Join us at the Akustika Fair at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre from April 4-6 Meet The Strad team at stand F08 and pick up a free copy of the magazine The Strad Directory Jobs By 2022-09-26T08:09:00+01:00 Carlos Maria Solare reports from the festival in the northern German town primarily taking place at the Verdo Concert Hall from 30 July to 7 August 2022 The opening concert of the Hitzacker Summer Music Days’ 77th season was a tour de force from the Kuss Quartet of which the festival’s artistic director Oliver Wille is a member Individually and in various constellations the players took the audience on a breathtaking ride through music ranging from Haydn to – literally – yesterday Central to the interval-less concert was POST by Óscar Escudero a work that used AI in an intriguing way: the computer had been fed the complete works of Haydn and was seemingly taken with the latter’s op.95 Quartet as it quoted from it almost literally The real Haydn’s op.20 no.2 received a thrilling interpretation from the Kuss Thomas Adès’s O Albion provided a haunting background to a monologue by slam poet Bas Böttcher such is the virtuosity with which he delivered the most punningly intricate texts Violist William Coleman started the proceedings with an achingly beautiful rendition of George Benjamin’s Lullaby for Lalit while Wille dealt with the almost inaudible percussive effects of Helmut Lachenmann’s Toccatina A Bach Sarabande from Jana Kuss and an Armenian song from cellist Mikayel Hakhnazaryan were cannily placed after pieces of a more extrovert demeanour from percussionist Johannes Fischer Read: Brahms: String Quartet no.3 in B flat major op.67; Three Songs, Schoenberg: String Quartet no.2 in F sharp minor op.10 Read: Festival review: Hitzacker Summer Music Days 2020 Read: Kuss Quartet to play Paganini’s Strads In another adventurous piece of programming music by Mozart and Elliott Carter alternated to fascinating effect At a pre-concert Listeners’ Academy pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard gave a helpful introduction to Carter’s immensely intricate Piano Quintet The elusive Epigrams for piano trio – written shortly before his death at the age of 103 – were persuasively rendered by Aimard and members of the Kuss Quartet The ensemble also contributed a concentrated reading of Mozart’s ‘Dissonance’ Quartet featuring some virtuoso passagework from Jana Kuss in the finale Performing on a 1756 Guadagnini violin (on loan as part of his prize at the 2021 Joseph Joachim Competition) the Spanish newcomer Javier Comesaña conjured many beautiful moments Too free a rubato in the Franck Sonata blurred the underlying rhythm and there were some mood-killingly long pauses between movements Comesaña could expand his tonal palette to include more unashamedly sensuous sounds à la Toscha Seidel but the Falla and Korngold suites were beautifully done Another Guadagnini instrument turned up the same evening Displaying a close rapport with pianist Péter Nagy she gave sparky accounts of her own virtuoso arrangements of Stravinsky’s Suite italienne (based on both the violin and cello versions) and Schumann’s Stücke im Volkston The duo then ventured into the esoteric sonorities of Lera Auerbach’s Arcanum before letting their hair down in soulful readings of Argentinian and Armenian songs My much-too-short stay in Hitzacker ended on a high with Kashkashian joining the Kuss Quartet for Brahms’s op.111 she spoke of finding ‘a balance between song and speech’ which she proceeded to demonstrate with beautifully inflected phrases at the start of the slow movement Photo:  Kay-Christian Heine / Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker US correspondent Thomas May speaks with violinist Stefan Jackiw and cellist Jay Campbell of the Junction Trio about their upcoming programme at the 92nd St Y where they will give the world premiere of a new work John Zorn has written for them alongside music by Brahms and Shostakovich a string trio dated to Mozart’s early teenage years has been rediscovered in a German library and just received its modern premiere Harriet Smith takes a boat into Norway’s west-coast waterways to experience a Beethoven-inspired festival US correspondent Thomas May reviews Midori’s performance of the Brahms concerto with the Seattle Symphony under guest conductor Anja Bihlmaier on 23 January 2025 An all-American celebration of the concept of home Fine musicianship can’t quite overcome a flawed programme concept Site powered by Webvision Cloud Elections likely to serve up a reminder that almost 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall “Imagine Europe as a pair of lungs,” says Reiner Haseloff as he stares from the top deck of a river cruiser at the winding waterways below The river that cuts a roughly diagonal line from the North Sea to the Polish-Czech border has been more than just a waterway for at least 21 centuries As historian James Hawes traces in a recent book Roman