kultur vergnügen - Goethe-Institut2 kulturvergnügen | winter | 2013 kulturvergnügen | winter | 2013 3 Dr. Bertram von Moltke Head, Cultural Department, German Embassy Wilfried Eckstein

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Dr. Bertram von Moltke

Head, Cultural Department, German Embassy

Wilfried Eckstein

Director, Goethe-Institut Washington

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e The Goethe-Institut Washington and the German Embassy wish you and yours a happy 2013!

Fresh ideas and initiatives are needed to confront world crises. The Goethe-Institut’s series Mapping Democracy, highlighted by a panel discussion between experts in the U.S., Germany and Greece, addresses the present state of democracy and perspectives on its future.

DC is rich in examples of how the arts can revitalize empty city centers and create com-munity. Together with EUNIC, the European Union National Institutes for Culture, and Baltimore partners, we launch Transit – Creative Placemaking in Baltimore. The project will foster exchanges of ideas between Baltimore and cities throughout Europe.

Piano Battle, an innovative concert format, kicks off our winter season. Proceeds from the event will be used to further the Transit project.

Climate change is complex and undeniable. In cooperation with the Environmental Film Festival, we present several films and a discussion, including the series Mekong Days, about the status of a developing region of the world which has lasting ramifications on us all.

The culture of memory is as crucial as our search for a sustainable future. The National Gallery of Art presents the exhibition Albrecht Dürer, about this innovative German artist and teacher; Wagner 200 commemorates the 200th birthday of Richard Wagner.

gute aussichten, featuring winners of the annual competition for contemporary German photogra-phy, returns to our FotoGalerie in late February. So do our annual presentation of Chinese, American and German poetry, rebranded as Trialogue, and a Contemporary Voices reading, part of Zeitgeist DC.

The popular Film|Neu film festival, presenting the newest in German language cinema, has been moved to October. Stay tuned for updates on the films, guests and events at filmneu.org. Sprechen Sie Deutsch? The Goethe-Institut is the place to refresh your German language. We offer courses at all levels, including a weekday early-morning beginners course. Our monthly Deutsch am Mittag provides a further opportunity to practice.

This winter, escape the dreariness outside with classical music performances by the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn at George Mason University, the Dresden Staatskapelle playing Brahms at Strathmore, and the rising violist Veit Hertenstein, coming to Washington in April.

Several exhibits with a connection to Germany are ongoing this winter, including Shock of the News at the National Gallery of Art, featuring 11 German artists, and an exhibit on Germany and its costumes at the German-American Heritage Museum. Until January 21, the Confederate Sketches of Adalbert Volck exhibit can still be seen at the National Portrait Gallery.

Theater and history buffs can look forward to a rare US performance of Friedrich Schiller’s Wallenstein by the Shakespeare Theatre Company, starting in March. Also to look for: A series of events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty, and the opening of a permanent wax room installation by Wolfgang Laib at the Phillips Collection.

Visit our websites, www.goethe.de/washington and www.germany.info, for updates and addi-tional offerings. We look forward to seeing you soon!


Goethe-Institut 4 – 25 German Embassy 28 – 34 Events at a Glance 22 – 23

Goethe-Institut Events

Concert n Piano Battle 4

Filmsn Note by Note 5

n Mapping Democracy 9 - 10

n Arab Shorts I and II 10

n In Focus 11 - 12

n The Rhine at the Environmental Film Festival 18

n DC Mekong Days 18 - 19

n Jörg Ratgeb, Painter 21

n Washington Jewish Film Festival 24

Discussionsn Mapping Democracy: Utopia & Renewal 7

n Trends in Photography 13

n Hear Now Listening Events 14

n The Mekong Region 19

n Wagner 200 20

Exhibitionsn Facing Democracy 8

n gute aussichten: young german photographers 2012/2013 13

Languagen Zeitgeist DC: Contemporary Voices 15

n Deutsch am Mittag 16

n Trialogue: American, Chinese and German Poetry 17

American Goethe Society 25

German Embassy Events

n Music 28 – 31n Lecture 31n Exhibit 31, 32, 34n Performing Arts 32n Special Events 33n Preview 33 - 34

Friends of the Goethe-Institut 26Language Classes 27, 35Electronic Newsletter 41Rentals 42Addresses 40About Us 43

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The Goethe-Institut Washington presents the first in a series of musical events

bringing contemporary interpretations and presentations of

classical musical works to today’s audiences.

n M u S I C P E R F O R M A N C E

Friday, January 18, 7:30 pm

Piano Battle: Andreas Kern vs. Paul CibisEmbassy of Austria, 3524 International Court NW

The black and the white are ready to fight. Two piano champions are on stage, one in black, the other in white. They perform, compete, and in-teract with the audience.

The “Piano Battle” concert show by Andreas Kern and Paul Cibis is a new concert format which presents classical music in a novel way. The two accomplished pianists compete against one another other with distinctly different per-formance styles, playing pieces by composers such as Chopin, Liszt and Debussy and impro-vised works based on audience requests. Both serious and humorous, the show consists of recital and interactive elements, and the audi-ence plays an active part throughout the entire program. In the end, the audience is invited to vote on the pianists’ performances and choose the winner.

Originally created for the Hong Kong City Festival in 2009, Piano Battle has been per-formed in several sold-out tours in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The concert show celebrated its European premiere at the Piano City Berlin Festival in 2010.

A reception follows the performance.

Tickets: $50 ($40 members of Friends of the Goethe-Institut; Students with ID $25 at the door)

Proceeds from the concert will further the 2013/2014 European Union National Institutes of Culture project “Transit”, an exchange between Baltimore and cities throughout Europe.

More, including a video of the concert: www.pianobattle.com

Initiated by Friends of the Goethe-Institut Washington

kulturvergnügen | winter | 20134

C L A S S I C S u P D A T E D


n F I L M

Monday, January 14, 6:30 pm

Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 USA, 2007, 81 min, DVD, Director: Ben Niles

“A meditation on the making of pianos and the making of music. A process that is very like falling in love.”

– Kenneth Turan, LA Times

“This documentary, quite unpretentious, simply good film reporting, feels like an oasis of civilization.”

– Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic

Introduction and discussion with filmmaker Ben Niles

In our age of mass-production and consump-tion, what is the role of the musician – both an instrument’s craftsman and its player? Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 is an inde-pendent documentary film that follows the cre-ation of a Steinway concert grand piano over a year, from the search for wood in Alaska to a display at Manhattan’s Steinway Hall. Along the way, Niles talks to many of the people who have had a hand in the making of this piano, as well as those who later hear music being per-formed on the instrument.

Ben Niles is an award-winning documentary filmmaker currently teaching at the New York Film Academy. His latest film, Note By Note, won top honors at various film festivals and was nominated for an International Documentary Award.

Tickets see page 41.


Piano Battle © Mathias Bothor Note by Note © Ben Niles


The deepening and persistent financial crisis has led to a sense that even democracy is facing a form of crisis. “Is there a life after democracy?“ was a newspaper headline following the first Greek referendum in connection with the Greek debt crisis.

The current image of democracy seems an ambivalent one: while people in autocratic countries view it as a promise of economic and social upswing and participation in political decision-mak-ing, global problems and declining voter legitimation underscore the dwindling power of elected national governments. This raises questions about democratic participation and utopias for an unwritten future. Democracy has become an issue for joint international concern.

The Goethe-Institut presents a four-part series focusing on the prospects and viability of de-mocracy in the future. The live video conference program “Mapping Democracy” started with Madrid-Cairo, continues with London-Beijing in January, engages Washington in a dialogue with Athens in February, and concludes with Budapest-Moscow.

