With this live performance, Günter, best known for being the keyboardist of German progressive metallers Vanden Plas, fulfilled one of his long desired wishes to compose an orchestral piece in the traditional format of the genre. This stunning concert, featuring Vanden Plas, showcases a spectacular fusion of classical music and progressive rock.
In Günter's own words, here is how "Anima One" came to be: "On Jan 11, 2019, Vanden Plas performed Jon Lord’s "Concerto for Group and Orchestra“ at Fruchthalle Kaiserslautern. Christoph Dammann, the culture officer for the venue, came to me and asked if we could do something like this again, but instead of covering someone else's work, he asked if I would write an original composition. This was a challenge for me as I had written orchestrations to rock, pop, and musical songs before, but never for an orchestra in the classic form of three movements. But, before I had even left the building after our conversation, I already had the first tune in my head, which ultimately became the intro of the first movement. I freely played around with tunes and themes and finally found the suitable way forward for me from there.
After composing music on the piano and a sequencer program, I finally wrote the sheet music part by part. To watch it unfold like this gave me another idea for some instruments, and so I did some final adjustments during this process.
And with the performance on May 13, 2022, a dream came true for me. A nice conclusion to an extraordinary journey for me. I hope it will be one for the listener too."

]01. Tuning (01:31)
02. 1st Movement - Animabilis (15:44)
03. 2nd Movement - Animosus (15:10)
04. 3rd Movement - Animato (20:40)
05. Bows & Encore (03:25)

Pfalzphilharmonie Kaiserslautern – Orchestra
Günter Werno – Piano/Organ/Synthesizers
Stephan Lill – Guitar
Torsten Reichert – Bass
Andreas Lill – Drums
Andy Kuntz / Astrid Vossberg – Vocals
Charlotte Lisador, Lisana Werno, Ines Pawlowski – Background Choir