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Back to Press Release List > 12/12/2007 - Berlin in Lights Kicks Off Friday, November 2

—CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS: BERLIN IN LIGHTS FESTIVAL— NOVEMBER 2–18, 2007

CARNEGIE HALL KICKS OFF BERLIN IN LIGHTS FESTIVAL ON
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2

• MAX RAABE AND HIS PALAST ORCHESTER AT CARNEGIE HALL
• CABARET SENSATION UTE LEMPER AT NEUE GALERIE
• LATE-NIGHT DANCE PARTY WITH BERLIN DJS JAZZANOVA AT GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

Three Events Launch 17-Day Citywide Festival Exploring
Berlin’s Vibrant Cultural Landscape

Carnegie Hall’s first major international festival—Berlin in Lights—kicks off on Friday, November 2 with three events celebrating Berlin’s lively music scene, including performances by retro-superstar Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, cabaret performances by German chanteuse Ute Lemper at Neue Galerie, and a late-night dance party with music spun by Berlin-based DJs Jazzanova at the Guggenheim Museum.

   •   Evoking a nostalgic romance that has captured the imaginations of different
       generations all over the world, singer and bandleader Max Raabe and his
       12-piece Palast Orchester perform dance and film music from the 1920s–1930s
       golden age of songwriting in Germany, the United States, and beyond. Mr. Raabe
       and his band return to Carnegie Hall on Friday, November 2 at 8:00 p.m., following
       their highly-popular sold-out Zankel Hall performance in November 2005.

   •   Chanteuse Ute Lemper is known for her sophisticated repertoire of Berlin
       cabaret songs including the dark gems of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. She
       performs the timeless repertoire of Berlin cabaret and contemporary classics,
       accompanied by pianist Vana Gierig at Neue Galerie on Friday, November 2
       at 9:00 p.m. (Dinner begins at 7:00 p.m.; second “dessert performance” at
       10:30 p.m.) Ms. Lemper launches an eight-concert Berlin cabaret series featuring
       a variety of artists at Neue Galerie with performances through November 17.

   •   Alex Barck of Berlin’s Jazzanova performs a DJ set with striking visuals
       created by JUTOJO at the Guggenheim Museum’s wildly popular First Fridays
       on Friday, November 2 from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. First Fridays takes place
       in the Guggenheim’s magnificent Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda. A
       crowd lines up around the block for cocktails, world-class DJ sets,
       and an opportunity to explore one of the fall season’s most highly anticipated
       exhibitions, Richard Prince Spiritual America.

The Berlin in Lights festival opening weekend continues with an encore performances by Ute Lemper at Neue Galerie (November 3); panel discussions on Berlin film, literature, architecture, and visual arts at Carnegie Hall (November 3 and 4); screenings of the 1927 silent film, Berlin: Symphony of a City with live performance of the original score in Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall (November 3); and the kick-off of MoMA’s Kino! Berlin series of notable films made in Berlin since reunification (November 3–14).

Presented from November 2–18, Berlin in Lights is a 17-day celebration of the extraordinary city that is Berlin today, offering a snapshot of Germany’s vibrant capital city through orchestral, chamber, cabaret, world, and techno music concerts as well as film, architecture, literature, and photography events. With close to 50 events presented at Carnegie Hall and throughout New York City, the scope of the festival is made possible through collaborations with a broad range of cultural partners including The American Academy in Berlin, the Center for Architecture, the German Consulate General in New York, Goethe-Institut New York, the Guggenheim Museum, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Neue Galerie New York, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Thirteen/WNET New York, WNYC—New York Public Radio, and the World Music Institute.

The concept for Berlin in Lights grew out of Carnegie Hall’s plans to present an eight-day residency by Sir Simon Rattle and the world-renowned Berliner Philharmoniker. This residency, taking place November 10 through 18, will include three Berliner Philharmoniker concerts featuring Mahler’s last three works coupled with contemporary music, four chamber music concerts with ensembles drawn from the ranks of the orchestra, free chamber performances by Berliner Philharmoniker musicians in communities throughout the city, and major arts education projects with the New York Public Schools. Complementing the orchestra’s performances will be two concerts by the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, led by Gustavo Dudamel in his New York conducting debut, and Sir Simon Rattle, on November 11 and 12. The young Venezuelan musicians have long enjoyed a mentoring relationship with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon will share podium duties with Mr. Dudamel on November 12.

In the nine days leading up to the orchestra’s residency, a wide range of Berlin in Lights concerts, exhibitions, panel discussions, and film screenings will be presented on all three stages of Carnegie Hall and at partner venues throughout New York City, providing an illuminating exploration of Berlin’s cultural scene.