More: www.mapping-democracy.org

Accompanying films and an exhibition highlight the disparate interpretations of democracy and the challenges of such systems.


M A P P I N G D E M O C R A C y

© Flickr


n D I S C u S S I O N

Sunday, February 24, 2 – 4 pmGoethe-Institut

Mapping Democracy: utopia & RenewalWashington in conversation with Athens and Munich

This dialogue is between representatives of the two cradles of democracy: Washington and Athens. Their focus is on the future of democracy. Where does public participation regain strength? Where does empowerment flourish? How can public responsibility exceed selfish enrichment? Where does hope for a renewal of the utopia of democracy exist?


Democracy on the DefensiveBudapest - Munich - MoscowApril 14, 2013

Protest and ParticipationMadrid - Munich - CairoNovember 25, 2012

Democracy and the EconomyLondon - Munich - BejingJanuary 13, 2013

utopia and RenewalWashington, D.C. - Munich - Athens - February 24, 2013

P A N E L I S T S I N W A S H I N G T O N

Benjamin Barber (left)The Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society of The Graduate Center, The City University of New York; President and Founder of the Interdependence Movement; Walt Whitman Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Rutgers University

Sascha Meinrath (middle) Vice President, New America Foundation; Director, Open Technology Institute

Moderator: Max Hofmann (right) Deutsche Welle Television

P A N E L I S T S I N A T H E N S Antonis Liakos (Professor of Contemporary History and History of Historiography, University of Athens)

Thanos Veremis (Professor of Modern History, University of Athens)

Moderator: Tasos Telloglou (“The New Files” newsmagazine, Kathimerini newspaper and www.protagon.gr)

P A N E L I S T S I N M u N I C H Otfried Höffe (University of Tübingen, professor at the forefront of the topic of practical philosophy in Germany)

Andres Veiel (Director, Black Box BRD and If Not Us, Who?)

Moderator: Melinda Crane (“Global Players”, CNBC)

No charge.

RSVP to 202-289-1200 ext. 160

or [email protected]

In English


Lucian Perkins is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner (1995 and 2000) who worked as a staff photographer for The Washington Post for 27 years. In 1996, his photograph of a boy in war-torn Chechnya was awarded World Press Photo of the Year, and in 1994 he was named Newspaper Photographer of the Year by National Press Photographers Association.

Danny Wilcox Frazier has documented people struggling to survive the economic shift that has devastated rural communities across his home state of Iowa for the past six years. His recent book, Driftless: Photographs from Iowa, was awarded the Center for Documentary Studies/Honickman First Book Prize in Photography.


n E X H I B I T I O N

January 7 – February 24, 2013Goethe-Institut, FotoGalerie

Facing Democracy

Combining art, photojournalism and film, this exhibition features works by three American artists who documented the Occupy Movement and the civil unrest that exists in the United States. The exhibition explores the causes, activities and representations of the movement. It contains a collec-tion of work by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lucian Perkins, alongside an assembly of photo-graphs by Danny Wilcox Frazier and the video installation Site Specific and Everywhere by Jenny Graf Sheppard.

Jenny Graf Sheppard is a Baltimore-based artist who works with the social dimension of art and the consequences of performance. Her video Site Specific and Everywhere touches upon the role New Media has played in defining and ex-tending shared public space and the new uses Occupy activists have made of this new elec-tronic realm.

Facing Democracy © Lucian Perkins Facing Democracy © Lucian Perkins

Facing Democracy © Lucian PerkinsMonday, January 28, 5:30 - 6:30 pm,

Reception with the artists before the screening of the film Why Democracy?


Monday, January 28, 6:30 pm

Why Democracy? worldwide, 2007, 113 min, DVD

Short, innovative and sharp, this collection of films made by emerging filmmakers across the planet takes a sideways look at our world. Whether it’s the last Shaman casting his vote in Siberia, or an internet campaign bringing about justice in Kinshasa - they’re bound to get you thinking.

Monday, February 4, 6:30 pm

Raw MaterialGreece, 2011, 78 min, Blu Ray, Director: Christos Karakepelis Introduced by Zoe Kosmidou, Embassy of Greece, Washington DC The famous Acropolis affords a view of one of the most poverty-stricken districts in Athens. This improvised shantytown is home to a diverse community of people who subsist on collecting discarded metal.Director Christos Karakepelis spent six years putting this film together and

thus offers the viewer an utterly authentic per-spective on the lives of people for whom, as one of them described it, scrap metal is both their “treasure and mistress.” Christos Karakepelis studied social sciences and film directing. He has written scripts for docu-mentaries and has also directed documentary series for television. In cooperation with the Embassy of Greece/ Hellenic Foundation for Culture.


Democracy under Attack – An Interven-tion (Angriff auf die Demokratie – Eine Intervention)Germany, 2012, 102 min, DVD Director: Romuald Karmakar

Discussion with Professor Peter C. Pfeiffer, Chair, Department of German, Georgetown University and filmmaker Romuald Karmakar In December 2011, Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt held a symposium on the topic of the


n F I L M S E R I E S

January 28 – February 20, 2013Goethe-Institut, Goethe Forum

Mapping Democracy in Film

Democracy is traditionally seen as a guarantor of economic and social upswing, opportunities for the future and participation in political decision-making. Recent events around the world, however, have called the functionality of our existing democratic systems into question. The financial crisis has highlighted the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of democratic societies and an increasingly glo-balized economy. This series of documentary films and one feature film presents individual insights into the everyday practices of democracy and its impacts on people.

sss

Protest © whydemocracy.net


n F I L M

Thursday, January 17, 7 pmSaturday, January 18, 7 pmFreer Gallery of Art

Arab Shorts I and IIA product of the Goethe-Institut Cairo

Amman-based artist Ala younis, curator of Arab Shorts, will introduce and discuss each program.

Since 2009, curators under the tutelage of the Goethe-Institut in Cairo have compiled 139 in-dependent and experimental films and videos from the Arab world and made them accessible to international audiences. Comprising feature films, documentaries, and video art, this multi-faceted program mirrors the diversity of the Arab world and challenges the often one-di-mensional image of the region still prevalent in the West.

No charge

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Roads of Arabia, on view at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Children of Fire courtesy of Ala Younis

current state of our democracy. In this docu-mentary, journalists, artists and intellectuals such as Franziska Augstein, Ingo Schulze and Roger Willemsen voice their opinions in no uncertain terms and make an appeal for intervention.

Romuald Karmakar is an independent film-maker based in Berlin. He has won several na-tional and international awards, including the German National Film Award in Gold in 1996 for The Deathmaker (Der Totmacher).

Thursday, February 21, 6 pm

American CasinoUnited States, 2009, 89 min, DVD, Director: Andrew and Leslie Cockburn

This film explains how the meltdown of Wall Street has affected not just the heedless spendthrifts of Wall Street legend, but millions of members of the American middle class, who have seen their investments vanish. The “game’s” players are also interviewed. As the global financial system crumbles and outraged but impotent lawmakers fume at Wall Street titans, we see the casino’s endgame.

Leslie Cockburn began her documentary film career in 1980 at CBS Reports. She directed and produced several films for PBS Frontline, and From the Killing Fields for Peter Jennings Reports. Andrew Cockburn wrote and co-produced American Casino. He also co-produced the 1991 PBS documentary on Iraq titled The War We Left Behind.

Discussion with filmmakers Andrew and Leslie Cockburn, and ulrich Steinvorth (George Mason university/university of Hamburg) takes place between the screenings.

8 pm Marx ReloadedGermany, 2011, 52 min, DVD, Director: Jason Barker

Marx Reloaded is a cultural documentary that examines the relevance of German socialist and philosopher Karl Marx’s ideas for understanding the global economic and financial crisis of 2008-09. Should we accept the crisis as an unfortunate side-effect of the free market? Or is there another explanation as to why it happened and its likely effects on our society, our economy and our whole way of life?

