German #YearOverHere

Resources to help you immerse yourself in the language!

Cultural events across the UK!

January 2015

24th Jan - 27th Feb: 'The Marriage of Figaro', Grand Theatre, Leeds

After her success with Ruddigore and Carousel, Jo Davies returns to Opera North to direct Mozart’s great comedy of class and sex. Richard Burkhard sings the title role, with Silvia Moi as his bride Susanna.

30th Jan - 25th Feb: Launch of Harun Farocki Festival, Tate Modern, London

Throughout 2015, there will be a number of events celebrating the life of filmmaker, artist and author Harun Farocki, who died in July 2014. The first will be a screening of his seminal essay film Images of the World and the Inscription of War,which will launch Tate Modern's dedicated film series for the exhibition, Time, Conflict, Photography. 

February 2015

4th Feb: Skulptor - Contemporary Nordic Video Installations, Goethe-Institut, London

Icelandic artist Sigurður Guðjónsson interrogates the interplay of image, sound and space, while Mariken Kramer (Norway) explores the ‘creation of division’ and scrutinises complex questions of inclusion in contemporary society.

5th Feb: A Bright Night: Technologies of Affect, Goethe-Institut, London

Inspired by Reiner Ruthenbeck's 1977 installation, Zwielicht / Entre chien et loup, at the Serpentine Gallery, this evening of screenings, readings, talks and performances addresses light, happiness, affect and productivity in contemporary culture.

7th Feb: Jan St. Werner concert, Cafe OTO, London

Jan St. Werner is one half of the pioneering German electronic music duo Mouse on Mars. 

11th Feb: Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker, Barbican Hall, London

Rattle and the Philharmoniker perform Sibelius' symphony cycle alongside the composer's Violin Concerto.

11th Feb: Public Talk - Kasper König on Reiner Ruthenbeck, Goethe Institut, London

Curator and academic Kasper König presents a lecture on Reiner Ruthenbeck's works and his exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery.

14th-15th Feb:  Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Festival Hall, London

This time, Rattles pairs with the Philharmoniker to perform Lachenmann's Tableau for orchestra and Mahler's Symophony No. 2.

17th Feb: Harun Farocki Festival: Screening ofInterface and Respite, Goethe-Institut, London

The Goethe-Institut will present this programme of two Farocki films, in relation to the Farocki exhibition at the Tate Modern and the anniversaries of WW1 and WW2. 

19th Feb:Harun Farocki Festival: Screening of Between Two Wars, Goethe-Institut, London

The Goethe-Institut will present this feature length film, in relation to the Farocki exhibition at the Tate Modern and the anniversaries of WW1 and WW2.

22nd Feb: Jenny Erpenbeck at Jewish Book Week, Kings Place, London

Hear award-winning German author Jenny Erpenbeck and acclaimed novelist Doron Rabinovici in conversation with New Statesman lead fiction reviewer Leo Robson.

23rd Feb: Harun Farocki Festival: Screening of Still Life, Goethe-Institut, London

The Goethe-Institut will present this feature length film, in connection with a special Farocki event on the 25th February. 

24th Feb: Curatorial Dialogues: Diedrich Diederichsen, Royal College of Art, London

Diedrich Diederichsen is an author, music journalist, cultural critic, and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He is one of Germany’s most renowned intellectual writers at the intersection of the arts, politics, and pop culture. A former editor-in-chief of Spex magazine, his most recent publication Über-Pop-Musik proposes ‘pop’ as an aesthetic category, one constructed by the audience.

25th Feb: Harun Farocki Festival: Launch of book Brave New Work, The Showroom, London

The launch of new book Brave New Work will be marked by a screening of Farocki's film A New Product and a conversation between the book's editor Nina Möntmann, cultural critic Diedrich Diedrichsen and artist and curator Kodwo Eshun.

March 2015

5th March (until Autumn 2016): Hans Haacke: Gift Horse on the Fourth Plinth, Trafalgar Square, London

In March, Hans Haacke’s Gift Horse will be installed on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. In place of the statue of William IV astride a horse – as was originally planned for the empty plinth – Haacke proposed a skeleton of a strutting horse.

5th March: Screening of Notes from Lagos, Goethe-Institut, London

Notes from Lagos portrays six of the city's inhabitants from different walks of life. 

18th March: Screening of DramaConsult, Goethe-Institut, London

A film that sets up and records an experiment that tries to give the business relations between the North and South of Lagos a new direction.

25th March: Screening of Zeit der Kannibalen, Goethe-Institut, London

From the safety of luxury hotels in the mega-cities of the world’s emerging economies, they shift capital, companies and jobs. They are three business consultants and the protagonists of Johannes Naber’s sharply scripted and brilliantly acted satire about the neo-colonialist outgrowths of gobal capitalism.

April 2015

May 2015

15th May: Found in Translation: Contemporary Poets Discuss Translation, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

International poets and translators Jamie McKendrick, Michael Hofmann and Jan Wagner discuss the influence of translation on their own writings and contemporary poetry more generally. Considering their positions as both readers and translators, the panel considers the issues concerning the translation of foreign poetry.

