For all those who have the Jazzfestival Saalfelden as a fixed date in their calendar, we would like to awaken the anticipation and excitement for unforgettable musical moments with this short interview about our Artist in Residence:
He is a mechanical engineer, musician, composer and sound researcher: Chris Janka. Even at a young age, he was able to identify a large number of the car brands that were popular in the past by the sound of their engines, and by picking up a guitar, he built the bridge between sound and music that is so characteristic of his work today. In Saalfelden, he will be presenting his MIDI Orchestra as an independent interpretation and improvisation system as well as the new record “Lutebulb” by his trio “Blueblut” and paying homage to the pioneer of electronic music, Wendy Carlos, with his converted guitar in a solo act. You can read the whole interview here.
The commission work by Iranian artist Mona Matbou Riahi is no less eagerly awaited. Traditionally scheduled as the opening concert of the Mainstage on Friday evening, she will transform the Congress in Saalfelden into a “atmospheric, experimental, dreamy” sound(ing) space with the premiere of her project “Nebulift”.
We are delighted to present our great flash mob artist: Yvonne Moriel has just been accepted into the “New Austrian Sound Of Music 2025/2026” funding program by a jury of experts consisting of organizers, journalists and university professors for her solo project “sweet life”, founded in 2022. What began with an album as a starting point is constantly evolving with free improvisation surfaces, trance-like grooves and avant-garde sound paintings - almost a perfect basis for transforming the town of Saalfelden into a creative playground with the flash mobs.
Another type of musical “playground” will be the hermitage on the “Palfen” in Saalfelden for the first time during this year's Jazzfestival. As early as the 16th century, people made pilgrimages to this rocky cave at an altitude of over 1000m, which was taken as an opportunity by members of the Order of St. Francis to build a hermitage there, above Lichtenberg Castle, in the mid-17th century. Still inhabited today as a place of contemplation by a hermit, the trombonist Alois Eberl and the trumpeter Martin Eberle - both well known to connoisseurs of our festival - invite you to a “brass-blown devotion” at heights on Friday, August 23.
