Legendary music collection in Bern accessible again
The collection of musical instruments originally housed in Zimmerwald by wind music specialist Karl Burri is once again accessible as the "Sounding Collection" in the center of Bern. The Center for Historical Musical Instruments opens on 21 January with the newly conceived exhibition "C'est le vent qui fait la musique".
Well over a thousand instruments from the important and internationally acclaimed Burri Collection have moved to Kramgasse. A small selection of them - supplemented by other objects - can be seen in the exhibition, which was conceived by musicologist Adrian v. Steiger, head of the collection. Scenographer Martin Birrer is responsible for the design.
Visitors can play twenty instruments themselves, from the Viking lute to the taragot, and they can also listen to the groups of instruments on display in videos on iPads. Six musical ensembles are presented, from "Turkish music", brass music from around 1800, to the instruments for Berlioz' Symphonie fantastique and cyclist music.
After the open day on January 21, the exhibition will be open from Wednesday to Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. Guided tours and workshops are also available to visit the display collection in the basement, where the instruments and their history can be experienced vividly and sonically.
In addition to providing information, the collection is committed to preserving, expanding and researching this important collection. It also makes restored instruments available to specialists for historical performance practice projects, for example to the Bern University of the Arts Orchestra for a workshop performance of Stravinsky's "Sacre du printemps" in February 2017.
More info: sounding-collection.ch
