Wars, crises, geopolitical shifts of power – 80 years after the end of World War II, peace seems far away. In the form of impulse lectures, Dunja Hayali and Michel Friedman will address current developments on Saturday: How is the world order changing? What does this mean for our society? And what responsibility do we bear? Afterwards, the two journalists will discuss political, social, and ethical perspectives on a changing world together with "FAZ" publisher Carsten Knop.
Subsequently, Lahav Shani, together with members of the Munich Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, will musically commemorate the end of World War II with Shostakovich's only Piano Quintet, written during a politically torn phase of the composer. Other works of the evening were also composed against the backdrop of political atrocities: Viktor Ullmann's String Quartet No. 3 was created during his imprisonment in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, Ilse Fromm-Michaels' "Musica larga" at a time when she, as the wife of a Jewish man, was not allowed to perform and the playing of her works was forbidden.
On the following evening, the conductor unites his two orchestras on stage: the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, of which he has been the chief conductor since 2020, and the Munich Philharmonic, of which he will be the chief conductor starting in 2026. They will perform Mahler's 6th Symphony, the "Tragic". Prior to that, "Prayer," a musical prayer by Tzvi Avni, who was born in Saarbrücken in 1927 and emigrated to Palestine with his parents in 1935, will be heard.
On Friday, baritone Benjamin Appl, in cooperation with the Jewish Community of Dortmund, will embark on a musical walk through the Jewish history of the city. At important locations, he will pause to remember with songs and give expression to the history of these places or invite to silent moments of reflection. The starting point is the synagogue of the Jewish Community of Dortmund; the final stop will be the Dortmund Concert Hall, where Appl will conclude this encounter concert by sending all participants off into the evening with a short concert segment.
