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This page is about the shows Rainer currently has in his repertoire. To book Rainer click here
All Classical Music Explained
ACME has been turned into two series for the BBC. Excerpts from the show are also available on CD. This is a comedy show with an edge for audiences of all ages and is intended for anyone who enjoys music of whatever kind. ACME has appeared at:Edinburgh Festival, Purcell Room (South Bank, London), Henley Festival, Perth Festival (Scotland), Belfast Festival, Wexford Opera Festival (Republic of Ireland), Adelaide Festival (Australia), Grahamstown Festival (South Africa), Edmonton Festival (Canada), Comed'in Festival (Lisbon), Felicja Blumental Festival (Israel) and many others. Press:"A brilliant touch of comic madness" Time Out, London "Not Since Victor Borge has a music-comic raised the roof with such continuous laughter" The Post, South Africa "This swift and very funny hour is the perfect prelude to a night at the concert hall - or an evening in the pub" The Scotsman, Edinburgh Festival Length:Variable. Anything from 20 minutes to 90 minutes plus interval. On Stage:
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Rainer Hersch's Victor Borge
On stage, Rainer plays the role of both Borge and himself as he tells the stories of both men with charm and wit. This intriguing production was a total sellout at the Assembly Rooms in the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe Festival under the title Borge Again! In a full two-act version, he is also joined by a pianist for an hilarious duet rendition of the Liszt 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody. RAINER HERSCH'S VICTOR BORGE HAS APPEARED AT: Edinburgh Festival, The Venue Theatre (London), Perth Festival (Scotland), Chichester Festivities, Buxton Opera House, Montreal Festival, Winnipeg Festival. Also at arts centres and theatres across Britain. Press:"It's hard to imagine that if the great Victor Borge himself had taken the stage, he would be more entertaining that Rainer Hersch's tear-streamingly funny tribute" Scotsman "Victor Borge for a new generation" The Sunday Times "Two great comics for the price of one. 5 Stars" Edinburgh Metro Length:In one act: Total playing time 75 ". In two acts: Total playing time 1'35" (first half 50", second half 45"). On Stage:
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Rainer Hersch with Orchestra
"We engaged Rainer Hersch and his classical comedy show, “All Classical Music Explained” this season, and could not have been happier with the reception. The audience was hugely entertained, engaged and happy from start to finish, and the orchestra had a lot of fun too. It is a hilarious, clever show, and Rainer is a terrific comic – I’d recommend this presentation to any orchestra looking for a ‘can’t miss’ comedic Pops presentation." [James Sommerville, Music Director, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (Nov 2009)] The concept is a performance which integrates stand-up comedy and witty musical arrangements into a polished classical concert. This is an easily marketable item in your season which allows an orchestra to show that they are not only excellent musicians but that they’ve also got a sense of humour. It also attracts a big audience – including families and first-time concert goers; expands the orchestra’s repertoire and draws a great deal of press attention: "A classical concert conducted by a stand-up comedian - now that is new" The Ealing Times. Rainer now has three programmes in his repertoire, details below. All use a soprano soloist in the second half. Here are some extracts from recent performances (YouTube, except where indicated): The Orchestra - Who Sits Where? A combination clip: With Alfred Brendel: Rainer with orchestra - long extract. for further video extracts, please go to the funny page. Programme 1 for full orchestra: "Classical Music Unexplained"FIRST HALF Rossini/Hersch: William Tell overture SECOND HALF Strauss I/Hersch: Radetzky March ENCORES Bizet: Adagietto (strings only) Length (2 hours approx - shorter if required). All the music for the arrangements is provided by Rainer. To view a full DVD of this programme, please use the contacts page. Programme 2 for full orchestra: "At Last! The 1977 New Year's Day Concert"FIRST HALF Johann Strauss II: Fledermaus Overture SECOND HALF Johann Strauss II/Hersch: Perpetuum Mobile ENCORES Herbert: Art is calling Me Length (2 hours approx - shorter if required). All the music for the arrangements is provided by Rainer. To view a full DVD of this programme, please use the contacts page. Programme 3 for full orchestra: "The last night of the proms...ever "FIRST HALF Hersch: Fanfare SECOND HALF Grainger: Handel in the Strand ENCORE Parry: Jerusalem Length (2 hours approx - shorter if required). All the music for the arrangements is provided by Rainer. Press :"Gerard Hoffnung meets Victor Borge with some cheeky stand-up humour thrown in for good measure" The London Times "English stand-up comic/conductor Rainer Hersch had them rolling in the aisles at the Cohn Friday night for his Last Night At The Proms . . . Ever pops concert with Symphony Nova Scotia" The Chronicle Herald, Halifax "Hersch accomplished the near impossible: making a classical symphony concert the coolest - and funkiest - show in town" Winnipeg Free Press "Monty Python meets stand-up comedy via Vivaldi. Hilarious" Leicester Mercury "Hersch has presented a fair number of comedy programmes on the radio, but you really have to see him live to appreciate how skillfully he can weave together music and mirth. And the beauty of it is that you don't have to know your Bach from your Elgar to appreciate the punchlines..." Evening Standard Comedy Choice Rainer has appeared as a guest with:Basel Kammerorchester The Rainer Hersch PhilharmonicRainer's own orchestra, 'The Rainer Hersch Philharmonic', continues to appear with great success at concert venues around the world inluding The Edinburgh Festival, the South Bank, London, Grahamstown Festival (South Africa) and on tour across Europe. His reduced, 8-piece orchestra is enormously popular as a funny, classy act at corporate functiongs where a highlight of the evening is the famous conducting competition in which members of the audience have the chance to risk their professional reputation in front of the orchestra themselves. For more information about how to book the RHP for your event, consult the corporate page. Length (RAINER HERSCH PHILHARMONIC):Variable. Anything from 20 minutes to 2 hours including interval. On Stage (RHP):
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Organtastic!
