Bach, Händel, Duplessy, Henze & Morricone
The guitar duo Kassung & Marziali was formed in 2009 as part of the Cologne Classical Ensemble, with the aim of presenting exceptional, cross-genre programmes for two guitars. Their album “Il Cinema” was named Album of the Year by the specialist magazine "Akustikgitarre". Through numerous concerts, the duo has since established itself as a real hidden gem on the international guitar scene.
The duo last performed in Cologne in 2023 – also as part of our series, in the final concert to be held in the Kunstverein’s hall. It will therefore be all the more wonderful to experience this exceptional guitar duo in the superb acoustics of the Humboldt-Saal. Tobias Kassung and Luciano Marziali have put together a programme that is sure to set the hearts of classical music and guitar aficionados racing: opening with Renaissance dance pieces by John Dowland, the guitar duo will perform two of the monumental counterpoint pieces from Johann Sebastian Bach’s "The Art of Fugue".
This is followed by Tobias Kassung’s rousing original composition – the title track of their award-winning album "Il Cinema". The programme also features a wonderful piece by the French composer Mathias Duplessy, in which the guitar duo can showcase the full range of their virtuosity, as they do in Handel’s Suite HWV 432 with its famous final movement, the "Passacaglia".
As part of the #henze2026 programme, the duo will also perform Hans-Werner Henze’s three "Minette" – a key work from his extensive oeuvre for the classical concert guitar, but his only composition for a guitar duo.
And a rousing finale is guaranteed with the duo’s brilliant arrangements of classic film scores.
Programme:
John Dowland (1563–1626)
(Arr.: Luciano Marziali)
Mrs. Nichols Almand
My Lord Willoughbys Welcome Home
My Lord Chamberlain, His Galliard
Mathias Duplessy (b. 1972)
La Danse des Sentiments
Hans Werner Henze (1926–2012)
Minette – canti e rimpianti amorosi (1998)
1. Canzona felina e campagnola
2. Minuetto di Minette
3. Chanson d’Adieu
Tobias Kassung (b. 1977)
Il Cinema – Suite for two guitars, Op. 10
(Homage to Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco)
- Interval -
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
(Arr.: Luciano Marziali)
The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080, Contrapunctus I & III
Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759)
(Arr.: Luciano Marziali)
from the Seventh Suite in G minor, HWV 432
Allegro – Andante – Passacaglia
Ennio Morricone (1928–2020)
(Arr.: Tobias Kassung / Luciano Marziali)
1. Cinema Paradiso
2. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
