Frankfurt / Main Speeches were silver, singing was gold at the concert for Fritz Rau on Saturday evening in Frankfurt. With many good words, and even more good music stars, companions and 2,500 attendees at the Alte Oper completely sold out the legendary concert promoter celebrated the occasion of his 80th Birthday.
The musical spectrum of the four-hour program reflected the diversity and openness Out back,
which was a hallmark of his 50 –
year track career as a concert promoter.
Besides high-class jazz and blues bands appeared successful artists such as Nana Mouskouri and Udo Lindenberg,
Peter Maffay and Howard Stern,
who were accompanied by the Frankfurt Radio Big Band.
All Artists Rau honored with a very personal song selection and heartfelt words. The concert organizers have understood it in a fast paced and often tough industry, combining commercial success with great humanity. Many of today’s top stars, who had built up together with his longtime partner Rau Horst Lippmann, spoke of the “Fritz Rau ‘family. She thanked him for the opportunities he had given young unknown artists, and did not shy away from great emotions. “We love you,” cried Maffay to the birthday boy.
Rau has invented legendary Show Festivals and innovative formats. With jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis, he has also written concert history as with rock and pop stars like Madonna, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton. Mouskouri said in a shaky voice: “I love you very much and you know that” ( “I love you very much and you know”).
Had begun entertaining evening, “with a” voyage through one hundred years jazz. Thus organizer Dieter Nentwig called the performances by The Jackson Singers, United Blues Experience with Rails son, Dr. Andrew Rau as a surprise guest on bass, the Barrelhouse Jazz Band and the Emil Mangelsdorff Quartet. The 84 – year-old Frankfurt saxophonist, who appeared as early as 1955, organized by Rau during the first concert in Heidelberg, tore Rau showed with his performance for the first time from the chair, the performances by Ulla Meinecke and Inga Rumpf, “Out fondness for” girl power.
“Love, perfection, creativity and cleverness” was Prof. Wolfgang Sandner, music editor and scientist, in his eulogy of the character traits of that would have made Rau to what he was: “At first Germany and then Europe’s largest concert promoter, and finally one of the major concert promoter in the world. “Sandner also emphasized the special humanity of the tycoons in the” shark tank “show business:” He’s never been even a shark. But he was as clever as a shark. ”
The much Dear, who had spent the evening like they did for his career in the slogan “I am not the star, but the musicians,” pursued the program visibly excited at the side of his partner from the audience. There was also chairman of the SPD Federal Minister Sigmar Gabriel. This agreed with the conclusion as everyone in the hall to a Moderator by Werner Reinke suggested “Happy Birthday”-a chorus.
