Kurt Weill Festival
The Kurt-Weill-Fest (original spelling Kurt Weill Fest ) is a cultural festival in honor of the composer Kurt Weill that takes place in the city of Dessau-Roßlau .
history
The festival has been held annually at the beginning of March in Kurt Weill's native Dessau since 1993 and usually lasts ten days. Events include exhibitions, lectures and musical performances in the fields of opera , classical and contemporary music . The festival is organized by the Kurt-Weill-Gesellschaft eV, funded by the State of Saxony-Anhalt and the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music in New York City .
War and Peace (2002)
The festival, which ran from March 1 to 10, 2002, opened with the opera Die “Bürgschaft”, conducted by Jonathan Eaton. In the Palace of Culture Bitterfeld Weill's first American musical "Johnny Johnson" was performed.
Notes and Coins (2003)
Almost 300 national and international artists took part in the 31 events, all of which dealt with the motto. The focus was on the opening event, a production of the Threepenny Opera by director Milan Sladek. Other performances were, for example, the “Beggar's Opera”, the dinner show “Money makes the world go around”, “Harmoniemusik” and Beethoven's “Anger over the lost penny”.
Urban Culture (2004)
For the 12th festival from February 27 to March 7, 2004 under the motto “City Culture”, 8,000 guests came to 35 individual events as part of the festival. Over 300 artists, including from the USA, France, Germany and Israel, took part in the festival. The opening event was the premiere of the Weill opera "Street Scene" in a production by Nicholas Muni.
Vanishing Point America (2005)
In 2005, the festival, which took place from February 25th to March 6th, had the motto Vanishing Point America .
Weill & Brecht (2006)
The Kurt Weill Festival 2006 took place from February 24th to March 5th. The motto was “Weill & Brecht” on the 50th anniversary of the death of the poet Bertolt Brecht , with whom Weill worked several times (including The Threepenny Opera ). Most of the works that Weill and Brecht developed were performed in 2006, including the Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny , Berlin Requiem , Der Jasager and The Seven Deadly Sins . In the “Initiative Germany - Land of Ideas ”, the Kurt Weill Festival was represented on March 4, 2006 with the performance “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” as the location of the day.
Weill danced (2007)
The 15th edition from March 2nd to 11th 2007 had over 11,000 visitors. The motto in 2007 was “Weill danced”. The festival opened with the premiere of the dance theater piece “Tango Palast” by the Gregor Seyffert Companie in the Anhaltisches Theater .
(silly) dreams (2008)
From February 29th to March 9th, 2008 the festival was themed (alb) dreams. The program was designed by artists such as HK Gruber , the Mahler Chamber Orchestra , Ian Bostridge and Klaus Doldinger . The film Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror was accompanied live by the Babelsberg film orchestra and the staged concert “Broadway Dreams” was performed. Advance ticket sales began in November 2007.
Round about Weill (2009)
The festival in 2009 had the focus on jazz, but it was not intended to be a pure jazz festival. From February 27 to March 8, 2009 there were performances by artists such as the Swedish trombonist Nils Landgren , the US American Monty Alexander Trio and the Norwegian singer Tora Augestad . The sung ballet “The Seven Deadly Sins” was performed as the opening production of the Anhaltisches Theater. The puppet theater Magdeburg , the Berlin drama college "Ernst Busch" and Hanns Eisler were involved .
New Art is True Art (2010)
The 18th Kurt Weill Festival presented the work of the Dessau composer with an extensive program, with two works having their premieres. The 2010 festival motto “New Art is True Art” became a song from Kurt Weill's most successful Broadway musical “ One Touch of Venus” "borrowed. The festival opened with the commissioned work “Die Wunde Heine”, a new composition by Helmut Oehring . The second world premiere was created by the composer Moritz Eggert together with the Bachmann Prize winner Franzobel . The "brothel ballad. A Dreigoscherlnstück ”celebrated its world premiere in the production of the Koblenz Theater on the historic Bauhaus stage .
Berlin in Light (2011)
The Kurt Weill Festival in 2011–2013 was dedicated to Kurt Weill's life and work stations and began in 2011 with “Berlin in the Light”. The 19th festival focused on the musical and cultural diversity of Berlin during the Weimar Republic.
Homage to Paris (2012)
The 20th Kurt Weill Festival focused on Weill's stay in Paris , who lived here from March 1933 to September 1935 after fleeing Nazi Germany.
New York, New York (2013)
The last stop of the three-year trilogy dealt with New York - Kurt Weill's last home and place of his work on Broadway .
