Carnegie Hall’s Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Precipice festival kicks off this January with two concerts by esteemed conductor and Perspectives artist Franz Welser-Möst leading The Cleveland Orchestra in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with programs that demonstrate the diverse musical styles of the Weimar era, including works by Krenek, Webern, Bartók, Prokofiev, and Gustav Mahler on Jan. 20 and Jan. 21. The citywide festival—which runs through May—explores one of the most complex and consequential chapters in modern history: Germany’s Weimar Republic of 1919–1933. Through 30 concerts and events at Carnegie Hall and 70+ multidisciplinary offerings at more than 50 leading cultural and academic institutions across New York City, the festival examines the arts and culture that flourished as artists sought bold avenues for creative expression in this increasingly traumatic time.
At Carnegie Hall, festival audiences are invited on an exploration through artistic movements in classical music, jazz, cabaret, art song, and more that reflect the forces that led to the fall of the Weimar Republic—and the many lessons about the fragility of democracy that can be gleaned from its extraordinary collapse. For highlights of additional Weimar festival events in January and February at the Hall and beyond, please see below.
“With our citywide festivals, we seek to take audiences on curated journeys of discovery, asking questions about some of the most important issues of our day,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “The Weimar festival explores the fragility of democracy through the lens of the fall of the Weimar Republic and shines a spotlight on the innovative creative expression and powerful artistic movements that emerged during this increasingly dark and tumultuous era. We hope this festival’s thought-provoking programming will not only engage audiences but also serve as a jumping-off point to stimulate dialogue. If there is any lesson to learn from the Weimar period, it is the great responsibility for everyone, including the arts and artists, to speak out and raise key questions at these times.”
ADDITIONAL WEIMAR FESTIVAL EVENTS
AT CARNEGIE HALL IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY INCLUDE:
- The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, featuring Weill’s Symphony No. 2 alongside Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue—with the Marcus Roberts Trio—and Stravinsky’s Pétrouchka (1947 version) (Jan. 23, SA/PS);
- Boston Symphony Orchestra, led by Andris Nelsons, with Seong-Jin Cho as soloist in Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Stravinsky’s revolutionary The Rite of Spring and Tania León’s Stride (Jan. 29, SA/PS);
- The Met Orchestra Chamber Ensemble (Jan. 22, WRH) in a program entitled The Golden Twenties;
- The Met Orchestra, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, with soprano Lise Davidsen in Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder on a program that also includes works by Webern and Gustav Mahler (Feb. 1, SA/PS);
- Acclaimed chanteuse and actress Ute Lemper explores the music of Weimar Berlin and the many artists exiled from it, including music by Hollaender, Weill, Brecht, Schiffer, Spoliansky, and more (Feb. 9, ZH);
- National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda, with violinist James Ehnes as soloist in Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, as well as works by Berg and Beethoven (Feb. 12, SA/PS);
- Soloists of the Kronberg Academy with violist Tabea Zimmerman (Feb. 15, ZH);
- Orchestra of St. Luke’s, led by Tito Muñoz, joined by a cast of soloists and the Westminster Symphonic Choir and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, performing Orff’s Carmina Burana (Feb. 27, SA/PS);
- The Knights in a program that explores the connections between music by Ravel, Weill/Brecht, Bob Dylan, and Chico Buarque. They also welcome acclaimed pipa player Wu Man as soloist in the New York premiere of a work by Du Yun (co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall), plus vocalists Christina Courtin and special guest Magos Herrera (Feb. 29, ZH);
- Two festival-themed exhibitions will be on display in Zankel Hall and free and open to all Zankel Hall concertgoers, beginning Feb. 9 through May. The Democracy Project, curated by Reynaldo Anderson and The Black Speculative Arts Movement, is a visual exhibition that explores the intellectual, social, and cultural impact of the Weimar Republic on the African diaspora. In addition, the photography exhibition ringl+pit features the work of artist duo Ellen Auerbach and Grete Stern, who met in 1929 in Berlin, when the fragility of freedom was omnipresent;
- An engaging panel discussion, Anything Goes: The Role of Music in Society, on Feb. 28 features leading observers and cultural historians Larry Diamond, Oliver Rathkolb, Nadine Rossol and moderator Sheri Berman—joined by Perspectives artist Franz Welser-Möst—who will explore what the arts tell, or predict, of the political and social conditions of their time. Presented in collaboration with the Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership, the experts will compare current conditions with those accompanying the new music and art styles of the “anything-goes” society of the 1920s that, by 1933, led to the demise of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism.