emperors dared not venture beyond the Elbe and in the middle ages it formed the eastern border of Charlemagne’s empire Read moreThe country’s federal elections on 24 September are likely to serve up a reminder that “The geographical centre of Europe lies east of the Elbe,” says Haseloff a politician in Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union “Underestimating that fact is a problem that runs through all democratic parties in Germany If Alternative für Deutschland becomes the first overtly nationalist party to enter the German parliament since 1961, it will be largely due to its success in the east. Averaging around 7% in the old west in the latest polls the party stands to gain between 11% and 22% in all eastern states apart from Berlin Already in second place in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the AfD has realistic hopes of replacing the leftwing Die Linke as eastern Germany’s main voice of protest Angela Merkel and Stephan Weil Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/ReutersEast of the Elbe where the chancellor has scheduled a disproportionately high number of campaign rallies this month is also where her decisions at the height of the refugee crisis have found their fiercest criticism A survey from April 2017 suggests social attitudes to the issue in the former East German states remain more in line with eastern European countries A ferry trip across the Elbe between Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern illustrates the divide a 16th-century spa town on the western banks of the river the roads into the centre are lined with posters for the Christian Democrats and the Greens every other lamppost is clad in the blue and red of the AfD’s election posters which campaigns for tighter border controls and wants to copy Switzerland’s referenda-based model of direct democracy managed to grab 20% of the population’s vote in state elections last year Hitzacker’s social mix is unusually diverse for the country’s most sparsely populated region: many middle-class urbanites who protested against a nuclear waste disposal site in nearby Gorleben in the 1970s later retired here among farmers and older landed gentry Half-timbered buildings on the town square house an organic greengrocer a homeopathic therapist and a shop selling ceramic flower vases that cyclists can attach to their handle bars says that during the 2015 refugee crisis “everyone mucked in Some older ladies were literally fighting over who could take in individual refugees.” The only regret is that many asylum seekers have since moved away to bigger cities which used to be the biggest port between Hamburg and Magdeburg a CDU member and part-time driving instructor says the East German state actively discouraged the social mix that marks out Hitzacker “The SED [East Germany’s governing party] had no interesting in making the border zones attractive to live in The last thing it wanted was to have intelligent or creative people living so close to the west.” Economic restructuring after 1989 left many of the town’s buildings in the hands of owners who lived elsewhere and were reluctant to invest in their maintenance One of the two factories closed down; the other downsized A large shopping centre in the heart of the town lies empty and the museum has had to close earlier this year due to disrepair “Some of them were very educated too,” says Bode “But in the end they moved on because they couldn’t find any work.” Germany’s recently amended electoral system combining direct and proportional representation Its 61.5 million voters get two votes on a single ballot paper: the first for a local representative Roughly half the Bundestag’s seats are guaranteed to go to the 299 representatives of the country’s electoral districts each chosen by their constituents with their Erststimme, or first vote The rest are allocated according to the national vote share won by every party that clears a 5% threshold in the second vote or Zweitstimme – which is also used to determine the overall number of seats each party winds up with: if a party scores 25% of the national vote Sometimes parties return more Erststimme representatives than they are entitled to according to the Zweitstimme. So to compensate the other parties get extra seats – which means the Bundestag theoretically made up of 598 representatives could expand to as many as 800 (it currently has 631) Once a governing coalition has been formed Germany’s president (a largely ceremonial role) nominates the chancellor – usually the leader of the largest party – who is confirmed by parliament in a secret ballot Members of the party’s eastern faction tend to emphasise a period in which the east used to dictate terms to the Germany of the Rhine has called for a revival of “Prussian values” while the party’s joint election candidate Alexander Gauland has suggested that Germany’s policy towards Russia should be inspired by Otto von Bismarck the Prussian statesman and first