Thomas Brezina presents Bibel in Reimen, The Concert

Listen to Thomas Brezina's Bibel in Reimen as a concert in St. Stephen's Cathedral.

10 hit songs, some of which move the listener to tears, with content such as love, peace and spirituality, are interspersed with connecting lyrics written by Thomas Brezina himself. The choir is provided by the Sacre Coeur Pressbaum music high school, which has already won numerous prizes at international choir competitions. Composer Reinhold Hofmann: "It is a great pleasure to work with these talented and professional children."

A 100-strong children's choir, a four-piece band, a string quartet and two soloists: the world premiere on May 16 and the second performance on May 17 in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna undoubtedly mark one of the highlights in the career of legendary author Thomas Brezina. The German musical specialist Reinhold Hoffmann has set Brezina's No. 1 bestseller " Die Bibel in Reimen" to music. In the book, written in rhyme with the support of cathedral priest Anton Faber and an expert panel of religious education teachers, Brezina tells entertaining and inspiring Bible stories for the whole family. "Writing such an extensive book in rhyme was the greatest literary challenge for me to date," says Brezina, who has been rewarded with more than 25,000 copies sold and the "Golden Book" awarded by the Main Association of the Austrian Book Trade.

Thomas Brezina, born in Vienna in 1963, has been publishing children's and young adult books since 1990, which have now been translated into more than 35 languages. His breakthrough came in 1990 with the book series "The Knickerbocker Gang". Thomas Brezina has written more than 600 books in total. More than 45 million copies have been sold, making him one of the most successful German-language authors of children's and young adult books. The passionate prolific writer has also created more than 350 radio plays and has been involved in the creation of 40 television formats as an author, producer or presenter.

Reinhold Hoffmann, born in Munich in 1964 and known for his compositions such as "Oh how beautiful is Panama", has been working as a composer, singer and producer since his state examination at the Munich University of Music. Due to his wide range of musical interests and skills, his experience ranges from professional orchestras to live music and film music.

The realization of this extraordinary musical project was made possible by a collaboration between Hoffmann, Brezina, the Archbishop's Office for Education and Schools, the Archdiocese of Vienna, the publishing house edition a, and Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein as exclusive sponsor.

Program and cast

Reinhold Hofmann: Bible in Rhymes after Thomas Brezina

90 minutes, no intermission

Choir of Sacre Coeur Pressbaum

Band: Bernhard Welz - drums | Matthias Simoner - guitar | Werner Laher – bass | Reinhold Hoffmann – piano

Sting Quartet: Elizabeth Basoff, Ewa Joanna Skrzypacz - violin | Tristan Feichtner, Werner Laher – cello