Programme Director Dorothee Kalbhenn recommends the opening concert of the festival on November 11: “Patricia Kopatchinskaja, our former artist in residence, is one of the best violinists and, above all, one of the most alert minds of our time. We have long wished to finally bring a typical “Patricia programme” back to Berlin: conceived by her herself, upsetting and shaking up the usual concert schedule. Her new project “In the Name of Peace” addresses the horrors of war and asks whether music can ultimately restore our faith in humanity. A hand-picked ensemble including actors, choir and SWR Experimentalstudio weaves a deeply human story from texts and music. A worthy opening of our festival “Aus den Fugen”, which transforms socially relevant topics into artistic ideas for two weeks.”

Hannah Mulac from the education team: “I'm looking forward to NEXT STOP: BLN on November 16, because I believe that we can expect the impressive result of a creative process: Since June, young people from Marzahn have been developing scenes and music for this concert in workshops full of ideas and imagination under the direction of pianist Hanni Liang and project designer Kian Jazdi, as well as together with Jan Westermann, our principal percussionist in the Konzerhaus Orchestra. Their mixture reflects the multifaceted Berlin district of Marzahn. The way in which everyone involved transfers the energy, versatility and vibrancy of our city to the stage is sure to be a great experience.”

The concert on November 17 is particularly important to our press spokesman Rudi Schmid:

Yad Vashem, the world's most important Shoah memorial in Israel, turns 70 this year. Yad Vashem, which roughly translates as ‘memorial and name’, honours the more than six million murdered European Jews by restoring the names of those who were destroyed as mere numbers. Yad Vashem also honours its few helpers as ‘Righteous Among the Nations’, including Chiune Sugihara,the Japanese diplomat and rescuer of around 6,000 Jews. Lera Auerbach dedicates her composition ‘Vessels of Light’ to him and his story. The work is a fascinating weave of Kabbalistic and Japanese tradition, a reflection on destruction and salvation, in which the unspeakable at least becomes music.

Dramaturg Micha Häussermann ist looking forward to the concert on November 22:

“Performing Daphne Oram's work “Still Point”, which she wrote back in the 1940s for the wacky instrumentation of three record players and double orchestra, for the first time in Germany with the Konzerthausorchester is a musical adventure that I am incredibly excited about! The spatial sound concept developed by Shiva Feshareki and David Sheppard especially for our Große Saal, which ensures that sounds from completely different directions in the room reach the audience, will provide a completely new listening experience. With “Aetherworld”, the program begins with the origins, so to speak: the overtones of the human voice. Using Desprez's motet, we will span 400 years of music history and explore the timeless need to find refuge and inner peace in music. I find it very appealing to bring together these very different sounds, periods and musical styles to create a great concert experience, as for me this reveals the core of the music and allows its effect to unfold in an ideal way!”