Jason Barker is a British theorist of contempo-rary French philosophy, and a film director, screenwriter and producer.




sss

n F I L M S E R I E S

February 25 – March 11, 2013Goethe-Institut, GoetheForum

In Focus

These three films give a precise and fascinating insight into the life and work of various important photographers. Regarded as outstanding artists in their eras, their styles continue to influence young photographers.


The Photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher (Die Fotografen Bernd und Hilla Becher)Germany, 2011, 94 min, DVD, Director: Marianne Kapfer

In 1959, Bernd and Hilla Becher began photo-graphing abandoned and forgotten industrial structures (blast furnaces, processing plants,

factories) that dotted the German land-scape, later ex-panding their project to include other European countries and the

US. Their stunning, iconic black and white photos — which emphasized form and geometry — found minimalist and modernist beauty in these disap-pearing remnants of a declining way of life. As the founders of what has come to be known as the ‘Becher School’, they brought their influence to bear in a unique way on generations of German photographers and artists.

Marianne Kapfer lives and works as a filmmaker and author in Berlin.

Our annual exhibition of award-winning graduate German photography works, gute aussichten, and a film series present new trends in contempo-rary German photography.


N E W P H O T O G R A P H y

Betlehem, Pennsylvania © Hilla Becher

Hilla and Bernd Becher © Goethe-Institut


Monday, March 4, 6:30 pm

Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Impassioned Eye (Henri Cartier-Bresson: Biographie eines Blicks)Switzerland, 2003, 72 min, DVD, Director: Heinz Bütler

Introduced by Norbert Bärlocher, Embassy of Switzerland

“...insight into the artistic process docu-menting a man who approached photog-raphy with one simple directive: ‘To seize the moment.” - San Francisco Bay Guardian

Heinz Bütler interviews Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) late in life. He talks about becoming and being a photographer, about composition, and about some of his secrets for capturing the moment.

Heinz Bütler is a Swiss filmmaker and author.

In cooperation with the Embassy of Switzerland.


William Eggleston in the Real World USA, 2005, 84 min, DVD, Director: Michael Almereyda

Introduced by Lucian Perkins, photographer

By following acclaimed photographer William Eggleston around his home base of Memphis, Tennessee and on trips to Kentucky, Los Angeles and New York, filmmaker Michael Almereyda presents an intimate portrait of the man who made color cool again.

Michael Almereyda is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. William Eggleston in the Real World was nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Documentary.


“Germany’s most renowned competition

for young photographers”

- Spiegel


(c) Henning Bode, Children of King Cotton 2012, www.guteaussichten.org

© Svetlana Mychkine, Sugar Blue 2011/2012, www.guteaussichten.org



February 27 – April 12, 2013 Goethe-Institut: FotoGalerie

gute aussichten: young german photographers 2012/2013

Works by seven winners of gute aussi-chten 2012/2013, the ninth annual German competition for graduate pho-tography student. Featuring Henning

Bode, Susann Dietrich, Saskia Groneberg, Svetlana Mychkine, Nicolai Rapp, Farbian Rook and Jakob Weber.

gute aussichten presents a unique and far-rang-ing synopsis in terms of both the content and style of the works created by young photogra-phers in Germany during the past 12 months. Individual image series are distinguished by their highly diverse aesthetic, formal and con-ceptual approaches, providing an insight into the multifaceted themes that form the focus of young artists’ interests today.

www.guteaussichten.org


n P A N E L D I S C u S S I O N A N D O P E N I N G

Wednesday, February 27, 6 pm

Trends in Photography

PANELISTS:

Josefine Raab, curator, gute aussichtenAndrea Nelson, National Gallery of ArtLaurie Snyder and Nate Larson, Maryland Institute College of Art

Followed by opening reception with gute aussichten’s curators Josefine Raab and Stefan Becht.

RSVP to 202-289-1200 ext. 165 or [email protected]

© Saskia Groneberg, Office Plant 2012, www.guteaussichten.org

© Svetlana Mychkine, Sugar Blue 2011/2012, www.guteaussichten.org


Hear Now!Listening Events for Wintry Evenings

Washington is a Radio City! With its rich audio culture, NPR headquarters, several public radio stations, and phenomenal archival resources, the District of Columbia is one of America’s hubs for radio. Hear Now! is an informal group of producers and radiophiles who gather to listen to and discuss audio from this city, around the country, and around the world. Join us for three fasci-nating evenings of great radio.

D I G I T A L M E D I A

Tuesday, January 22, 7 – 8:30 pm

Bilal Qureshi, NPR’s All Things Considered

Listen to and discuss audio pieces NPR correspon-dent Bilal Qureshi produced in Berlin while on a Bosch Foundation Fellowship.

www.bilalq.com Hosted by Bill Gilcher

Tuesday, February 19, 7 – 8:30 pm

Rebecca Sheir and Tara Boyle, Metro Connection!

Rebecca Sheir (host) and Tara Boyle (manag-ing producer) of WAMU’s ongoing series

talk about covering DC in a sound-rich way.

metroconnection.orgHosted by Emily Friedman

Wednesday, March 20, 7 – 8:30 pm

Best of Prix Europa

On the verge of Spring, listen to and discuss ex-cerpts from sound-rich European long-format radio documentaries as presented at the October 2012 Prix Europa competition in Berlin. Come hear some of the finest new radio pieces from Austria, France, Germany, Norway, and the UK.

www.prix-europa.deHosted by Bill Gilcher

RSVP to [email protected]

© Bilal Quereshi


Tuesday, February 26, 7:30 pmAustrian Embassy, 3524 International Court NW

Contemporary Voices: Tim Krohn, Leif Randt, and Klaus Händl

An evening dedicated to emerging authors in contemporary German literature.

In his second novel, Shimmering Mist over Coby County (Schimmernder Dunst über Coby County), German author Leif Randt focuses on those priv-ileged few living in an enclave of culture and well-being. As he plays with the longing for a better and more beautiful life, Randt succeeds in writing a light–hearted, enjoyable parody about the coziness of a well–oiled zone of existence that constantly celebrates and reproduces itself.

Leif Randt (b. 1983) lives in Berlin. For Shimmering Mist over Coby County he received the 2011 Ernst Willner Prize.

Swiss author Tim Krohn will present his latest book, To The Sea (Ans Meer). Set in Zurich and on the northern coast of Germany, the novel relates the story of two families who grow to-gether, apart and then together again.

Tim Krohn (b. 1965) lives in Zurich, where he works as a freelance novelist and dramatist. Since the publication of his novel Quatemberkinder (1998), he has been considered a cult novelist in Switzerland and is extremely popular. Krohn’s last novel, Vrenelis Gaertli,

reached No. 1 on the Swiss bestseller list.

Austrian playwright Klaus Händl will read from his 2011 play Meine Biene. Meine Schneise (translation forthcoming). The play debuted at the Salzburg Theater Festival to great acclaim.

Klaus Händl (b. 1969) was born in Tyrol, Austria. He started his theatre career as an actor in Vienna’s Schauspielhaus and also took part in various films. He has received numerous prizes, and was named 2006 Young Author of the Year in a theater heute survey.

Excerpts will be read in both German and English. The writers will introduce and discuss their work in English.

Moderated by Norbert Bärlocher, Cultural Attaché, Embassy of Switzerland.

The event will conclude with a reception with Austrian, German and Swiss delicacies provided by the Goethe-Institut, the Embassy of Switzerland and the Austrian Cultural Forum Washington.

