Philipp Maria Rosenberg , Florian Kolb (b) and Lucas Johnson (dr)  

They base their album on the box office hits of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Stripping away the pieces' guise, adapted to the post-war entertainment bands and Schlagerparade evenings, one discovers true gems that, taken as a whole, form a European counterpart to the Great American Songbook. Rotwelsch thus shakes off the baggage of the ideal world productions that were Aryanized in the Third Reich and idyllicized in the post-war period, unleashing these essentially lean melodies that unfold with dramatic mastery.

"The world has always rewarded the most brilliant endeavors so miserably! Whoever has had bad luck in life will finally learn history." In Carl Millöcker's successful operetta "The Beggar Student" (1882), as in many other operettas, beneath the somewhat outdated language lie an underdog mentality, biting satire, great emotions, and above all – wonderful melodies.

Rotwelsch aims to bring the melodies of operetta and veristic opera into the here and now with the same subtlety, finesse, and integrity that Keith Jarrett's trio displays in its appropriation of the Great American Songbook. A particular challenge is to transfer the melodic arches that once spurred stars like Richard Tauber, Fritz Wunderlich, and Callas to peak performances to the piano hammers and make the strings sing. Through sophisticated harmonization, the melodies take on new colors and serve as an ideal foundation for improvisational practice. At times, the pieces bathe in emotional, warm, beautiful sound; at others, they celebrate the swing inherent in many of the livelier couplets. Bass and drums allow plenty of room for the melodies to unfold, contributing to the pared-down atmosphere and focusing on the full-bodied, clear sound.