Music can help us make sense of today’s topsy-turvy world, so it’s fitting that MaerzMusikby the Berliner Festspieleis returning on 22.03.2019 with another ten-day program of musical investigation. The festival has always sought to address the concept of time, and this year, artistic director Berno Odo Polzer has taken the bold step of looking back in time – exploring history to help process the present. The opening concert, featuring Frederic Rzewski and Horațiu Rădulescu, is accompanied by the tagline “The People United Will Never Be Defeated,” borrowed from the Chilean nueva canción unity movement of the 1970s. As ever, the festival embraces diversity in presentation, such as Elaine Mitchener who brings history into the present with performance combining music, improvisation and movement. Besides music, events include films, installations, discussions, readings, and even an overnight stay – Useless Land– where festival-goers spend the night listening to readings of literature recounting pre-industrial humanity. While most MaerzMusik events are free to attend, tickets for paid events are available online. (Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Berliner Festspiele, Guido Mencari & Burkhard Peter)
Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Schaperstr.24, 10719 Berlin–Wilmersdorf; map
MaerzMusik takes place at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Silent Green, Radialsystem and Konzerthaus Berlin. Check the online program for further information.