29th May - 11th July: Herbert Golser: a quivering solidity (exhibition), Rosenfeld Porcini, London

Following a successful solo show at the ACF London and a group show at rosenfeld porcini, Austrian sculptor Herbert Golser returns to the gallery with a solo show featuring new works. This is a wonderful opportunity to see Golser's most recent works.

June 2015

16th June - 3rd July: Exhibition: Umdenken - von der Natur lernen, Goethe-Institut, London

An exhibition dealing with the four elements - earth, water, fire and air. Using interactive examples, it engages pupils directly and showcases what each of us can do to help. 

26th June: 4K restoration of The Third Man, cinemas across the UK

The first ever 4K restoration of The Third Man (1949) will open in cinemas across the UK this June. Upon its release in 1949, Carol Reed’s atmospheric thriller instantly became a classic, winning the Grand Prix at Cannes, a BAFTA for Best British Film, and the Oscar for Best Cinematography for Robert Krasker.

July 2015

16th - 17th July: Wiener Akademie Orchestra, St Albans Cathedral

The St Albans International Organ Festival will present the Wiener Akademie orchestra, founded and led by distinguished conductor and organist Martin Haselböck. The orchestra prides itself on a wide repertoire ranging from Baroque, Classical, Romantic to early Twentieth-Century music performed on period instruments.

20th July: Prom 5: Haydn, HK Gruber & Stravinsky, Royal Albert Hall, London

Petrushka, with its bustling Shrovetide fair and colourful carnival characters, launches a week dominated by the music of Stravinsky. All three of the composer’s great scores for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes are performed this season – bright, folkloric textures gradually giving way to new musical brutality. Former BBC Young Musician of the Year Colin Currie joins the BBC Philharmonic under its Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds.

August 2015

5th August: Poetry Library - the View from Salzburg, Southbank Centre, London

Under its editors, Wolfgang Goertschacher and Andreas Schachermayr, Poetry Salzburg has committed itself to publishing contemporary poetry in English, from poets all over the world. A small selection of recently-published poets, who have all had volumes published by Poetry Salzburg, will read at this Special Edition event at the Poetry Library.

22nd August - 18th October: Kiki Kogelnik: Fly Me to the Moon (exhibition), Modern Art Oxford, Oxford

Modern Art Oxford presents the first solo exhibition in the UK of acclaimed Austrian artist Kiki Kogelnik (1935-1997). Fly Me To The Moon surveys the diverse practice of this remarkable artist, focusing in particular on the works produced by Kogelnik during her time in New York in the 1960s and 1970s. The exhibition includes a number of paintings, sculptures and drawings which reflect the tumult of the Cold War era, when the Space Race was at its height and fears of nuclear annihilation were growing.

24th August: Bach Hours (concert), St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh

The Orgelbuechlein Project goes to the Edinburgh Festival with Bach Hours, a special three-part concert. Rare chance to hear Bach's uplifting Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book) complete, plus a dozen modern contributions to the Orgelbüchlein Project – the project aiming to fill the 118 blank pages in Bach's collection. Each piece is a miniature gem, capturing in a mere moment a world of image, symbolism and emotion.

September 2015

1st Sept - 18th Oct: Kiki Kogelnik: Fly Me To The Moon, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford

Modern Art Oxford presents the first solo exhibition in the UK of acclaimed Austrian artist Kiki Kogelnik (1935-1997). The exhibition includes a number of paintings, sculptures and drawings which reflect the tumult of the Cold War era, when the Space Race was at its height and fears of nuclear annihilation were growing.

2nd - 12th Sept: Hamlet is Dead: No Gravity, Arcola Theatre, London

Volta International Play Festival debuts this year with five new plays by award-winning writers from across the world translated into English for the first time. The festival will be staged at the Arcola Theatre in Hackney and features ‘Hamlet is Dead. No Gravity’ by Austrian playwright Ewald Palmetshofer directed by VOLTA artistic director Andrea Ferran. Something’s rotten in Mani and Dani’s childhood home. Bine and Oli got married, but did they make the right choice? Kurt has a secret, and his wife Caro knows it. Hannes is dead, but who pulled the trigger?

4th Sept: Congress of Vienna conference, Austrian Cultural Forum London

On the occasion of the 200-year-anniversary of the Congress of Vienna, the Austrian Cultural Forum London is pleased to host this one day conference, organised by Jonathan Kwan (University of Nottingham). In the 200 years since the Congress of Vienna redrew the map of Europe there have been many contrasting views on its functioning, achievements and legacy. This conference provides an opportunity to reflect on the exisiting scholarship and points to new directions in research.

8th Sept: Rafael Fingerlos (baritone) and Bernadette Bartos (piano), Austrian Cultural Forum London

The next New Artists recital presents the outstanding young baritone Rafael Fingerlos: an artist making a real name for himself in his native Austria. Born in Salzburg, he took both first prize and the audience award at the 2013 Franz Schubert competition in Styria. He will be accompanied by Bernadette Bartos, a pianist who made her Musikverein debut as the soloist in Beethoven’s 3rd piano concerto but also has an international career in chamber music and song – not least as an accompanist for Wolfgang Holzmair.