chancellor of Germany calls for a centralised education system focused on “classic Prussian virtues such as straightforwardness He told the Guardian: “Let me make this clear: the AfD doesn’t want a revolution but we want a thorough reform to make Germany more suitable to the mentality of the east and the impulses that are set here.” CDU and AfD federal election campaign posters Photograph: Action Press/Rex/ShutterstockOpposition to such ideas have to do with “the strong leftwing movement,” which “want to prevent anything that unifies and strengthens Germany” Asked what economic policies his party offers to bridge the divide between east and west Poggenburg proposed that money currently invested in what he considers “unnecessary projects” such as integration courses for asylum seekers should instead be used to fund a new apprenticeship scheme for medium-sized businesses For Merkel – who was born on the Elbe but in Hamburg the old west – one of the biggest domestic challenges in her fourth term will be to win back the trust of eastern Germans alienated by how she steered the country through the refugee crisis like Merkel a former scientist raised in the east and once regarded as one of her close allies has a line on immigration which is not always easy to distinguish from that of the AfD “If we care about preserving Europe’s inner coherence then we need to find a solution to the migration problem that guarantees a certain cultural homogeneity and doesn’t overstrain the native population,” he says The Bible says: God visits the iniquities of the fathers on the children Europe and Germany will need until the end of this century to eliminate the last vestiges of the old iron curtain.” This article was amended on 8 September 2017 to add references to James Hawes book which were lost in initial editing Torrential rain and melting snow caused Germany’s Elbe River to rise to a record high level in northern parts of the country over the weekend flooding cities and damaging historic town centres ESA’s ERS-2 satellite has been monitoring the situation from space located in Lower Saxony about 100 kilometres from the Baltic Sea was one of the hardest-hit areas with the Elbe reaching 7.63 metres – almost three times its normal level – on Sunday threatening severe damage to 16th and 17th century houses Flooding is estimated to be the world's most costly kind of natural disaster With inundated areas typically visible from orbit Earth Observation (EO) is increasingly being used for flood response and mitigation the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters was initiated representing a joint effort by global space agency members to provide resources to rescue authorities responding to major natural or man-made disasters the German Joint Information and Situation Centre (GMLZ) requested maps of Germany’s flooded region The Charter then processed this request and recruited the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to produce the maps using satellite images provided by the space agencies ERS-2 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images were one of the main sources of images used to delineate the flooded areas DLR performed this service under the scope of the Risk-EOS service network – an initiative of ESA offering EO-based operational services for flood risk management including rapid mapping of major disasters Risk-EOS is part of ESA's initial Services Element of Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) a joint initiative between ESA and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring capability for Europe harnessing all available ground- and space-based data sources The federal departments for flood protection and water management of the German states of Saxony along with the city of Dresden’s Department for Environment The police department of Potsdam also used the information to coordinate their forces the severe flooding in Germany had abated but saturated dykes in some areas are still under strain Some 3 000 rescue workers have been deployed to the affected areas in recent days to reinforce dykes and distribute sandbags along the Elbe Hitzacker officials have said the Elbe’s water level reached 13 centimetres higher than it did in the devastating floods in the summer of 2002 which saw water levels reach 150-year highs across parts of Central and Eastern Europe Bei der Neujahrs-Reunion für die Alumni unseres Young Leaders-Programmes baten wir einige der Teilnehmer ihre Geschichte zu erzählen – sei es über persönliches Wachstum über eine Geschäftsidee oder über eine Begegnung Die daraus entstandenen Reden waren sehr persönlich Der folgende Vortrag ist von Karoline Klose ehemals bei den Vereinten Nationen (YL 2017) I was a young leader in 2017 and I am excited to be here today It is actually funny that I am up here sharing my story Because I was actually thinking about not coming to the reunion because I was embarrassed to show up here empty-handed with not so much to show at