





Opening of Martha Argerich Festival Hamburg 2024 – »Scholem Alejchem«
Past dates
6/20/24
5:15 PM
6/20/24
7:30 PM
The opening of this year's Martha Argerich Festival at Kampnagel revolves around the theme of »Jewish life in Europe«. The three-part opening combines a reading, a concert and a panel discussion: In the first part, actor Hans-Jürgen Schatz reads 13 chapters from the new, as yet unpublished translation of Scholem Aleichem's »Tales from a Thousand and One Nights«. Here, Aleichem describes Central Europe in the first months of the First World War and the beginning of the end of Jewish life there.
For the subsequent concert, Martha Argerich has invited pianist Sergio Tiempo, clarinetist Pablo Barragán, double bassist Haggai Cohen-Milo and other musicians and members of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra to play works by Max Bruch, Maurice Ravel, Osvaldo Golijov and jazz. The musical part is framed by literature: With Scholem Aleichem's 14th chapter, a story about Jewish life in Europe in the early 20th century meets Shakespeare's Shylock from »The Merchant of Venice«, one of the most famous Jewish figures of Renaissance theater. Alongside Hans-Jürgen Schatz, Samuel Weiss appears as Shylock.
The event concludes with a panel discussion entitled »The Jewish people, freedom and the cultural industry« with philosopher Christoph Menke, historian Michael Wolffsohn and cultural scientist Stella Leder, moderated by Daniel Kühnel.
The Martha Argerich Festival, which has been organized by the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra since 2018, takes on a slightly different form this year. Unlike in recent years,when the Laeiszhalle was the artistic home of the festival, the 2024 edition will head out into the city and play in various locations. Together with Martha Argerich, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra is happy to take up this impulse: all artistic encounters are fulfilled withthe spirit of a voyage of discovery.
Concert program:
- Scholem Alejchem: »Tales from a Thousand and One Nights« (Chapter 14)
- Recitation: Hans-Jürgen Schatz
- Maurice Ravel: »La Valse«
- Piano: Martha Argerich, Sergio Tiempo
- William Shakespeare: Monologue from »The Merchant of Venice«
- Recitation: Samuel Weiss
- Osvaldo Golijov: »The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind«
- Clarinet: Pablo Barragán / Violin: Adrian Iliescu, Satoko Koike / Viola: Bruno Merse / Violoncello: Li Li / Jazz & Double Bass: Haggai Cohen-Milo / Saxophone: Omri Abramov & Ori Jacobson / Piano: Nitai Hershkovits / Drums: Amir Bresler
- Max Bruch: »Kol Nidrei«
- Violoncello: Edgar Moreau / Piano: Martha Argerich