"Departure - Weill & the Media" (2014)
The 22nd Kurt Weill Festival began on February 21, 2014 and ended on March 9, 2014. It was under the motto “Departure - Weill & the Media”. Kurt Weill lived in Berlin in the 1920s. During this time, the new mass media radio and film revolutionized the media landscape. Kurt Weill himself wrote texts for the weekly magazine "Der Deutsche Rundfunk" as an editor since the end of 1924. But the young Kurt Weill did not only deal with theoretical writings, but also with radio as a medium for music. He composed his own radio works such as “Der Lindberghflug” or the Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra, op. 12. With these works Weill laid the foundation for his musical career. The radio also accompanied him in his creative periods in Paris and New York. He composed his folk opera “Down in the Valley”, which was so successful in colleges and high schools, originally for the radio. Many songs from Weill's successful Broadway musicals (including "Lady in the Dark" and "One Touch of Venus") became radio hits in the United States.
Artist-in-residence of the 22nd Kurt-Weill-Fest were the general music director of the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau Antony Hermus and the Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau. They presented their skills at a total of 11 events, including the opening concert, in which “The Lindberghflug” was played, and two “Tweetfonie” concerts. A website was set up for the latter, on which Twitter users could record melodies the length of Twitter messages using a digital piano keyboard and send them to the Kurt Weill Festival. 53 of these melodies were sent to composers all over the world, who arranged approx. 1-minute orchestral pieces from them within 24 hours. The Anhaltische Philharmonie played the world premieres on February 3, 2014 under the direction of Antony Hermus without any prior rehearsal directly from the sheet. This concert was the first of its kind in Germany, the idea comes from the Dutch metropolis Orkest and Havas Worldwide Amsterdam.
Other program highlights included concerts by the Ensemble Modern, the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA) and the Ensemble Modern Orchestra (EMO) as well as the performance of the popular folk opera "Down in the Valley". The film musician Klaus Doldinger was a guest with his band Passport and gave a concert in the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau, as well as the Komische Oper Berlin. At the end of the 22nd Kurt Weill Festival, the Dresden State Operetta performed the play “The Firebrand of Florence”, which Weill himself described as a “Broadway Operetta”, in a scenic version in Dessau. In 2014, the festival radio station WeillFM could be received for the first time accompanying the Kurt Weill Festival on FM frequency 88.7 in Dessau and the surrounding area as well as via live stream on the Internet or via the radio.de app worldwide. The station emerged from a cooperation between the Kurt-Weill-Fest and the Alternative Youth Center Dessau, the Dessau Beatclub and the Halle radio station Corax. A central component of the project was a group of young people with the self-chosen name “New Weill Generation”. The station accompanied the festival for three weeks and provided background information in the form of reports, readings, features, interviews and concert recordings.
"From song to song" (2015)
On 17 days, the festival audience of the 23rd Kurt-Weill-Fest embarked on the journey “From Song to Song”. In around 60 events at 22 venues in five cities ( Dessau-Roßlau , Wörlitz , Magdeburg , Halle (Saale) and Wittenberg ), almost 550 artists from all over the world created a multifaceted program. New connections between text and music, between word art and musical poetry were opened up. The well-known actress Cornelia Froboess took over the artist-in-residence . Longstanding partners like Sigi Schwab, but also new partners like the Julia Hülsmann Quintett or the jazz musician Dieter Ilg, were at her side . The prelude to their residence was in the oak wreath "The further my voice penetrates" with songs and letters by Kurt Weill, Wilhelm Müller, Ernst Krenek and Friedrich Holländer.
Another focus of the festival was the performances of four stage works by Weill: the new version of the Broadway musical Johnny Johnson as Good Soldier Johnny, The Threepenny Opera , the Mahagonny Songspiel and Royal Palace . The Kurt Weill Festival was able to create a perfect arc from the beginnings of Weill in Germany to his American musicals. In addition to long-term partners such as the Ensemble Modern , the State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate and the MDR Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Kristjan Järvi, stars such as Ute Lemper and Katharina Thalbach made their debut at the festival. The festival gained new partners and spectators in new venues such as the Moritzburg in Halle (Saale) and the Landesfunkhaus Sachsen-Anhalt as well as the Theater Magdeburg .
"Krenek, Weill & Die Moderne" (2016)
The 24th edition of the Kurt Weill Festival celebrated two of the great composer stars of the 1920s with “Krenek, Weill & Die Moderne” and at the same time celebrated the vitality of the Weimar Republic, which had an essential center in Dessau. From February 26th to March 13th, the State Music Festival of Classical Modernism presented almost 60 concerts at 24 venues in Dessau-Roßlau, Magdeburg, Halle, Wittenberg and Wörlitz. The symposium “Contemporary! - Ernst Krenek and Weill in the Modern Network ”highlighted the special connections between the two composers and contemporary witnesses. The cooperation with the Ernst Krenek Institute Private Foundation played a special role. The focus was on the performance of the first two violin concertos by Krenek and Weill, which were interpreted by the artist-in-residence Ernst Kovacic together with the German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Anhalt Philharmonic in Dessau.
Furthermore, in cooperation with the festival, the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau presented the two one-act operas The Tsar Can Be Photographed and The Dictator . The Ensemble Modern presented The Threepenny Opera and Giselher Schubert's new edition of the Mahagonny Songspiel . A special highlight was the appearance of Nina Hagen at the Magdeburg Theater and the Anhaltische Theater Dessau , in which she revealed her connection to Weill and Brecht. Other stars of the festival included Nils Landgren , Dieter Ilg , Viktoria Tolstoy , Cornelia Froboess , Julia Hülsmann and many other greats in the music industry. The development of the newly added arcade - the DB maintenance workshop in Dessau - was impressive .