RSVP to www.acfdc.org/events-registration or (202) 895-6776

Part of Zeitgeist DC, presenting contemporary German literature in translation.www.zeitgeistdc.org

Leif Randt © Simon VyTim Krohn

Z E I T G E I S TD C

n R E A D I N G A N D D I S C u S S I O N

Klaus Händl © Marko Lipuš


n G A M E S N I G H T

Friday, January 25, 6 – 9 pmGoethe-Institut

Games Evening (Spieleabend)

Come enjoy German games and a glass of wine with us! Games by German designers are enjoy-ing increasing popularity outside their native country. This evening of board and card games will feature classics such as Bohnanza alongside newer favorites including Asara, Settlers of Catan, Lost Cities and Carcassone. Participants are invited to bring their favorite games and friends for the fun. One room will be reserved for playing games in German.

In cooperation with Labyrinth Games and Puzzles.

Friday, March 8, 6 – 9 pmGoethe-Institut

Catan: Oil Springs

This variation of everyone’s favorite German board game (Settlers of Catan by Klaus Teuber) incorporates new resources and new rules and in the process demonstrates the difficult reali-ties of climate change politics. Learn the rules and play the scenario with the designers, Erik Assadourian of the Worldwatch Institute and game designer Ty Hansen. For more on the sce-nario, rules, and downloadable components visit www.oilsprings.catan.com. Players with a copy of the original Settlers of Catan game are en-

couraged to bring it.

Please note: arrival by 7 pm is suggested to ensure sufficient playing time.

Drinks and snacks will be offered.

Tickets $5 RSVP to [email protected].

n D I S C u S S I O N ( I N G E R M A N )

Deutsch am Mittag

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? All who wish to hear and speak German are invited to bring their lunch to our monthly presentation and discussion. A topic of interest from German culture, history, or contemporary affairs will be presented, in German, by a selected speaker. Discussion on the topic will complete the Mittagstisch.

Tuesday, January 15, 12 – 1:15 pm

Christian Kohlross, Professor of German, University of Virginia

Die Zukunft der deutschen Sprache

Tuesday, February 12, 12 – 1:15 pm

Sabine Muscat, Journalist, Financial Times Germany

Die deutsche Medienkrise

Tuesday, March 12, 12 – 1:15 pm

Dr. Charlotte Streck, Director, Company Climate Focus

Klimaschutz in den uSA und in Europa: Erfahrungen einer Grenzgängerin

Tuesday, April 9, 12 – 1:15 pm

Katharina von Münster, Action Reconciliation Service for Peace

Als (Ost)Deutsche in Israel

Beverages and sweets are provided.

Tickets $5/No charge for Friends of the Goethe-Institut. RSVP to [email protected].

Sponsored by Friends of the Goethe-Institut.

G E R M A NL A N G u A G E


n N E I G H B O R H O O D P O E T R y C O L L A B O R A T I O N

Opening February 21, 2013Various venues

Trialogue:American, Chinese, and German Poetry

Over the last 150 years, Washington, DC’s Chinatown has been home to many immigrant groups. Each has contributed to the vibrancy and diversity of our neighborhood and our city. Three cultures – Chinese, American and German – are highlighted in this annual celebration of poetry and voice.

The 2013 project presents poems on the themes “sports”, “nightlife”, “poetry and visual art”, and “protest”.

The online Trialogue project features the four poems from each culture in their native lan-guage and translation, along with additional in-formation and the schedule of upcoming read-ings. More: www.goethe.de/washington.

In cooperation with the Chinatown Community Cultural Center, the Confucius Institute at George Mason University, and the DC Public Library.

Wednesday, February 20, 6:30 pmGoethe-Institut, GoetheForum

Opening Reading

A number of the poets chosen for the 2013 project will participate in

person or via telephone. With a special reading by guest Berlin-based poet and author Nora Bossong.

Followed by a light reception.

RSVP to [email protected]

Additional readings will take place throughout the city during Spring and Summer 2013.

n A L L - D A y S e m I N A R

Saturday, March 16, 10 am – 3:30 pmGoethe-Institut, GoetheForum

The Cinderella No One Knows: The Fairy-Tale World of the Brothers Grimm

With Margaret R. yocom, associate professor of English; founder and co-director of the Folklore Studies program at George Mason university

Embark on a journey through imagination of the Brothers Grimm. Their 200-year-old Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Tales for Children and the Home) continues to enchant, inspire, and challenge generations of readers, writers, filmmakers, and storytellers. Folklorist Margaret R. Yocom discusses why Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were drawn to folk-tales and how they planned to foster German unity and educate the country’s children—and parents—through these stories.

A showing of the German film Mother Hulda takes place after lunch. Based on a Grimm fairy tale that is not widely known in the United States, this story of two very different sisters illustrates the emotional complexity of the brothers’ work. Yocum moderates a discussion after the screening.

Organized with the Smithsonian Associates

CODE: 1M2-651Lunch (on your own) is from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.Resident Members $90; Senior Members $87; Gen. Admission $130

Special Discount Offer: Visit the event description on our website, www.goethe.de/washington, to obtain a special discount promo code for this event.

Nora Bossong

Frau Holle © ARD Degeto

© Verena Hütter


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March 22 - 26, 2013Goethe-Institut, GoetheForum

DC Mekong Days

The Mekong region is the lifeline for more than 60 million people in China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The Mekong River is the object of transnational cooperation and compe-tition, international investment and aid. It is also a worrying example of ecological changes taking place in Southeast Asia.

More than 140 dams are currently planned, under construction or commissioned for different rivers in the basin. This is completely altering the basin’s hydrology, ecology and, consequently, the lives of millions who depend upon it.

Together with filmmakers and aid experts from Southeast Asia, the US and Europe, the Goethe-Institut presents films and a public dialogue about the pros and cons of manmade ecological, social and economic changes along the River Mekong.

In cooperation with the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, the CGIAR Challenge Program for Water and Food, and Mekong Water Dialogues.

Climate change is first and foremost one thing – complex. No matter how it is viewed, climate change transcends the barriers of existing institutions, structures and ways of thinking – a good example of the dissolution of boundaries

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March 12 - 24, 2013various venues

Environmental Film Festival

The following events are pre-sented in conjunction with

the Environmental Film Festival in Washington, DC.

The German films for this festival were not de-termined at the time of publication.

For more information: 202-342-2564 orwww.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org

March 12 – 15various venues

The Rhine – From the Source to the Estuary (Der Rhein - von der Quelle bis zur Mündung)Germany, 2011, 180 min., DVD, German with English subtitles, Director: Ralf Dilger und Klaus Kafitz

Although not the longest river in Europe, the Rhine is certainly the most significant. This fascinating 1,230 km voyage along the Rhine from the Alps to the North Sea depicts stories as many-sided as the uncountable facets of the river. Grand aerial views depict, from a new and fascinating perspective, this lifeline which ties together 50 million of people.

This four-part film will be shown on four differ-ent evenings at various venues.

C L I M A T E & C u L T u R E

In conjunction with the Embassy of Switzerland, the Embassy of France, and the Embassy of the Netherlands.

© Coloubox


Friday, March 22, 5:30 pm

Mekong, the Mother2000, 30 min, DVD, English, Director: Peter Degen

The importance of the Mekong to the people of the river basin is demonstrated as fishermen, boat captains and other ordinary people tell of their livelihoods, their beliefs and their love for the river. The film stresses the need for cooperation to ensure the health of the river and the economic well-being of people in the river basin.

Mekong South East Asian countries, 51 min, DVD, English, Director: Douglas Varchol

Introduced by filmmaker Douglas Varchol.