Further information on all events and participants may be found at Carnegie Hall’s dedicated Berlin in Lights website: www.carnegiehall.org/berlininlights . The website, which goes live in late September, will feature a full listing of events, performers, and repertoire, as well as a multimedia component featuring essays on Berlin, audio interviews, video footage, photographs from Berlin in Lights events, and blogs from New York-based writers and participants in the festival.


—OPENING NIGHT AT BERLIN IN LIGHTS: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2—


Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester at Carnegie Hall

For more than 15 years, Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester have made it their mission to entertain audiences with the glittering music of the 1920s and 1930s. To ensure musical authenticity, the ensemble devotes itself to performing original arrangements of each song, sometimes even transcribing them from old shellack discs found at flea markets. The orchestra’s repertoire includes more than 400 songs from the era, many of which were labeled “Entartete Kunst” (degenerate art) by the Nazis. By complementing the authentic songs of the 1920s and 1930s with original compositions and cabaret-style covers of modern pop hits, the ensemble has brought the world of the Berlin cabaret to a new generation of music lovers. In recent years, Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester released two Super Hits albums, which included covers of songs by Britney Spears, Prince, Queen, Soft Cell, and Patti LaBelle.

The Palast Orchester was founded in a Berlin pizza restaurant in 1986 by Max Raabe and a group of students looking for a way to finance their studies. What started as a whim, soon developed into a full-time career. The ensemble has recorded more than 20 albums, including Charming Weill, an album devoted to the music of Kurt Weill, conducted by HK Gruber. Today, Max Raabe & the Palast Orchester tours extensively throughout Europe to cities in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland with more than 160 performances annually. Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester made their Carnegie Hall debut in November 2005 with a critically acclaimed, sold-out Zankel Hall performance.

Ute Lemper & Eight Nights of Berlin Cabaret at Neue Galerie

Ute Lemper is known for her sophisticated repertoire Berlin cabaret songs including the dark gems of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. She has dazzled audiences in Europe and worldwide in musical theatre roles in productions of Chicago, The Blue Angel, Peter Pan, Cats, and Cabaret. Ms. Lemper’s concert performances include songs of Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich, as well as songs by English composer Michael Nyman with texts by Romanian Holocaust poet Paul Celan, and chansons by the poet Jacques Prévert. Ms. Lemper has numerous recordings to her credit including projects for CBS Records, Polydor, Decca, DRG, and EDEL records.

In addition to Ute Lemper’s performances on November 2, the sultry cabaret chanteuse will repeat her performances on Saturday November 3 with pianist Vana Gierig.

The grand tradition of cabaret in Berlin will be showcased over the course of eight nights at Café Sabarsky at Neue Galerie.

   •   November 8 – Following her Metropolitan Opera engagement as Madama
       Butterfly, star soprano Patricia Racette offers a program celebrating the
       extraordinary moment in history when Berlin cabaret composers reveled in
       the music of American songwriting giants.

   •   November 9 – Critically acclaimed vocalist Isengart presents a sensational
       show featuring a distinctive blend of intense emotion, sophistication, and
       effortless charm. His program includes excerpts from Kurt Weill and Bertolt
       Brecht collaborations, popular Weimar hits, and the sultry standards associated
       with chanteuse extraordinaire Marlene Dietrich.

   •   November 10 – Gloriously glamorous vamp Meow Meow purrs her way through
       everything from cool and kitsch cabaret to multimedia performance art to virtuosic
       contemporary opera, focusing for this performance on the repertoire of the Weimar
       era.

   •   November 15 – The vocal ensemble Hudson Shad, hailed as the first equal
       heir to the famed Comedian Harmonists, presents an evening of unforgettable
       elegance, humor, and grace.

   •   November 16 – Bass-baritone Robert Osborne offers selections by some of
       Berlin’s greatest talents—Friedrich Holländer, Mischa Spoliansky, Hanns Eisler,
       Kurt Weill—as well as their counterparts in Paris, New York, and Hollywood.

   •   November 17 – For the final Berlin in Lights performance at Neue Galerie,
       Cassandra Wilson makes her Café Sabarsky debut and delves into the music
       of the Weimar era, singing hits from both sides of the Atlantic. Fellow Blue
       Note recording artist Jason Moran joins her at the piano.


First Fridays: Art After Dark at Guggenheim Museum

Alex Barck of Berlin’s Jazzanova performs a DJ set with striking visuals created by JUTOJO at the Guggenheim Museum’s wildly popular First Fridays on Friday, November 2 from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. First Fridays takes place in the Guggenheim’s magnificent Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda. A crowd lines up around the block for cocktails, world-class DJ sets, and an opportunity to explore one of the fall season’s most highly anticipated exhibitions, Richard Prince Spiritual America.

