HERE'S TO A NEW ONE

Even if we don't always say it and even if we seem to be going about our daily business, our thoughts are constantly on Ukraine, on the devastating consequences of a useless and human-destroying war, in solidarity with the Ukrainians and all those affected.

Since the outbreak of the war, a group of international - especially Ukrainian and Russian - HfMT students have been involved in a series of benefit concerts, the proceeds of which have enabled us to provide various forms of aid.

All current activities and support opportunities can be found here

"...Of course, the whole situation in Ukraine has not left us cold either. The violence being perpetrated there has been a recurring theme in our rehearsals since the beginning. We discussed what we could do and whether we could simply join forces to organize a convoy of supplies to Ukraine. However, as we were tied to our rehearsal stage in Hamburg, we decided to help the people here on the ground. At the migration center in Wandsbek, the arriving refugees - mainly women with small children - sometimes stand in the cold for hours, sometimes overnight, to get registered. We then set up a group to provide these people with essentials such as blankets, gloves, baby food, sanitary towels and hot tea or cheese sandwiches. And above all, to make them feel welcome.

These experiences have allowed us to grow together as a group with all the wonderful people involved. A basic trust and the feeling of pulling together that gives me a great sense of security when we are on stage together."

Jonas Hellenkemper is one of the seven drama students from our graduating class who will be performing in the play [BLANK] on April 8 and 9. British author Alice Birch has created an impressive kaleidoscope of 100 freely combinable scenes in which the characters grow up, live and act within a tightly knit network of violent structures. Violence is examined in its various manifestations and does not appear alone: it is paired with jealousy, self-hatred, love, cowardice, grief, etc.

"In the 20 scenes selected for us, we players were allowed to bring our personalities to bear. When distributing the text and reading it together again and again, we paid very close attention to the extent to which the person playing could establish a connection to the text, to the character. Due to the early clarity in the distribution, there was a lot of time to deal with our own scene, so that we have already reached a depth of text that often only emerges after a few performances."

Premiere of BLANK on April 8 in the Malersaal of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus

Let's immerse ourselves in the virtual reality (VR) of Kandinsky's "White Dot"!

Wassily Kandinsky developed his own theory of art. He composed shapes and colors into pictures. For example, yellow was a warm color for him, with a high tone and a pointed shape. He himself called his painting "White Dot" "Composition No. 248".

The multimedia composer Konstantina Orlandatou transforms the painting into a three-dimensional space in which she makes elements of the painting resound through interactions. Inspired by Kandinsky's art theory, she creates a sound and resonance field that we can actively shape! This is how Moving Sound Pictures works - a project in which Konstantina Orlandatou has been exploring the connection between music and visual art through VR technologies for years.

This interactive installation is now being shown for the first time in cooperation with the Hamburger Kunsthalle in direct connection with the original work. "It is really impressive to observe how the analog mixes with the digital and changes the view of the artwork. The artwork and the music are so similar, like two sides of a golden medal that radiates an incredible energy. It makes us feel alive!" - says the multimedia composer.

SEE, HEAR, PLAY KANDINSKY! From April 8 to June 26 at the Hamburger Kunsthalle

Moving Sound Pictures is funded by the BMBF and the GWK as part of Stage_2.0 in the federal-state initiative Innovative University.

Anything else?

Yes, please! For example, crazy big orchestral pieces, gigantic organs and far too long class evenings... That and more is what Prof. Gordon Kampe wants, and yet he has no idea what awaits him and us when we raise the curtain for four days of the latest music on April 25. And that's exactly the point: everything is allowed and nothing has to be. The main thing is no limits and no distance.

From April 25-28, the HfMT will be dedicated to the latest music and we invite you to participate and take a look into our experimental kitchen. There will be concerts by students and renowned ensembles, master classes and talks, classically composed "new music" alongside sound concepts designed using multimedia. And most of it is only just being thought up. We all want to take a look at the very latest and feel what it does to us.

Subito - Festival for New Music from April 25-28

Why? Why? Why?

Let's ask Mari: "I chose Walton because I love English music in general, and I think the Walton Concerto is one of the really coolest and most beautiful works for viola. The piece is a very unusual mixture of English folk melodies, impressionism and jazzy rhythms. I can almost see the English moors or London in the 1920s when I play it."
Mari Viluksela's solo performance with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra on April 29 marks the end of her studies at the HfMT and she is looking forward to this particularly festive event.

However, the end of her studies is not a real turning point for the violist, who has been active as a freelancer both in Finland and Germany for many years. In addition to many chamber music, baroque and new music projects, she is currently under contract as principal violist with the Finnish Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.

The concert on April 29 will also feature Schumann's First Symphony and Ludwig van Beethoven's Consecration of the House. The conductor will be Prof. Ulrich Windfuhr's conducting class.

Windfuhr's workshop concert on 29.4.