This film features stories of Mekong citizens upstream and down, from fishermen on the Tonle Sap and activists still fighting against the Pak Mun Dam in Thailand, to a vice minister from Laos convinced he can build the region’s most “river-transparent” dam. Filmed in four countries and four languages, it includes footage of China’s Mekong (Lancang) dams, as well as foot-age of the controversial Xayaburi Dam in Laos.


The Mekong Region - Ecological and Cultural Challenges

Dam building is a contentious, complex subject that impacts the political, environmental, energy,

social and regional stability of the region. No single other development in the Mekong Region will have such an impact as dam development. It is imperative that the US and international donors are engaged and involved in this subject.

This panel discussion will touch on issues such as regional stability and transboundary manage-ment, environmental and energy security, politi-cal stability and cultural tradition.

For more information and a list of the the panel-ists involved: www.goethe.de/washingtionRSVP to 202-289-1200 ext. 161 or [email protected]

Tuesday, March 26, 6:30 pm

up The yangtzeChina, 2008, 93 min, DVD, English, Director: Young Chang

In China, it is simply known as “The River.” But the Yangtze — and all of the life that surrounds it — is undergoing a truly astonishing transforma-tion wrought by the largest hydroelectric project in history, the Three Gorges Dam. Canadian doc-umentary filmmaker Yung Chang returns to the gorgeous, now-disappearing landscape of his grandfather’s youth to trace the surreal life of a “farewell cruise” that traverses the gargantuan waterway. Singularly moving and cinematically breathtaking, Up the Yangtze gives a human di-mension to the wrenching changes facing not only an increasingly globalized China, but the world at large.



Thursday, March 1, 7:30 pm Location TBD

The New Grove Guide to Wagnerand His Operas

This lecture by Barry Millington, UK Wagner scholar and editor of The Wagner Journal, will furnish both seasoned Wagner-lovers and neo-phytes with all they require for an in-depth ap-preciation of this historical figure. No charge.

January – June 2013 Smithsonian Institution Ripley Center Verdi and Wagner at 200: A Double Celebration of Genius

Six-session course with Saul Lilienstein

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Saturday, February 16, 8 pm Friday, April 19 - 8:15 pm The Music Center at Strathmore

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Two Wagner performances, the second preceded by a talk by Wagner Society Chairman Jim Holman.

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Saturday, March 23, 10 am - 5:30 pmGoethe-Institut Fidelio, der Freischütz, Lohengrin - the Development of the German Romantic Opera

Maestro Saul Lilienstein is a frequent lecturer at the Smithsonian, John Hopkins University, Washington National Opera and the Wagner Society. In the past two years he has given all day seminars at the Goethe Institut on “Meistersinger” and “Rediscovering Richard Wagner Through His Music”.

Tickets and more information on these events: www.wagner-dc.org or 703.370.1923

Images from left to right: Saul Lilienstein, Jim Holman, Barry Millington

Richard Wagner is a com-poser who has always pro-voked either enthusiasm or

resolute objection. His biography has its dark sides, but his concept of a Gesamtkunst-werk and the operas he created are part of the repertoire of opera houses almost ev-erywhere in the world. These events are part of an ongoing series commemorating Wagner’s 200th birthday and reflecting the complexity of the man and his oeuvre.

WAGNER 200


This East German film recounts Ratgeb’s efforts as an ancient ally in struggles pre-figuring the rise of communism

and workers’ movements. In the film, set in 1517, Ratgeb has been asked by the peasant’s group to paint a flag for them for their coming pro-tests, but he refuses, claiming he is an artist, not a politician. However, during a trip to visit his artistic hero Albrecht Dürer, he sees their op-pression and comes to believe that something must be done.



March 24 – June 9, 2013National Gallery of Art, East Building

Albrecht Dürer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints from the Albertina

Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) has always been considered the greatest German artist, uniquely combining the status held in Italian art by Michelangelo in 16th-century estimation, by Raphael in the 18th and 19th centuries, and by Leonardo da Vinci in our own day. While Dürer’s paintings were prized, his greatest and most

influential works were his drawings, watercolors, engravings, and woodcuts. They were executed with his distinctively northern sense of refined precision and exquisite craftsmanship.

The exhibition is a culmination of decades of acquisition, study, and exhibition of early German art at the National Gallery of Art. It presents works acquired from and loaned by the Albertina museum in Vienna, Austria, which holds the finest collection of Dürer’s drawings and watercolors.

More: www.nga.gov

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Monday, April 8, 6:30 pm Goethe-Institut, Goethe Forum

Jörg Ratgeb, Painter (Jörg Ratgeb, Maler)German Democratic Republic, 1978, 100 min, 35mm, German with English subtitles, Director: Bernhard Stefan

Introduced by Lorena Baines, Museum Educator, National Gallery of Art

The painter Jörg Ratgeb was a contemporary of Albrecht Dürer. He is also considered to be one of the first possible companions of German artist Hans Holbein der Ältere, with whom he worked on the famous high altar of the Dominican church in Frankfurt.

In conjunction with the National Gallery of Art’s exhibition Albrecht Dürer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints from the Albertina, the Goethe-Institut Washington presents Jörg Ratgeb, Painter. The film describes the historical and political changes underway during the Dürer Period (1471–1528), and how Ratgeb was strongly in-fluenced by Dürer’s idea of harmony.

Image top left: Albrecht DürerSelf-Portrait at Thirteen, 1484, silverpoint on prepared paper overalll. Albertina Museum, ViennaBottom right: Jörg Ratgeb, Painter © DEFA Film Library

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Berlin until Nazi racial laws shattered their lives. Uprooted and cut off from family and friends, each woman made her way to Israel. The film follows the unique paths taken by each woman in her quest for identity and the meaning of life in the aftermath of their dreadful wartime experiences.

Wednesday, January 9, 7 pm

Oma & BellaGermany/USA, 2012, 76 min, Blu-ray, Director: Alexa Karolinksi Oma & Bella is an intimate glimpse into the world of Regina Karolinski (Oma) and Bella Katz, two friends who live together in Berlin. Having survived the Holocaust and then stayed in Germany after the war, it is through the food they cook together that they remember their childhoods, maintain a bond to one another and answer questions of heritage, memory and identity.

Thursday, January 10, 7 pm

The Last Flight of Petr GinzUSA, 2011, 67 min, Blu-ray, Director: Sandy Dickson and Churchill Roberts

By 14 he had written five novels and penned a diary about the Nazi occupation of Prague. By 16 he had produced over 150 drawings and paintings, edited an underground magazine in the Ghetto, written numerous short stories and walked to the gas chamber at Auschwitz. But this is a story of celebration, not of tragedy, a testament to how a boy’s wonder and creative expression represent the best of what makes us human.

More and tickets: www.wjff.org


Oma & Bella © Washington Jewish Film Festival

Petr Ginz © Washington Jewish Film Festival

Born in Berlin © Washington Jewish Film Festival

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January 7 - January 10, 2013Goethe-Institut, GoetheForum

Washington Jewish Film Festival at the Goethe-Institut

The Washington Jewish Film Festival is an ex-hibition of international cinema that celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture and experience through the moving image. It places Jewish themes in new contexts and challenges long-held assumptions.

All films are in English.

Monday, January 7, 7 pm

Orchestra of Exiles Israel/USA, 2011, 85 min, Blu-ray, Director: Josh Aronson

Introduced by Josh Aronson, Director

From Academy Award-nominated director Josh Aronson, Orchestra of Exiles reveals the dra-matic story of Bronislaw Huberman, the cele-brated Polish violinist who rescued some of the world’s greatest musicians from Nazi Germany and then created one of the world’s finest or-chestras, the Palestine Philharmonic (which would become the Israeli Philharmonic).

