What does opera have to do with climate change? Two events in May and June delve into the relationship between culture and climate and raise awareness about climate change. iHeartBerlin is offering 4×2 tickets, so don’t miss this opportunity!
Climate change concerns not only science and the economy, but also culture and the arts. Beyond the arts, many cultural industry workers have asked themselves: what can culture do for the climate?
What can, say, music do to contribute to solutions in the fight against climate change? It was one of the central questions that led to the creation of the Berlin-based company Orchestra for Change (“Wandel Orchestra”), an initiative of the musicians of the Berlin Staatskapelle. Their initiative quickly grew into a national movement with ensembles and musicians from all over Germany raising awareness about climate change.
The musicians of the future play a concert for the climate
On May 24, 2022, the Staatskapelle Berlin will take the discussion on climate change to an unusual place. Usually known for its techno and sweaty dancing bodies, Berlin Mitte’s former thermal power plant once served to provide heat for people until it closed in 1997. But since 2007, when the legendary Techno Club Treasure moved to one part of the building, it literally makes people sweat. Since 2010, Kraftwerk has also become a space hosting exhibitions, immersive experiences, art exhibitions, musical performances and orchestras.
This time, the impressive building will host the musicians of the Staatskapelle and the conductor Frank Strobel for “Die weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü” (1929). The climate concert will feature cinematic images and take viewers and listeners on an unsettling yet fascinating journey through declining glacial landscapes. Proceeds will be donated entirely to the Orchestra for Change eV and the Madagascar-Project for reforestation in Masoala National Park.
Durable Listening: Classic Meets Electronic
Sustainability and the climate will also be the theme of the all-new Lasting Listening series that takes place in Apollosaal at the Staatsoper Berlin, from June 9, 2022. In this special series, we had the pleasure of collaborating with the Staatsoper as a member of the creative team helping to organize the experts and develop the topics. The series will devote lectures, panels, short films, performances and discussions to issues surrounding climate change and delve into cultural contributions to alleviating the climate crisis. The Apollosaal will transform into a space of impulses, exchanges and participation with climate experts, activists and visionaries who educate on local and global initiatives in terms of sustainability.
Each meeting will focus on a different topic – the first will be entirely dedicated to the ocean and will feature Professor Anja Engel, an expert in biological oceanography at Geomar ocean research center in Kiel. Next month’s heart Lasting Listening will be a concert-meditation where classical and electronic sounds meet. Excerpts from compositions by Arvo Pärt, Bedřich Smetana, Giacinto Scelsi will be performed by young members of the Orchestra for Change, with the DJ Duo Gebrüder Teichmann who will remix it.
If you don’t want to miss this experience, stay tuned for iHeartBerlin’s raffle: we donate 4×2 tickets for the climate concert on May 24! For this, you must leave a comment on this instagram post.
Tickets for Lasting Listening and the Concert Climate are available on the Staatsoper website.
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by Claudio
May 12, 2022
in music