the moment among all these high-flying I am currently on a sabbatical; taking time out from the rat race we call life and helping build an eco-village in northern Germany (Hitzacker) When I was asked if I want to speak I thought: maybe I should do this Maybe I should speak up for those who don’t dare to or can’t speak up to break the taboo and by being open and vulnerable allow others to be open and vulnerable rather than continuing the charade saying that everything is fine while inside you are burnt out or suffering from trauma I won’t be offended if you leave the room at some point For the next 10 minutes – I know many of you here today have different backgrounds – I want to take you on a journey into the world of the United Nations and international development I can tell you two different stories: one of living the dream of working for the United Nations living and working in 10 different countries over the past 10 years Here the obligatory humble brag picture every UN staff does Or I can tell you the impact this kind of work had on me something no one talked about before I started my career or at least not in a way that would have made me listen I didn’t really pay attention to self-care workshops or online trainings I had done a kidnapping/war zone training with the German military and had survived being robbed and held for several hours in Tanzania In the beginning it was the classic psychosomatic symptoms: Then halfway through my year in Haiti my first panic attack: I was back home in Germany and just could not stop crying at the thought of having to take a plane back I also felt guilty: I had asked for the transfer to Haiti from New York and as a specialist for fragile states I finished the year but I did not extend for a second After that I thought I would be fine the moment I left Haiti What I did not know is that trauma knows no time that’s when it really kicked in and things really got started: What has helped me since: talking to ex-colleagues and finding out that I am not alone that others were experiencing the exact same or similar symptoms I started therapy and got diagnosed with classic symptoms of trauma a form of post-traumatic-stress-disorder and burnout from cumulative stress But I also did not want this pain to disappear I wanted the organization to take responsibility for the damage done Like a carpenter who breaks his back falling off a roof while at work unable to work on a construction site in his job anymore I wanted it to be recognized that this is a professional risk We are warned that we might be bodily harmed working in crisis countries but nobody talks about the psychological harm We get a medical checkup before heading out to check if we are fit to deploy but no one checks in what state we come back your contract and health insurance just runs out There is a deal you enter with the organization: “I will go anywhere you need me to go in return: you will keep me safe.“ This deal was broken You are probably asking yourself what happened to me thought it was my fault that I could not handle it But what helped was finding people who had had similar experiences whether it was firsthand trauma or secondary trauma from doing interviews with refugees or handling disturbing content The worst that you can do when someone comes to you with something like this I don’t know what it was and I don’t want to create fear I just want to break down the taboo that we can openly talk about trauma And support each other and reach out and have an open ear and heart Even if you are not in the world of international organizations and development it does not have to be a war zone but it can be a job or environment that is not good for you: get help and just don’t stay too long This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page a German who has witnessed the country's progress over the past 36 years German's book attempts to brush the cobwebs off the cliched ideas and prejudices traditionally held against China Uwe Kraeuter would hear enchanting stories about Shanghai - a city his sailor grandfather had passed by on his way to Japan A deep mystical connection must have formed between the young German and the land that his folks oft en said was "further away from the moon" Any foreigner who has lived in China for the past 36 years has seen many momentous events and dramatic reversals - from community kitchens to de-collectivization of agricultural produce from the spontaneous nationwide mourning at the passing away of legendary figures such as Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong (see sidebar "Kraeuter's 're-education' in the countryside") to the spectacular extravaganza of the Beijing Olympics that stunned the world While there are hundreds of books from the outsider purporting to unravel the China "enigma" Kraeuter's Grenzueberschreitung - 35 Jahre in China (Crossing the Border) published in Gong Yingxing's Chinese translation Kraeuter reached certain milestones well before it