Tuesday, January 8, 7 pm

Born in Berlin Israel, 1991, 85 min, 16mm, Directors: Noemi Schory & Leora Kamenetzy

Introduced by Noemi Schory, Director (2013 Visionary Award honoree)

This documentary looks at the lives of three Jewish women writers. All grew up in pre-war

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Lectures will be at the Goethe-Institut Washington, followed by refreshments, and are free of charge. Reservations are required and must be made by no

later than three days prior to the events.

RSVP to Brigitte V. Fessenden: 443-542-2263 or [email protected]

The American Goethe Society presents four public lectures annually on German literature, philosophy, art, and music. In addition, members are offered regular Saturday poetry luncheons (Lunch mit Lyrik) held at DC restaurants, and monthly seminars covering classic German plays,

held at the Goethe-Institut. The Society is the proud sponsor of the Goethe Prize, an award which recognizes outstanding high school students of German in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

www.americangoethesociety.org

American SocietyGoetheL I T E R A T U R EA R T L E C T U R E Wednesday, January 30, 6:45 pm

“Geistiger Kunstverkehr”:Goethe’s concept of art collections and the museum in the context of modernity (1798 until 1817)

Lecture by Dr. Helmut J. Schneider, Professor emeritus of German, University of Bonn, Germany

In the years following Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815, J. W. Goethe, not only an intimate art connoisseur but also a passionate art collector, occupied himself with various projects of public collections. The historical background was the envisioned restoration of the art works, pillaged by Napoleon’s armies, to their original locations. Goethe was against a central institution, favor-ing a decentralized plurality of museums, linked by a “web” of intense exchanges of visi-tors and ideas. Dr. Schneider will discuss how the evolution of the new concept of the museum as a place, or rather many places of mutual ex-change, anticipates modern and contemporary ideas of the institution, distinct from the older concept as a national, if not even imperialist colonialist showcase.

A R C H I T E C T U R E L E C T U R E Wednesday, March 27, 6:45 pm

BAUHAUS to Harvard: The life and work of Walter Gropius

Lecture by Dr. Isabelle Gournay, Associate Professor, School of Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park

In 1919, the Staatliche Bauhaus was founded in Weimar, Germany, by architect Walter Gropius. Linked closely in time and in spirit to the Weimar Republic (1919-33), the revolutionary Bauhaus design philosophy sought to express a wholly new era in German society through designs that were to be at once socially con-scious and free of roots in the past. Dr. Gournay will explore the development and success behind the Bauhaus school and its interna-tional relevance in the fields of architecture and industrial design.

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Art: Albrecht Dürer, German, 1471 - 1528, Young Woman in Netherlandish Dress, 1521, brush and brown and white ink on gray-violet prepared paper, overall: 28.3 x 19.8 cm (11 1/8 x 7 13/16 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Widener Collection,

1942.9.658

Enjoy German language and culture

by becoming a member of Friends

of the Goethe-Institut (FOGI)

Special membership benefits include the following:

n Invitations to special Goethe-Institut events such as our Sommerfest

n Free or reduced admission to events by Goethe- Institut and its partner organizations

n Invitations to a regular Deutsch am Mittag

n Discounts at selected cultural events in the city

n Discounts at restaurants near the Goethe-Institut n Exclusive members-only events and private tours of German-related exhibitions in Washington

n Additional benefits for Inner Circle members

FoGIFriends of the Goethe-Institut

Ashok and Marion DeshmukhWilly Flegel

Jon HeddesheimerRobert HobbleJeanene Lairo

Christa McClureWilliam Patch

Alexander PerryStephen Staudigl

FOGI would like to thank the following friends for their

especially generous support:

Visit and join Friends of Goethe at www.goethe.de/washingtonor email [email protected] to request a membership application.

Saturday, February 2, 2 pmNational Gallery of Art

German Prints, Draw-ings, and Illustrated Books: From Schongauer to Kirchner

Led by Gregory Jecmen, Associate Curator of Old Master Prints and Drawings

The National Gallery of Art has an extensive collection of works of art on paper made in

Member Event | Guided Tour

Member Highlight | Karin Rosnizeck

I am big believer in intercultural dialogue, so it seemed only logical to join FOGI. It keeps me up-to-date with the German arts scene and German social and political development.

I’ve been a member for almost four years. Some of my favorite events have included a panel discussion with German and American playwrights, actors and critics about the trends and differences in the American and German theatre scene; receptions during the annual Film|Neu festival (where I also volunteered); and the monthly Deutsch am Mittag discussions.

By joining Friends of the Goethe-Institut, I’m helping ensure that these enriching activities con-tinue to be available to all of us.

Germany from the mid-fifteenth century through the early twentieth century. Select works will be shown in this exclusive tour in the East Buil-ding Print Study Room for Members of Friends of the Goethe-Institut. Highlights will include works by Martin Schongauer, Albrecht Dürer, Casper David Friedrich, Max Klinger, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Emil Nolde, and Käthe Kollwitz.

The tour is limited to 20 Members.

For additional information on the tour, meeting location, membership, and to rsvp (required): [email protected].


LEARN GERMANWITH THE EXPERTS AT THE GOETHE-INSTITuT WASHINGTON

WE OFFER STANDARD GERMAN COuRSES AT ALL LEVELS and Special Courses on Literature, Conversation, Reading Knowledge/Academic Purposes, Exam Preparation, etc.

ENJOy LEARNING GERMAN IN A RELAXED yET PROFESSIONAL ATMOSPHERE.Our classes are led by highly-qualified native-speaker instructors in comfortable multimedia classrooms. Additional benefits include cultural events such as exhibits, movies, etc. organized by the Goethe-Institut.

OuR COuRSES START ON THE FOLLOWING DATESWinter Session: 7 January – 9 March 2013Spring Session: 23 March – 22 May 2013

EXAMS16 March, 20131 June, 2013

ReGISTeR oN-LINeor contact Craig Childers in the Language Department for more information.www.goethe.de/washington > Learn German > German Courses202-289-1200 x [email protected]

Special membership benefits include the following:


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Thursday, February 21, 7 pmFriday & Saturday, February 22-23, 8 pmThe Kennedy Center Concert Hall, 2700 F Street NW, Washington, DC

National Symphony Orchestra: Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor/Renaud Capuçon, violin

Renaud Capuçon will perform Mendelssohn under the baton of the venerable master, Christoph von Dohnányi. Also on the program are Symphony No. 4 by Brahms and selections from Henze’s The Bassarids.

For tickets and information: 800-444-1324 or www.kennedy-center.org

Saturday, March 9, 8 pmGeorge Mason University, Center for the Arts, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA

Beethoven Orchestra Bonn

Conductor and Music Director Stefan Blunier will lead the orchestra in an all-Beethoven program including the overture from The Ruins of Athens as well as the joyful Symphony No. 7. The concert also features Piano Concerto No. 4 with French-Canadian piano soloist Louis Lortie.

Pre-Performance Discussion with Member of the Company

Admission: $30, $52, $60For information: 888-945-2468 or cfa.gmu.edu

Tuesday, March 12, 8 pmThe Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD

Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin/Lambert Orkis, piano

Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis have appeared together worldwide since 1988. On the program are Schubert’s Fantaisie in C Major, D.934, Previn’s Sonata No. 2 (D.C. pre-miere), and Saint-Saëns’ Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75.

Organized by the Washington Performing Arts Society

For tickets and information: Music Center at Strathmore: 301-581-5100, [email protected], www.strathmore.org or www.wpas.org

German conductor Christoph von Dohnányi © picture-alliance/ dpa/ dpaweb

Beethovenhalle Bonn, home of the Beethoven Orchestra© picture-alliance/ DUMONT Bildarchiv


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Wednesday, March 13, 8 pmThe Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem: Mendelssohn’s Elijah

The Choir and Bach Festival Orchestra perform Mendelssohn’s choral masterpiece Elijah, one of the most sublime choral works ever written. Soloists include Dashon Burton in the title role and soprano Rosa Lamoreaux.

