RuhrTriennale
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Brahms and Body Language

Director:
Rupert Huber
Choreography:
Lukas Scheja
Lightdesign:
Peter Jackson
 
With:
Melaine MacDonald, Doris Huber, Mikko Jairi, D. E. Sattler, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln
Opening night:
9. September
Start:
7:30 pm
Duration:
approx. 2 hours, 1 interval
Introduction:
9. September
The introduction begins 45 minutes prior to the start of the event.

One of the cornerstones of the pedestal on which Johannes Brahms was to be celebrated even in his own lifetime was surely laid by Robert Schumann's emphatic prediction for the then twenty year old: "If he points his magic wand at the spot where the powers of the masses, the choir and orchestra, lend him their energy, then we may look forward to marvellous insights into the wonders of the spirit-world."

As we can see, Schumann's premonition was borne out; for a century now, Johannes Brahms has been the most popular symphonic composer after Beethoven and Bruckner. The "marvellous insights" into the composer's works have, however, long become permeated by an almost blasé familiarity, obscuring the complexity of this immense oeuvre.

In his BRAHMS AND series, planned to run over several seasons, the WDR Rundfunkchor's new chief conductor Rupert Huber will be attempting to revitalize our approach to Brahms' works. Concentrating mainly on the choral works, Huber's aim is to place them in the unusual context of dramatic, literary and musical forms of expression that are at least initially at odds with the Brahmsian cosmos.

At the RuhrTriennale, choreographer Lukas Scheja and three dancers of completely different artistic origins will examine poems by Goethe, Schiller and Hölderlin set to music by Brahms with a view to the effect they have on the body. Within this context, Rupert Huber will introduce his compositions IN DIR and Geleitmodem3.

Produced by WDR