became commonplace for other foreigners to do so "I am probably the European who has lived here continuously for the longest time I did a lot of firsts for a foreigner: facilitated cultural exchanges between China and Germany started the trend of simultaneous translation married a Chinese actress," Kraeuter informs Shen's glowing smile and impish charm - still fresh after 25 years of marriage - was an instant hit with Kraeuter It was primarily the Oriental mystique about Shen that attracted him Kraeuter says - a mystery that still endures The heady romance was thwarted somewhat when the two applied for a marriage license "The Chinese leadership was not too keen to have foreigners marrying Chinese girls So her marrying outside the community would have set a precedent," Kraeuter says I had already lived here for 10 years and spoke Chinese," he adds adapted to the Chinese way of courting a girl he was serious about who works in the hospitality industry near Nanjing have grown up imbibing the culture and values of both worlds "They are Chinese in terms of sensibilities but admire the West having been there several times," Kraeuter says Photographs of the winsome foursome hang on the walls of their cozy apartment painted by renowned Chinese artist Huang Yongyu The original version was castigated by guardians of the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) who felt the "wink" was a mockery of what was perceived as a repressive system that did not allow artistic freedom Huang was among Kraeuter's big circle of friends persecuted during the "cultural revolution" playwright and former director of Beijing People's Art Theater who translated A Dream of the Red Mansions into English and film director Ling Zifeng were all pulled up for offending the establishment in some way or the other Once he heard first-person accounts of the gagging of artists and writers Kraeuter's initial euphoria about the success of socialism in China gave way to skepticism When he arrived in Beijing to work as an editor with the Foreign Languages Press in 1974 soon after having participated in a demonstration against US Defense Secretary Robert McNamara - commonly perceived as the chief architect of the American attack on Vietnam - Kraeuter was moved by what the communist leadership had achieved for their people adding that China's anti-Vietnam War stance had enhanced his admiration of the country "I got the real story from my artist friends who suffered immensely during the 'cultural revolution'," Kraeuter says A rebel by nature and passion - he was tried in absentia back home in Germany for his political activities and would have had to serve a prison sentence if he weren't living in China in 1975 - Kraeuter says he was impressed with the idea of communist politics and the fact that China could make it work But he wasn't prepared for the excesses that the socialist system generated in its wake "the fact that it came to be guided by a faction with the aim of strengthening its own position and power" "China has progressed more than any other country in the past 30 years including in the area of human rights," Kraeuter remarks "We should not analyze and judge China from Western perspectives of development see our own politics as naturally the best in the world and therefore universally accepted." His book is a small attempt at brushing the cobwebs off the clichd ideas and prejudices traditionally held against China producing and directing TV series and documentary features he has dabbled in simultaneous translation was instrumental in taking a stage production of Lao She's Teahouse to Germany presenter and actor and been a facilitator for cultural exchanges between the two countries Life has become a bit more relaxed since he moved to his present address He loves the landscaped garden and sinuous architecture of his new home I can walk rather than having to drive in Beijing When he does go out for a spin it's in a Mercedes Benz Living in Beijing is beautiful for this silver-haired man who has spent the better part of his life building cultural bridges but "you still need a bit of your background" to sustain that flow "But I'm definitely more than a visitor in China You could even say I'm married to China," Kraeuter says suddenly cheerful about the double entendre he has just made He hastens to add that as a foreigner one can never really belong to the country he has made his home In his book he writes about this sense of detachment "But this loneliness is healthy as it keeps you mentally alert," Kraeuter explains "You can never stop thinking about and comparing the two cultures you live between." He is glad about the dual cultural experience that has enriched his life "I totally enjoy being different in China," he says China has not exhausted its storehouse of magic and mystery that Kraeuter had heard about from his grandfather more than half a century ago Photograph: Christian Charisius/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images