Dresden Music Festival Until June 10, 2019

The motto of this year's music festival is "Visions".

Watch out for the building site in Saxony's capital Dresden. In front of the Royal Palace, the Palace of Culture, the Semper Opera House and the Augustus Bridge, the main railway station - cranes, construction machinery and gravel pits are lurking in many corners. Once again, Dresden is being spruced up. 2025 is the target. Dresden has applied to be the Capital of Culture for this year. It is not yet known whether the efforts will bear fruit, but renovations can never hurt. The motto is "New Home", as Mayor Dirk Hilbert proudly explained in his speech to the audience in the Kulturpalast at the opening of the Dresden Music Festival on May 16. Dresden in search of what home means for the city. It is possible that this is an attempt to shed the image of a Pegida home. In any case, there are plenty of foreigners in the "Florence on the Elbe". And in the form of tourists. On the mild spring day after the opening of the music festival, clusters of people push their way across the Brühl Terraces and through the Residenz, past the Palace of Culture towards the Frauenkirche dominating the square.


News in the Neustadt

You can leave the graceful baroque architecture of the Old Town via the Augustus Bridge to conquer the New Town. Shady trees, numerous small boutiques and even more eateries dominate the streets around the Heilig-Geistkirche church. The charming Pastamanufaktur is the perfect place to stop for a bite to eat in the charming courtyard.

The scene is buzzing around the Scheune event center. A mixture of Berlin and Nottinghill has emerged here. Despite the graffiti on the walls, gentrification has taken full effect here. As a reference to the years before reunification, there is a Konsum and a German pub called Planwirtschaft. The Kunstpassage is more or less an offshoot of Hackesche Höfe Berlin, only with an alternative look: bright colors and quirky artwork on the building facades.


Close to nature

After a trip to Dresden's hip and trendy district, take a relaxing trip to the Elbe. The starting point for a walk along the riverbank is the "Blue Wonder". A suspension bridge that connects two parts of the city, under which there is busy shipping traffic on the Elbe. You could walk along the banks for hours or take a stroll and relax in one of the beer gardens. The fact that the river can be quite different is mentioned in every blurb on the menu. The flood of the century in 2002 is probably still in everyone's bones here.


Music is in the air

The Semper Opera House is the best-known venue for classical music in Dresden, but the Dresden Music Festival has established itself well as a venue for continuous quality. This year, they are taking place under the motto "Visions" from May 16 to June 10.
The opening concert was performed by the Dresden Festival Orchestra under Ivor Bolton. Between the works by Weber and Schumann, a highlight was on the program for the Dresdeners. Schubert songs by René Pape. The bass-baritone was born here and the tall singer was well received. He himself did not seem to feel very comfortable in the world of Atlas and the Fisher Girl and accepted the applause with great modesty.
The next evening promised female power. Mirga Gražinytė -Tyla is a delicate Lithuanian conductor who took to the podium in front of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and kicked off with an impressive work by Ligeti: Românesc. Pianist Kid Armstrong made his entrance after a series of cancellations. Schumann's piano concerto turned out to be a small showcase for the former child prodigy, an interpretation of the piece that led to harmonious moments despite the young pianist's dramatic gestures. Gražinytė-Tyla spontaneously entertained the audience with witty words while the piano was hoisted onto the stage, and advertised vigorously for "her" orchestra. A charming performance that earned her sympathy points from the audience, even if she wasn't able to convince everyone with her conducting. However, her soft, flowing movements made for some wonderful moments.


A matter for the boss

On May 18, artistic director Jan Vogler fulfilled a special wish. The world premiere of pieces by three living composers. Vogler interpreted them on the cello accompanied by the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the direction of its chief conductor Cristian Măcelaru. Composed by the American Nico Muhly, the German Sven Helbig and the Chinese Zhou Long - three continents - one story. They wrote their pieces independently of each other. They met for the first time during the afternoon rehearsals and were immediately in each other's arms with enthusiasm. Whether the music is considered sensational or not is beside the point, after all, when are three composers ready for applause at the same time?

www.musikfestspiele.com

Photo credit: Oliver Killig