Jazzanova is a Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reinemer. The group is one of the foremost proponents of the nu-jazz, chillout, and jazz house styles of music associated with record labels such as Compost Records and Sonar Kollektiv. They have also experimented with Latin Jazz, which can be heard on the song "Tres Bien.”

JUTOJO is an analogue media collective formed by graphic designer Julie Gayard, film-maker Toby Cornish and architect Joni Braun in 1999. The group provides solutions to the visual and atmospheric needs of surfaces, spaces, and gatherings of people, from record covers to music videos to large scale events. They create site-specific light constructions using light, film, video, and slide-projection in combination with suspended mobile screens and inflatable surfaces.

******

Program Information
Friday, November 2 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage
Carnegie Hall
MAX RAABE, Vocalist
PALAST ORCHESTER

The program will be announced from the stage and the performance will not include an intermission.

Ticket Information
Tickets, priced at $21, $26, $34, $48, $63, and $70 are available beginning September 17 at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to a major credit card by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, www.carnegiehall.org .

In addition, for all Carnegie Hall Corporation presentations taking place in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, a limited number of partial-view seats, priced at $10, will be available beginning at noon on the day of the concert. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.

A limited number of student/senior citizen discount tickets, priced at $10, may also be available for some Carnegie Hall events. They are on sale at the Box Office beginning at noon until 1 hour before concert time. Student/senior discount tickets for some Weill Recital Hall events are available at the Box Office one hour before performance. Please call CarnegieCharge for ticket availability.


Program Information
November 2 – November 18
Café Sabarsky
Neue Galerie New York
EIGHT NIGHTS OF BERLIN CABARET
Performance times and ticket information is listed below.

Neue Galerie New York—a museum devoted to German and Austrian art of the early 20th century—presents a cabaret series in the Café Sabarsky, an intimate 60-seat room exquisitely appointed with period objects, including lighting fixtures by Josef Hoffmann and furniture by Adolf Loos. The restaurant draws its inspiration from the great cafés that served as important centers of intellectual and cultural life at the turn of the 20th century. During Berlin in Lights, the series will focus on Berlin cabaret.

Participating artists include Ute Lemper with pianist, Vana Gierig (Friday, November 2 and Saturday, November 3), Patricia Racette (Thursday, November 8), Isengart (Friday, November 9), Meow Meow (Saturday, November 10), Hudson Shad (Thursday, November 15), Robert Osborne with pianist Richard Gordon (Friday, November 16), and Cassandra Wilson with pianist Jason Moran (Saturday, November 17).

Presented by the Neue Galerie in Partnership with Carnegie Hall.
Neue Galerie
1048 Fifth Avenue (at 86th Street)

Ticket Information
Ute Lemper will give two performances each night: one dinner performance, and one dessert performance. Her dinner performances will be at 9 p.m., preceded by a prix-fixe dinner at 7 p.m. Ticket price is $153 (dinner $58, performance $95; purchased together). Her dessert performances are preceded by prix-fixe dessert course with champagne service at 10:30 p.m. Ticket price for her dessert performances is $130 (dessert $35, performance $95; purchased together).

All other performers’ performances are at 9 p.m., preceded by a prix-fixe dinner at 7 p.m. Ticket price for Cassandra Wilson is $153 (dinner $58, performance $95; purchased together). Ticket price for Patricia Racette, Isengart, Meow Meow, Hudson Shad, and Robert Osborne is $103 (dinner $58, performance $45; purchased together). Performances are not sold separately.

TO ORDER TICKETS, PLEASE CALL 212-628-6200, EXT. 485.
Tickets go on sale September 15 and are non-refundable.


Program Information
Friday, November 2 at 9:00 p.m.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
FIRST FRIDAYS: ART AFTER DARK
JAZZANOVA
JUTOJO, Berlin design group

Presented by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue (at 89th Street)

Ticket Information
Cash bar
Admission $25 (cash only at the door)
FREE for Guggenheim Members
For more information, visit: www.guggenheim.org/firstfridays or call 212-423-3535

******


The Berlin in Lights festival is made possible by a leadership gift from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.

Major funding has also been provided by Mercedes and Sid Bass, with additional support from Martha and Bob Lipp, Fundación Mercantil (Venezuela) and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Additional funding provided by Axel Springer, GWFF USA Inc., and the Jerome Robbins Foundation.

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

For a complete schedule of Berlin in Lights events, including all additional Berliner Philharmoniker performances during their eight-day November residency, please visit www.carnegiehall.org/berlininlights/



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