Semper Bar: Electronic Impressions: Cocktail Napkin: Ein Jahr hat 13 Monate / A Year Has 13 Months: Discussion with Axel Ranisch: Patrick Hahn: Patrick Hahn: VolkseigenTon: Aaron Pegram

Staatskapelle violinist Alexander Ernst and former solo timpanist Bernhard Schmidt, together with son and grandson Konstantin Schmidt, spotlight their second passion: electronic music. They have created a particular style that celebrates the great role models of the 1970s while expanding on the electronic music of today. Played with classic analogue synthesisers and modular systems, supported by step sequencers and drums, pre-programmed sequences are combined with improvised elements to create a delightful interaction between musician and machine. And the audience has a unique opportunity to hear the theremin, one of the pioneering electronic instruments that helped create the genre. Don’t miss one of these rare concerts where the musicians bring their analogue synthesiser treasures from the studio to the stage and engage in some live music-making.

There are actually people who don’t know the 35th of May or that the year has 13 months. Well, they’ve probably never read Erich Kästner. This shocking educational gap will be closed at this recital. Kästner’s poetry has frequently been set to music, most famously in the songs of Edmund Nick, most of which were written in close collaboration with the Dresden author. The thread running through this evening will be »Die 13 Monate« (The 13 Months), complemented by additional songs all featuring Kästner’s funnily perceptive and precisely observed lyrics, in which he pokes fun at our human idiosyncrasies. And if you still don’t believe in his extended calendar, we strongly recommend taking a look at Kästner’s books.

Variety is the order of the day when you spend an evening at the Semper Bar in Semper Zwei: that jack-of-all-trades, Axel Ranisch, who is staging „Intermezzo“ at the Semperoper, invites the audience to join him in exploring his own opera highlights. 

Patrick Hahn, conductor of the Strauss opera „Intermezzo“, will present himself over two evenings as a veritable chansonnier, paying homage to the unique humour of Georg Kreisler with sharp-witted and satirical songs.

Patrick Hahn, conductor of the Strauss opera Intermezzo, will present himself over two evenings as a veritable chansonnier, paying homage to the unique humour of Georg Kreisler with sharp-witted and satirical songs

Axel Ranisch, Ragna Schirmer and Matthias Daneck are presenting a very special evening at which they explore the question of whether the GDR had its own unique sound. How political are musical compositions? What picture is painted by the poetry of the GDR? What were the ideals of its artists? What kind of future do they portray? Pianist Ragna Schirmer, percussionist Matthias Daneck and actor, director and author Axel Ranisch illuminate four decades of GDR history in words and music, revealing contradictions between artists of the avant-garde and those aligned with the communist system. They view the music and poetry of this age between two poles, namely criticism of and loyalty to the regime. In addition to well-known figures such as Paul Dessau, Friedrich Goldmann, Bertolt Brecht, Thomas Brasch, Sarah Kirsch and Eva Strittmatter, the three artists also take a look at less familiar names. The selection of works juxtaposes the private and the political, the personal and the partisan. A journey through the years 1949 to 1990, which, against the backdrop of our modern global tensions, also has a truly contemporary relevance.

The Semper Bar doesn’t close its doors until the end of June when Aaron Pegram sends us off into the summer holidays with an entertaining crossover programme.