Sound in the Garden 2026, Day 1 (Gigi Masin, Valentina Magaletti & upsammy)

From August 12–16, 2026, Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie will once again present the open-air concert series “Sound in the Garden,” featuring ambitious live concerts specially tailored to the venue and a multi-generational lineup that transcends genre boundaries. Following four nights of live concerts, Sunday will be dedicated to special sound installations created in honor of Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya, who is presenting a site-specific fog sculpture in the sculpture garden of the Neue Nationalgalerie.

For decades, Gigi Masin’sdeeply cinematic textures have fused minimalist jazz and spacious synthesis into a profound poetry. His pioneering work focuses heavily on the spaces “between” to the notes, using silence as a physical instrument that allows each melancholic melody to breathe. For this special performance, Masin joins forces with Italian trumpeter and composer Marco Baldini. Known for his microtonal clarity and stark minimalist focus, Baldini’s long, suspended brass tones blend seamlessly with Masin’s spacious synthesis. 

Visionary percussionist and composer Valentina Magaletti draws on a wide range of ritualistic jazz sensibilities and experimental textures, using non-traditional materials such as metal, porcelain, and wood to uncover hidden tones. Magaletti is joined by upsammy’snature-inspired sound design. Field recordings and sharp synthesis blend into fluid soundscapes, merging smoothly with irregular rhythms and the lightest of crystalline melodies.