Culture calendar
August 30, 2013
"Metamorphoses" is the theme of this year's Beethovenfest in Bonn. For four weeks starting on September 5, the former capital will host a series of concerts featuring soloists, quartets and orchestras. The focus of the festivities will be Russia and Turkey, two countries undergoing social and cultural transition.
The Istanbul University State Conservatory Symphony Orchestra will make a guest appearance at the Orchestra Campus portion of the festival, staged in part by DW. DW is a media partner of the festival and will be running special coverage including artist profiles, background reports and features.
Also in September, the Bonn Kunstmuseum invites you to discover an unknown side of Marcel Odenbach. Usually known as a video artist from Cologne, he has also created a series of drawings and collages, which will be on display for the first time in Bonn, starting on September 19. The extensive exhibition was developed in close collaboration with the artist.
Literature from around the world
Authors from around the globe will be visiting the International Literature Festival Berlin from September 4-15. In addition to big names like Salman Rushdie, Daniel Kehlmann and Liao Yiwu, the public will get a chance to discover new poetry and prose. As part of the festival's special focus, "Cultures of Aging," 10 authors will talk about their experience with aging and hold discussions with researchers.
Literature enthusiasts won't be the only ones romping around the capital in September. The Berlin Art Week from September 17-22 also promises plenty of treats for art lovers. Under the motto "Painting Forever!" contemporary paintings, including works by Martin Eder und Jeanne Mammen, will be on show in several places around the city.
Secret spaces open their doors
What makes a monument worthy of protection? It's the question being posed on Heritage Day, which is being celebrated this year under the banner "Beyond good and beautiful: Inconvenient monuments?"
On September 8, visitors around Germany will be able to discover places that hold memories of war and injustice, document the post-war era, or record abandoned industrial sites. Many monuments are not usually accessible to the public, but on this day, around 7,500 buildings, gardens and archaeological sites will be open.
Images from a state capital
"Dusseldorf" is the simple title behind a new photographic exhibition by Candida Höfer, which opens at the Dusseldorf Kunstpalast on September 14. The capital of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, is at the center of the images. Over a period of four decades, Höfer captured the city's everyday spaces, such as a reading room or a train station. She says she is mainly interested in the structures and systems of these public areas.
The world's biggest folk festival
On September 21, Munich's Oktoberfest will once again be opened with a cry of "O'zapft is!" Yes, it's time to get your Dirndl and Lederhoseout of the cupboard. The Oide (Old) Oktoberfest will be held once again this year south of the Theresienwiese, where visitors can have the historic festival experience under a traditionally decorated marquee with rides from the 1920s.
The world-famous beer festival runs until October 6. Revelers can expect to pay between 9.40 ($12.48) und 9.85 euros per liter of beer.
Film buffs in Hamburg
In Hamburg you can grab a seat in the cinema this September and get comfortable. The harbor city hosts the Filmfest Hamburg from September 26 to October 5. Its focal theme, "Exile," will be explored in films such as "Saroyanland," a documentary in which Turkish director Lusin Dink joins American writer William Saroyan as he journeys to the home of his parents in eastern Anatolia.
Also new this year is a series of films dealing with the intersection of language, literature and film. The Douglas Sirk Award will be presented to Scottish actress Tilda Swinton. The prize has been given out every year at the festival since 1995, and honors individuals who promote film culture.