DIALOG & HUMAN STRENGTH
Dear friends of the HfMT,
In June, we encounter the "utopian motif of hope for something better and different than the world offers us." This is how director Christian Poewe reads it in the opera Dialogues des Carmélites by Francis Poulenc, portrayed in the "incredible human strength of the Carmelite community". For him, the production is "an attempt to set different currents of people and their opinions in parallel." The haunting and stirring story is embedded in a multifaceted musical language that makes use of a wide variety of styles and, according to Willem-Wentzel - the musical director - comes across as light-footed, with a wink and a touch of irony.
After an intensive rehearsal phase, we will celebrate the premiere of this year's summer opera on June 1, which will be brought to the Forum stage as a joint work by the HfMT (singers of the opera class), the HAW (costume design), HFBK (stage design) and the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra. With a total of 8 performances, it is our main act of the month and highly recommended.
Further recommendations follow, together with an exuberant invitation to the second edition of our summer festival, which we are already looking forward to after last year's super party : - )
Sincerely,
Your HfMT
FEAR & SECURITY
This year, we are presenting Dialogues des Carmélites by Francis Poulenc as a major summer opera. The opera tells the story of Blanche, a young woman who, filled with existential fear, seeks a safe place in times of great social unrest (the story takes place at the time of the French Revolution) and finds it in the convent of the Carmelite nuns. The nuns' intense conversations address questions that are also pressing in our time. "How should we deal with collective fear in the face of current threats?" One thing is certain - there is a need for dialog in order to work together as a community. This is the focus of this year's production.
Esther Barski (in the role of Blanche) is impressed by Blanche's search for safety, which ultimately leads to her voluntary death: "She tries to resolve her fears through the supposed safety of the community, which doesn't work. How she finally finds the courage to unite with her sisters in martyrdom after fleeing again is a complex development."
THEORY & PRACTICE
In addition to art, we also have a flourishing scientific-theoretical department at the HfMT and when things are going particularly well, the disciplines complement each other under their common roof. We would like to draw your attention to some interesting lectures in June.
Current Practices: 3 further editions of the lecture series will allow us to delve deeper into the question of the relationship or relation to our audience and the "how and where exactly, but what, for whom and above all why is played."
current practices on June 3, 10 and 24
In the Music Theory Colloquium we welcome our renowned colleague Nathan John Martin for a lecture via Zoom. Martin is Professor of Music Theory at the University of Michigan with a research focus on the history of music theory and the theory and practice of musical analysis. In his lecture, he will discuss the (re)classification of Jean-Philippe Rameau's work.
"Rameau's 'Sensationalist Conversion' Revisited" on June 23rd
The series initiated by Prof. Ruta Paidere is now enjoying great popularity Analysis and interpretation. To mark the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel's birth, we are dedicating the June edition to his Sonatina for piano, which Prof. Anna Vinnitskaya will conjure up for us.
Analysis and Interpretation on June 25
ROMANTIC & PRETTY WILD
Under the title Discovering our Roots, we are dedicating this concert to the composer Ernst Gernot Klussmann - long-time vice president and composition professor at the HfMT - on the occasion of our 75th anniversary. The Kuss Quartet discovered his first string quartet during the last Summer Music Days in Hitzacker and recently presented a first recording of this work. Oliver Wille - violinist in the Kuss Quartet - comments: "The first string quartet is an early work from the 1920s, predominantly romantic, but also in a rather wild style, which I like. You can sense that he was familiar with the contemporary works of Schönberg and Mahler and that he engaged with them."
BACH & JAZZ
If she is there, a good evening is guaranteed: We are talking about exceptional saxophonist Asya Fateyeva, who has always cheerfully crossed all genre boundaries and captivates her audience with her equally convincing and infectious musicality. The program Around Bach is an evening of improvisation on baroque music with saxophone, lute, piano and the students of the Dr. Langner Jazzmaster.
PRICE BOON & DEVELOPMENT
As usual, we can expect top-class and impressive artistic performances when the winners of the Elise Meyer Competition are honored in a concert on June 15.
The participation of the Dr. Rudolf and Renate Seidel Foundation is new this year, with its generous commitment to the competition, which, in addition to the attractive prize money, has now also created opportunities for further support and development - for example through a performance opportunity with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra or attending seminars and workshops to develop the individual artistic profile.
OPEN HOUSE & COLORFUL PROGRAM
We open the house wide and then we make it nice together. Everyone - from big to small - is invited to celebrate the summer, the end of the semester and this time even the longest day of the year with us. In addition to artistic and scientific formats, we have a children's oasis, workshops, tombola, flea market and guided tours of the building. There will be plenty of food and drink and our cake buffet will be collectively organized by our colleagues. From 3 p.m., we'll be strolling through the house and garden, chatting, listening and enjoying!
We're here - you too?
MATERIAL & POSSIBILITIES
The multi-day event Thinking through Materialities - initiated by the sustainable theater lab of the ligeti center - invites you to understand materials not just as passive objects, but as active sources of knowledge; to understand materials not just functionally, but as active players in the creative process. Each of the four days will be dedicated to a different aspect of materials. In an interactive and interdisciplinary way, we will embark on an experimental journey to think, research and create together beyond familiar boundaries.
CHOPIN & MARATHON
For the 7th edition of the Chopin Festival Hamburg, the organizers are bringing a special sparkle to our halls: For an extraordinary marathon, we are welcoming 7 pianists who have qualified to take part in this year's Chopin Competition and will face the competition in Warsaw in October. Immerse yourself, be amazed, compare the interpretations on a long Sunday in the Forum.
ART SCHOOL & THEN?
How are the people who studied at our art academies full of creativity and passionate motivation doing? Where did they end up, what do they do and what motivates them today? Be it in the field of theater, music or visual arts. Not all biographies are straightforward. We are interested in their paths, as well as detours and current working realities.
With the new podcast Life After Art School of the Hamburg Online Open University (HOOU), which we are creating in cooperation with the HFBK and the HfMT, we give space to these questions and take a look at individual life plans. The programs will be moderated by Cornelius Puschke (HfMT), Anne Meerpohl and Nora Sternfeld (both HFBK). The prologue has already been uploaded. A new program will be added every month.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON
As always, there is more to discover in addition to our recommendations. As usual, you can find the complete program in our Calendar of Events
FOLGEN SIE UNS!