Tickets: $35-$65For tickets and information: 301-581-5100 or www.strathmore.org

Thursday, March 14, 8 pmSaturday, March 16, 7 pm (Off the Cuff Series)Sunday, March 17, 3 pmJoseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD

Friday, March 15, 8:15 pmThe Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Saint-Saëns’ Thundering Organ SymphonyMarin Alsop, conductor/Felix Hell, organ

Saint-Saëns completed his Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Organ Symphony, in 1886 and dedi-cated it to Liszt. Renowned German organist Felix Hell has concertized extensively and per-formed more than 650 recitals worldwide.

For tickets and information: Meyerhoff Symphony Hall: 410-783-8000 or www.bsomusic.orgMusic Center at Strathmore: 301-581-5100, [email protected] or www.strathmore.org

Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambis Orkis in Wesselburen, Germany, 2011 © picture-alliance/ dpa

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem © Bach Choir

German organist Felix Hell Foto: Katya Chilingiri © Felix Hell


Thursday, March 28, 7 pmFriday & Saturday, March 29-30, 8 pmThe Kennedy Center Concert Hall, 2700 F Street NW, Washington, DC

National Symphony Orchestra:Marek Janowski, conductor/Arabella Steinbacher, violin

As part of the NSO’s three-year exploration of Beethoven’s works, Arabella Steinbacher will perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto under the baton of Marek Janowski.

For tickets and information: 800-444-1324 or www.kennedy-center.org

Tuesday, April 16, 8 pmThe Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD

Dresden Staatskapelle – All Brahms ConcertChristian Thielemann, Music Director

A leading orchestra throughout numerous musical eras, the Dresden Staatskapelle has been in continuous existence for over four and a half centuries. New music director Christian

Thielemann will give his D.C. debut, joined by Georgian violonist Lisa Batiashvili.

Organized by the Washington Performing Arts Society.

For tickets and information: Music Center at Strathmore: 301-581-5100, [email protected], www.strathmore.org or www.wpas.org

Saturday, April 20, 7 pm – 11:30 pmKena Ballroom, 9001 Arlington Blvd., Fairfax, VA

Annual Spring Concert of the Washington Sängerbund

The Washington Sängerbund invites friends of German choral music to its annual spring concert. After the concert you can dance to music played by Mike Surrat and the Continentals.

Tickets: $25 (in advance); $30 (at door); Discount for seniors and studentsFor tickets and information: 703-591-1640 or www.saengerbund.org

Music Director Christian Thielemann with members of the Dresden Staatskapelle, 2010 © picture-alliance/ ZB


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Wednesday, April 24, Time TBDVenue TBD

Veit Hertenstein, viola

First Prize Winner of the 2011 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Veit Hertenstein is one of the most outstanding violists to emerge in years. He has already garnered recognition for his virtuosic artistry and exciting stage presence. Hertenstein plays a 1701 David Tecchler viola.

Organized by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

Admission: Free of charge, but registration requiredFor updates: www.germany.info/dcevents

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Wednesday, February 27, 8 pm (in German)

Embassy of Switzerland, 2900 Cathedral Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

Geniale Regie und Augenweide: Verdis La Traviata

Prof. Dr. Peter Beicken, University of Maryland,

will speak about the sensational mise-en-scène of Verdi’s La Traviata, based on Fritz Lang’s famous silent film Metropolis (1927), at the Salzburg Festival in 2005.

Sponsored by the German Language Society

For information and reservations: 202-239-0432 or [email protected] updates: www.germany.info/dcevents

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until Monday, January 21, 2013National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW, Washington, DC

The Confederate Sketches of Adalbert Volck

Having emigrated to the United States in 1848, Volck sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War. The exhibition will include many of his original etchings and lithographs.

Admission: Free of chargeFor information: 202-633-8300 or [email protected]

Conductor Marek Janowski © picture-alliance/ dpa

Violist Veit Hertenstein Foto: Christian Steiner © Hertenstein

Opera singers Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón receive an award for their performance in La Traviata.© picture-alliance/ dpa/ dpaweb


until Sunday, January 27, 2013 National Gallery of Art, East Building, 6th Street & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC Shock of the News

The exhibition examines the many manifesta-tions of the “newspaper phenomenon” from 1909 to 2009, a century during which major artists engaged in a vibrant relationship with the printed news. Works of eleven German artists are on view.

Admission: Free of chargeFor information: 202-842-6941 or www.nga.gov

until Thursday, February 28German-American Heritage Museum, 719 6th Street NW Washington, DC

From the Mountains to the Sea - Germany and Its Costumes - Dirndl & Lederhosen

In earlier times, traditional German clothing or ‘tracht’ identified a person as belonging to a certain region and a particular social group. Dirndl and Lederhosen in particular have expe-rienced a modern-day revival.

Admission: Free of chargeFor information: 202-467-5000 or www.gahmusa.org

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Thursday, March 29 – Sunday, June 2Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW, Washington, DC

Shakespeare Theatre Company: Friedrich Schiller’s Wallenstein

Rarely performed in the U.S., Friedrich Schiller’s drama addresses the decline of the famous general Albrecht von Wallenstein, one of the major figures of the Thirty Years’ War. The play has been adapted and translated by former United States Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. Directed by Michael Kahn.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company organizes special Wallenstein discussions on the follow-ing dates:

Sunday, April 7, 5 pmDiscussion with the artistic team and local scholars

Wednesday, April 24

Pre- (5:30 pm) and post-show discussions

Sunday, April 28, 10 am – 1 pm

Symposium on the Hero/Traitor Repertory

Saturday, May 4, 2 pm

Roundtable with noted community members

For tickets and information: 202-547-1122; 877-487-8849 or www.shakespearetheatre.org

Barbie and Ken in Dirndl and Lederhose © picture-alliance/ dpa

Cheb, Czech Republic, where Wallenstein was assassinated in 1634 © picture-alliance/ ZB

Carnival in Cologne© picture-alliance/ dpa


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Saturday, February 9, 7 pm - midnightKena Ballroom, 9001 Arlington Blvd., Fairfax, VA

Washington Sängerbund Faschingsball

Dance to live music played by Mike Surrat and the Continentals at the Washington Sängerbund’s traditional Costume Prize Masquerade Ball. Delicious German food, beer, wine, champagne, and other drinks are available for purchase.

Tickets: $25 advance sale; $30 at the door (checks please)

For tickets and information: www.saengerbund.org

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Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Elyssée Treaty

The 50th anniversary of the Treaty will be the occasion for the German and French Embassies in the United States to celebrate with American students the importance of this historical friend-ship. Three joint events will be organized:

l April 2013: A nationwide debate contest (in collaboration with George Washington University and American University)

l Seminar for graduate students on “The Elysée Treaty: Europe’s Foundation?” (in col-laboration with Georgetown University, BMW Center for German and European Studies)

l Conference on “The Elyssée Treaty and European Policies Today” (in collaboration with Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies)

Children in Berlin waving German and French flags on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Elyssée Treaty © picture-alliance/ dpa

The Elyssée treaty with the signatures of German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle © picture-alliance/ dpa

For more information and updates on the dates and venues: go to www.germany.info/dcevents


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The Phillips Laib Wax RoomThe Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street NW, Washington, DC

In early 2013, the Phillips Collection will open a permanent, site-specific wax room by acclaimed German conceptual artist and sculptor Wolfgang Laib, known for his minimalist works inviting contemplation and using natural materials such as marble, beeswax, rice, milk and pollen. Lined with fragrant blocks of beeswax and illuminated by a single bare light bulb, the chamber will be the first permanent installation inaugurated at the Phillips since the Rothko Room in 1960.