.jpg)
"Luther, Weill & Mendelssohn" (2017)
The 25th Kurt Weill Festival took place under the motto " Luther , Weill & Mendelssohn " and highlighted topics of the Reformation, the Enlightenment and Classical Modernism. From February 24 to March 12, 2017, 436 artists from all over the world presented themselves in 58 events at 26 different venues in Dessau-Roßlau, Magdeburg, Halle (Saale), Lutherstadt Wittenberg and Wörlitz. With the guests of the extensive supporting program, which included the exhibition "The suspicious saxophone -, degenerate music " in the Nazi state ", the Kurt Weill Festival had almost 18,000 visitors. Artists such as Ulrich Tukur , Nils Landgren and Fabian Busch , the Ensemble Modern and other established stars as well as newcomers such as Aurelia Shimkus performed on the big and small stages .
The oldest radio orchestra in Germany, the MDR Symphony Orchestra, founded in the midst of the pulsating times of the Weimar Republic - was the ideal partner for the music festival of classical modernism. With its three concerts, the orchestra has spun an ideal guide through the program of the 25th Kurt Weill Festival. With The Seven Deadly Sins , The Promise and the Good Soldier Johnny as well as the choir program “Reformation & Revolution” of the MDR Rundfunkchor, the orchestras of the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk were present on all three weekends of the festival and were celebrated by the audience. For the first time, the Halle Opera House was represented in the festival with the production of the opera Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny .
"Weill on the stage!" (2018)
The 26th Kurt Weill Festival took place from February 23 to March 11, 2018 under the motto “Weill on the stage!” For a total of 17 days, 525 artists from all over the world made guest appearances at 26 different venues in Saxony-Anhalt. These include: Dessau-Roßlau , Magdeburg , Halle (Saale) Zerbst , Gröbzig and Wörlitz . The Kurt Weill Festival registered a total of 20,500 visitors. The team of the four artistic directors, led by the Berlin concert manager Gerhard Kampf, placed a focus on the important achievements of Kurt Weill in the renewal of musical theater in Europe. The Threepenny Opera premiered at the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau with a new production by Ezio Toffolutti . With the “La Bettleropera”, the predecessor of the actual Threepenny Opera, the Neukölln Opera made a guest appearance in Berlin at the Kurt Weill Festival. The work was musically reinterpreted and composed by Moritz Eggert .
Most of the attention during the festival was on Till Brönner as artist-in-residence. Under the direction of Markus L. Frank he opened the festival together with the Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau. Well-known artists at this year's Kurt Weill Festival were: Jan Josef Liefers , Ute Lemper , Dagmar Manzel , Ilja Richter , Julia Hülsmann, the Leipzig Synagogal Choir, the recorder quartet “Flautando”, the countertenor Jochen Kowalski , as well as newcomers such as the “ Vision String Quartet ”or the Gyldfeldt Quartet.
Venues
- Old town hall Wittenberg
- Old Theater Dessau
- Anhalt theater
- Resurrection Church Dessau-Ziebigk
- Bauhaus Dessau
- Beatclub Dessau
- Bugenhagenhaus Wittenberg
- Wörlitz oak wreath
- Elbe plant in Rosslau
- Georgium Castle
- Johanniskirche Dessau
- neighbourhood
- Kornhaus
- Toad Court
- Kurt Weill Center in the Feininger House
- Marienkirche
- Tenant house
- Radisson Blu Prince Leopold Hotel
- Town hall center Dessau
- Hall of the Rosslauer Elbe Works
- Schwabehaus
- City Museum Halle
- Synagogue Grobzig
- Magdeburg Theater
- Moritzburg
- MDR Landesfunkhaus Magdeburg
- Dessau repair shop
- Parade hall Wittenberg
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Kurt Weill Pages
- ↑ Kurt Weill Festival ends with record attendance | MUSIC TODAY . In: MUSIC TODAY . March 13, 2016 ( musik-heute.de [accessed April 27, 2017]).
- ↑ mdr.de: Balance: Weill-Fest attracts 18,000 visitors | MDR.DE . ( mdr.de [accessed on April 27, 2017]). Balance: Weill-Fest attracts 18,000 visitors | MDR.DE ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Kurt Weill Festival Dessau 2017 draws a bow to Luther | MUSIC TODAY . In: MUSIC TODAY . October 20, 2016 ( musik-heute.de [accessed April 27, 2017]).
- ↑ Kurt Weill: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny - THE GERMAN STAGE. Retrieved April 27, 2017 .
- ↑ 26th Kurt Weill Festival with record attendance - Bauhaus anniversary 2019 topic. In: nmz.de (new music newspaper). Retrieved November 2, 2018 .
