Founded in 1986 by the charismatic baritone Max Raabe, Max Raabe & Palast Orchester embodies the high style and musical glory of the 20's and 30's and has been heard by adoring audiences in the United States, Shanghai, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Tokyo, Vienna, Amsterdam, Rome and Tel Aviv, performing over 100 concerts a year.
Max Raabe captures this timeless music with debonair charm and wit. A singer of incredible range, he has a singular ability to capture the cunning rasp of the cabaret singer, the confident belcanto hero, the oily melodiousness of the revue beau, the carefree timbre of early jazz, as well as the falsetto of ragtime, all backed by his stellar 12-member band, many of whom have been with him from the beginning. Max Raabe's art lies in revealing the enigmatic intelligence, ambiguity, musical power and complexity of the "German chansons" from the turbulent Weimar Republic. In his amazing performances he keenly reminds us that between melancholy and irony, rebellion and resignation, elegy and slapstick there is often only half a measure, sometimes just a single note, or a mere word.
Over the years Max Raabe & Palast Orchester have discovered that one of the secrets of a good show is diversity. Accordingly, their vast repertoire includes classics like "I Kiss Your Hand Madame", "My Little Green Kaktus" and "Heute Nacht oder nie" ("Tonight Or Never") or from the American Songbook "Cheek To Cheek", "Night And Day" and "I Got Rhythm", as well as Rumbas ("Amapola"), Paso Dobles ("Rosa, Charming Rosa".. I fell in love ´cause she looked so cute, last summer in her bathing suit"), rare gems ("My Gorilla Has A Villa In A Zoo"), charming gems ("Love Thy Neighbour") and silly gems ("Dort tanzt Lulu" ("Lulu is dancing too! Ahaha, uhuhu")). Listeners may find themselves dreaming to a romantic melody such as "Leben ohne Liebe kannst du nicht" ("You can´t live without love"), or wooed by Max's wry commentary between songs, or relaxing to a Comedian Harmonists adaption or a beautiful violin solo ... read full bio
Founded in 1986 by the charismatic baritone Max Raabe, Max Raabe & Palast Orchester embodies the high style and musical glory of the 20's and 30's and has been heard by adoring audiences in the United States, Shanghai, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Tokyo, Vienna, Amsterdam, Rome and Tel Aviv, performing over 100 concerts a year.
Max Raabe captures this timeless music with debonair charm and wit. A singer of incredible range, he has a singular ability to capture the cunning rasp of the cabaret singer, the confident belcanto hero, the oily melodiousness of the revue beau, the carefree timbre of early jazz, as well as the falsetto of ragtime, all backed by his stellar 12-member band, many of whom have been with him from the beginning. Max Raabe's art lies in revealing the enigmatic intelligence, ambiguity, musical power and complexity of the "German chansons" from the turbulent Weimar Republic. In his amazing performances he keenly reminds us that between melancholy and irony, rebellion and resignation, elegy and slapstick there is often only half a measure, sometimes just a single note, or a mere word.
Over the years Max Raabe & Palast Orchester have discovered that one of the secrets of a good show is diversity. Accordingly, their vast repertoire includes classics like "I Kiss Your Hand Madame", "My Little Green Kaktus" and "Heute Nacht oder nie" ("Tonight Or Never") or from the American Songbook "Cheek To Cheek", "Night And Day" and "I Got Rhythm", as well as Rumbas ("Amapola"), Paso Dobles ("Rosa, Charming Rosa".. I fell in love ´cause she looked so cute, last summer in her bathing suit"), rare gems ("My Gorilla Has A Villa In A Zoo"), charming gems ("Love Thy Neighbour") and silly gems ("Dort tanzt Lulu" ("Lulu is dancing too! Ahaha, uhuhu")). Listeners may find themselves dreaming to a romantic melody such as "Leben ohne Liebe kannst du nicht" ("You can´t live without love"), or wooed by Max's wry commentary between songs, or relaxing to a Comedian Harmonists adaption or a beautiful violin solo.
In 1997 the Palast Orchester celebrated their 10th anniversary with an audience of 20,000 at Berlin's Waldbühne. In 2000 the album "Charming Weill" was released on BMG Classics, a homage to the composer Kurt Weill, which was awarded the "Classic Echo", and "Super Hits" replaced the Beatles as the "No.1" album in the charts in Latvia. In 2002 the Palast Orchester had the honor of opening the Viennese Festival Weeks for an audience of 40,000 and in the same year this orchestra made its USA premiere at Royce Hall in Los Angeles and the Fox Theater in Atlanta GA. From its premiere at Hamburg's Thalia Theater in August 2003 to the last show in mid 2007 the lavish production "Palast Revue" with changing scenery, a stunning chorus line and video backdrop was seen by more than 300,000 people.
In Spring 2004 Max Raabe and his pianist Christoph Isreal made his New York debut in two sold-out solo concerts in the Neue Galerie on New York's elegant Upper East Side. This and the following tour of Max Raabe & Palast Orchester to Los Angeles, Atlanta and San Antonio really sparked off their US career. In 2005 Max Raabe & Palast Orchester made their Carnegie Hall debut at Zankel Hall. In the following yearly tours to the US, the Berlin based band performed in an ever increasing number of cities, winning more and more enthusiastic fans as they played themselves from success to success. The highlight for the German gentlemen and beautiful lady violinist were two sold out concerts in Carnegie Hall, of which New York Times simply remarked "Fantastic!" and New York Daily News added "Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester may be one of the smoothest treasures ever to hit Carnegie Hall". Their 2007 Carnegie Hall concert was recorded live and released as "Tonight or Never", reaching Gold-status in Germany.
Recent tours in the US have included stops in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota, among many other cities. In October 2010 Max Raabe & Palast Orchester also made their first tour of Israel. In 2012, Universal Records will release their new album, "One Cannot Kiss Alone" in the US.
Last updated December 2011. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.