HIGHLIGHTS OF WEIMAR FESTIVAL PARTNER EVENTS IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY:
Weimar festival partner programming features a diverse array of events in person and online in multiple genres presented by diverse cultural and academic institutions across New York City and beyond. For a full list of festival partners, please see below.
Among the festival partner highlights in January and February are:
- The Comet Cometh: A Graphic Adaptation of W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Comet—an exhibition showcasing all the sequential art from Tim Fielder’s graphic novel adaptation of Du Bois’s seminal 1920 short story The Comet. With The Comet, Du Bois created one of the first Afrofuturist narratives, a short story with racism and religion as major themes. Greatly influenced by Germany and the nationalism, anti-Semitism, and racism he experienced there, these issues would have a lasting impact on Du Bois’s literary output and his contributions to the civil rights movement. The exhibit tells this powerful story in a unique way. (January 26-May 2 at The Children’s Art Carnival, 62 Hamilton Terrace, New York, NY);
- The Art of Not Falling: Arnold Schoenberg at 150—a performance featuring pianist Marilyn Nonken, who was a student of Leonard Stein—the composer Arnold Schoenberg’s assistant. Nonken charts the profound transformation of Schoenberg’s compositional style in the Weimar years, first from the keyboard as soloist and then joined by soprano Deborah Norin-Kuehn for Schoenberg’s deeply expressionistic setting of Stefan George’s The Book of the Hanging Gardens.(February 4 at New York University’s Black Box Theater, Pless Hall Annex, 26 Washington Place, New York, NY);
- Words Are Pictures: Writing and Drawing Weimar Berlin—a talk with cartoonist Jason Lutes and illustrator Nora Krug about how Lutes conceived, researched, wrote, and drew a 550-page graphic novel about the city of Berlin between 1929 and 1933, including the greatest influences on his storytelling, from Ursula Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea to Wim Wenders’s Wings of Desire, and what happens when we listen closely to history. (February 9 at Society of Illustrators, 128 E. 63rd Street, New York, NY);
- Lavender Songs: A Queer Weimar Berlin Cabaret—a celebration of Berlin’s edgiest cabaret music with Tante Fritzy whose drag performance captures cabaret culture and Weimar wildness with songs originally written or performed by queer artists in Weimar-era Berlin. (February 15 at Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY);
- Cabaret in Chapel Bar—a cabaret performance presented by vaudeville artist Emily Shephard that features choreography by Jaclyn Kriewall and others, celebrating the decadent nightlife of Germany’s Weimar Republic. (February 15 at Fotografiska’s Chapel Bar, 275 Park Avenue South, New York, NY);
- The Reality of Myth for Yiddish Writers in Germany—an online lecture with Marc Caplan who examines the historical significance and legendary allure of Weimar culture by considering three of its most significant Yiddish writers: Moyshe Kulbak, Dovid Bergelson, and Der Nister (“the hidden one,” Pinkhes Kahanovitch). (February 21, Online: yivo.org/weimar-writers);
- Juilliard Drama Presents The Caucasian Chalk Circle—one of Bertolt Brecht’s most celebrated works which was written at the close of World War II and is a noted example of the playwright’s conception of epic theatre—a type of drama written in response to political and contemporary issues of the day. (February 22–25 at Stephanie P. McClelland Drama Theater, 155 W. 65th St., New York, NY);
- Weimar Music: Sounds of a Periclean Age—an evening of Weimar-era music presented by the New York Classical Players that includes performances of Paul Hindemith’s First String Trio and Piano Sonato No. 2, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s epic Suite for Left Hand Piano and Strings, Op. 23 (February 24, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 111 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY).