Celebrating

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AddressesThe German Historical Institute1607 New Hampshire Ave., NWWashington, DC 20009Phone: 202-387-3355Fax: 202-483-3430E-mail: [email protected] site: www.GHI-DC.org

The Institute holds a number of lecture series throughout the year.

The German Information Center4645 Reservoir Rd., NWWashington, DC 20007Phone: 202-298-4000Fax: 202-471-5526Web site: www.Germany.info

Dedicated to fulfilling the public diplomacy mission at the German Embassy by offering Americans a window on modern Germany.

German National Tourist office122 East 42nd Street, Suite 2000New York, NY 10168-0072Phone: 212-661-7200Fax: 212-661-7174E-mail: [email protected] site: www.ComeToGermany.com

Providing German tourism infor-mation.

German Academic ExchangeService (DAAD)871 United Nations PlazaNew York, NY 10017-1814Phone: 212-758-3223Fax: 212-755-5780E-mail: [email protected] site: www.daad.org

A government-supportedorganization of colleges and uni-versities in the Federal Republic of Germany that promotes rela-tions with universities abroad through the exchange of students and scholars.

German School Washington, DC8617 Chateau Dr.Potomac, MD 20854Phone: 301-365-4400Fax: 301-365-3905E-mail: [email protected] site: www.dswashington.org

Kindergarten, elementary, and high school.

Deutsche Forschungsgemein-schaft (DFG) German Research Foundation1627 I Street NW, Suite 540Washington, DC 20006-4020Phone: 202-785-4206Fax: 202-785-4410E-mail: [email protected] site: www.dfg-usa.org

The main German funding organi-zation for scientific research.

German Book office1014 Fifth AvenueFourth FloorNew York, NY 10028Phone: 212-794-2851Fax: 212-794 2870E-mail: [email protected] site: www.gbo.org

The German-American Heritage Museum of the uSA719 6th Street NWWashington, DC 20001Phone: 202-467-5000Fax: 202-467-5440E-mail: [email protected] site: www.gahmusa.org

Television and Radio in GermanFor news information on the Internet: www.ardmediathek.de or www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathekNote: There are two German lan-guage televisionchannels available by satellite to Dish Network subscribers in the US: the privately funded ProSiebenSat1Welt, a mix of German language shows of the channels ProSieben, Kabel 1, N24

and Sat1; and Deutsche Welle Television, programming that alter-nates between English and German by the hour from Germany’s interna-tional broadcaster.Deutsche Welle’s program is also rebroadcast via local public televi-sion stations in select cities (check with your local provider).More information at www.dishnetwork. com.

German Lutheran ChurchWashington DC5500 Massachusetts Ave. NWWashington, DC 20816Phone/Fax: 301-365-2678E-mail: [email protected] site: www.glcwashington.org

The united Church +Die Vereinigte Kirche1920 G Street NWWashington, DC 20006-4303Phone: 202-331-1495Fax: 202-530-0406E-mail: [email protected] site: www.theunitedchurch.org

German Speaking Catholic Mission Washington, DCRectory: 6330 Linway Terrace, McLean, VA 22101Masses: Georgetown Preparatory School10900 Rockville PikeBethesda, MD 20852-3299Phone: 703-356-4473Fax: 703-356-4558E-mail: [email protected] site: www.kathde.org

Zion Church of the City of BaltimoreCity Hall Plaza400 East Lexington StreetBaltimore, MD 21202Phone: 410-727-3939Fax:: 410-468-0174E-mail: [email protected] site: www.zionbaltimore.org


sign up......for our weekly

Electronic Newsletterwww.goethe.de/washington

Find us on Facebook and Twitter.

www.facebook.com/GoetheDC

www.twitter.com/GoetheDC

For Films at the Goethe-Institut 812 Seventh St., NW, Washington, DC

ticketsGeneral Admission: $7 Friends of the Goethe-Institut, seniors and students with ID: $4

Tickets: can be purchased right before the screenings, or during the Goethe-Institut’s office hours Monday-Thursday 10 am-5 pm and Friday 10 am-3

or online at: www.boxofficetickets.com/goethe (service charges apply)

For updates and more information:

www.goethe.de/washington

202-289-1200

www.heidelbergbakery.com


The Perfect Location for Your Next Event

Cosmopolitan ambience in an artistic setting

Just minutes from the Gallery Place/Chinatown metro, at the corner of 7th and I (Eye) Streets.

Contact our rental team at: [email protected] or 202-289-1200 or rates and availability

812 Seventh St. NW Washington, DC 20001

www.goethe.de/washington

G a l l e r y ideal for a party or reception, the gallery can hold up to 150 standing guests; includes access to catering kitchen

9 2 - S e a t S c r e e n i n g R o o mwell-equipped for film and video screenings; digital surround sound and a full PA system, the perfect venue for a screening or discussion

S e m i n a r R o o m svideo and data projection, smart boards and internet access


The newsletters of the German Embassy

are the best way to stay current on the latest

events and trends in Germany and

German-American relations:

• German Cultural Events, Washington DC

• The Week in Germany (in English)

• Deutschland-Nachrichten (in German)

• Germany in Class (for Teachers; in English))

Visit www.germany.info/newsletter and

sign up for the newsletters of your choice.

812 Seventh St. NW, Washington, DC 20001-3718Phone: 202-289-1200 Fax: 202-289-3535

Email: [email protected]: www.goethe.de/washington

www.facebook.com/GoetheDC

www.twitter.com/GoetheDC

Opening Hours:Monday-Thursday 9 am – 5 pm; Friday 9 am – 3 pm We are located between H and I Streets, one block from Massachusetts Avenues in northwest Washington. Metro:Gallery Place/Chinatown (exit at 7th and H Streets)Red, Yellow, and Green Lines Car:Follow either Massachusetts or Independence Avenue to Seventh Street Parking:Either on-street or in the underground parking garage at the Renaissance Hotel, accessible from Seventh Street between I (Eye) Street and New York Avenue, or from I Street between 8th and 9th Streets. The Goethe-Institut Washington is wheelchair accessible.

The Goethe-Institut is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Munich. It is Germany’s opera-tional partner for the development and implemen-tation of a foreign cultural policy – one based on dialogue between Germany in the context of Europe and countries and cultures around the world. In addition to a grant from the German Foreign Office, the organization also generates its own funds. On behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, cul-tural institutes around the world provide cultural programs, language courses, support to educators and local authorities instrumental in promoting the German language, as well as up-to-date information on Germany. Institutes all over Germany a variety of immersion language courses. There are six institutes in the United States. Founded in 1990, Goethe-Institut Washington pro-motes German culture and language.

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

2300 M Street, NWWashington, DC 20037

Phone: 202-298-4000

Cultural Affairs Department: 202-298-4315

Fax: 202-298-4317

E-mail: [email protected]

Web site: www.Germany.info

Follow us on facebook and twitter:

www.facebook.com/GermanEmbassyWashington

http://twitter.com/GermanyinUSA

The German Embassy is wheelchair accessible from 23rd Street, NW

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G a l l e r y ideal for a party or reception, the gallery can hold up to 150 standing guests; includes access to catering kitchen

9 2 - S e a t S c r e e n i n g R o o mwell-equipped for film and video screenings; digital surround sound and a full PA system, the perfect venue for a screening or discussion

S e m i n a r R o o m svideo and data projection, smart boards and internet access

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Documents

kultur vergnügen - Goethe-Institut2 kulturvergnügen | winter | 2013 kulturvergnügen | winter | 2013 3 Dr. Bertram von Moltke Head, Cultural Department, German Embassy Wilfried Eckstein