Welcome!

„Exile“ is the theme of my first year at the Hitzacker Summer Music Festival. But what exactly is “exile”?

What first comes to mind are the artists who were driven out of Germany in the last century, composers like Schönberg, Weill, Brecht, Korngold. Or those who were incarcerated, like Schulhoff and Messiaen. All of them will be part of this year’s festival. But does the idea of exile only apply to a politically motivated loss of homeland?

The British composer Rebecca Saunders, our “Composer Out of Residence”, went into aesthetic exile in Germany and has lived in Berlin for more than 20 years. The intentional reduction, the asceticism found in Morton Feldman’s work is another example. Schumann’s and Beethoven’s late works might be seen as notations of the composers’ inner exile. And the surroundings of our festival home in Hitzacker, referred to before 1989 as “the Iron Curtain border area”, tell exile tales all their own.

The Festival Walk and a jazz concert, Vienna classicism and classical modernity, the more obscure works of renowned masters (Schubert, Haydn) and the musical masterpieces of less-known composers (Eröd, Gál) are all part of our program. A whole day is devoted to Vienna, the epitome of a haven for artists from a variety of backgrounds.

I am especially delighted that Matthias Goerne has accepted our invitation to perform at this year’s festival. He will be singing Schubert’s Lieder, invoking the depth of night and the world of dreams as sanctuaries of a special nature. Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Marino Formenti and the Camerata Bern are but a few of the fantastic artists we’ll be getting to know in Hitzacker.

I am certain that after this week-long musical expedition, we shall all view the idea of “exile” from a new perspective. I very much look forward to going down this path together with you.

Carolin Widmann, Artistic Director