Rainer takes the role as spokesperson for The Organisation for Organ Havoc (O.O.H), not to be confused with their arch rivals the Association for Artistic Harmony (A.A.H). O.O.H.'s declared aim is to 'smash up all the organs of the world and use the bits for something else' as made clear by their motto 'Si in Nuto Smash is Sursum' or 'If in doubt, Smash it up'. “O.O.H. believe that smashing up the organ will make a lot of space and save money'. Says Rainer: 'the pipes alone have got enough metal in them to make 418 cars, 8682 scooters or 48,263,820 metal bits off pencils' Does anyone care enough to save the organ? Certainly the organ's residents, organ mice, hope so. But if there is one thing O.O.H. hate more than organs its little furry animals... Organtastic was commissioned by Bridgewater Hall in Manchester as part of their Organ Outreach Programme and is performed with organist Daniel Moult Length:1 hour On Stage:
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Mozart: Ze Komplete Hystery
In this brand new incarnation Mozart is joined on stage by a couple of his most ardent admirers – two sopranos who charm Mozart and the audience with songs of celebration and commiseration as our hero takes on the worlds experts who have analysed everything from his handwriting to how many times he used the word ‘bottom’. This is a show with a guaranteed laugh every four bars: Mozart the piano virtuoso; Mozart the stand-up comedian; Mozart the Blind Date contestant – its all here and more. Mozart’s Back premiered at:Edinburgh Festival 2006. It also appeared at Canford Summer School and HPP's Festival of Comedy Press:“The show inventively re-writes everything you knew about Mozart, with a flair which leaves your face aching from laugher…" Three Weeks, Edinburgh" "Mozart’s Back is a production of real quality and style sustained all the way through" One4review, Edinburgh “This is a witty and skilful homage to Mozart's amazing life and work, with ironic sideswipes at the Mozart heritage industry. The show has Hersch's trademark combination of sharp script, virtuoso musicianship and gentle humour.” Edfringe.com Length:65 minutes
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All Classical Music Explained (ACME) is a stand-up comedy show with a difference. Rainer Hersch - is a a multi-talented comedian and musician who is equally at home closing the show at the famous Comedy Store in London or conducting the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. With All Classical Music Explained he turns his comic skills on those awkward questions: "Why is organ music so boring?"; "How can I play a musical instrument without practising?"; "What do conductors actually do?". From playing the recorder to Grand Opera - it's all here plus piano playing like you have never heard.
Victor Borge was a brilliant pianist, virtuoso comedian and, at one point, the highest paid entertainer in the world. In Rainer Hersch’s Victor Borge the Great Dane’s hilarious act has been lovingly re-imagined for the 21st century by his natural successor, Rainer Hersch.
Rainer has fallen victim to the megalomania for which the concert hall is noted - he has become a conductor. Initially, this love affair with the baton was restricted to his own madcap orchestra which he still conducts and leads in his corruptions of the classics. The success of these concerts resulted in invitations to appear as guest conductor of other orchestras looking for a new audience and a very different, very funny programme. Whether you know anything about classical music or not makes no difference - maestro Rainer Hersch will lead your audience through a programme of truly classic comedy.
An hour show about the organ for children aged 8 and above asks the question 'To smash or not to smash?'
(Previously called 'Mozart's Back'). After 250 years, a hilarious Wolfgang Amadeus is back from the dead. Yes, the genius of Salzburg returns with the truth about his life and death and to ask ‘what happened to all the royalties?’ | Copyright ©2009 Rainer Hersch. Comedian and Classical Musician from Britain. rainer-info@thecomedy.biz |