forum orchestra under conductor Rolf Schilli. […] Zeitenwende” was more than just a concert – it was an interactive experience and “great cinema” in the truest sense of the word. Leonard Küßner’s music was designed in such a way that it was both easily accessible and challenging enough to capture the children’s imagination. Küßner thanked Tetzlaff for his moderation with … a garland consisting of pennants with excerpts from the score, which was proudly presented on stage by selected young listeners during the final applause.=

(Natali Bergen, Mittelbadische Presse)