Glänzend

»The most silent time of the year« – in former times, that described the weeks of Advent. Today, the opposite is true: noise, restlessness and consumerist pressure drive up stress levels before Christmas. What to do about this? Obviously, get away from it all – if only for two hours! Cologne’s Philharmonie is always a good destination for small and large escapes, and the Gürzenich Orchestra’s Brass Ensemble is an expert at transforming a hectic season into gold-gleaming Yuletide joy. Festive music by Giovanni Gabrieli and Johann Sebastian Bach rarely misses its mark. Perhaps the inner hamster wheel will turn a bit slower after this concert on the first Advent Sunday. Now wouldn’t that be a wonderful pre-Christmas gift?