»Tradition is not to keep the ashes but to pass on the flame.«
This quote of Thomas Morus reflects the new bias of the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele: in their first season, artistic director Thomas Wördehoff and his representative Uwe Schmitz-Gielsdorf have invited interpreters who allow a different glance on music, dance and drama. From June 3 to July 31, over 70 events within the categories concert, chamber music, acting, dance and literature will be part of the programme.
In their 78th year of existence, the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele particularly emphasise new interpretations and the unprejudiced combination of various genres: Tyrolese Musicbanda Franui takes on songs of Gustav Mahler with folk music instruments, Sven-Eric Bechtolf relates to William Shakespeare’s “Richard II.” as a great monologue and Jazz icon Marc Ribot approaches Avantgarde composer John Cage from the angle of black funk music. Amongst this year’s first-class interpreters are as well the soprano singers Christine Schäfer and Diana Damrau, mezzo soprano singers Vesselina Kasarova and Angelika Kirchschlager, baritone Bo Skovhus and harp player Xavier de Maistre. Further artists recur in the programm several times and in different functions. Various series are being introduced that will be developed further in the years to come: Solitudine with a solo instrumentalist each, a literature portrait series with great actors as well as the castle-soloist-series, where we present musicians out of the orchestra of the Schlossfestspiele as chamber musicians.
Another alteration this year are several remittance works of the Schlossfestspiele. Besides »Der Traum vom Sein« by Wolfgang Mitterer, that will be premiered at the opening concert, these are: »Koan« by Richard van Schoor (premiered in the concert of the Schlossfestspiel-ensemble conducted by Michael Hofstetter on July 4 in the church of the Ludwigsburg castle.), Franui’s project »Mahlerlieder« (premiered on June 10) as well as »Caged Funk: John Cage Looped, Hijacked, Detourned and Scratch Mixed« by Marc Ribot (premiered on July 8). By order of the Schlossfestspiele, the productions »Song Conversation I–III« with Joe Henry, Bill Frisell and Brad Mehlau, as well as the baroque collage »Notte d’amore« by Christina Pluhar and the ensemble L’Arpeggiata were generated.
Co-productions are e.g. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalets’s »Babel [Words]« with the opera of Brussels, London’s Sadler’s Wells, the Grand Theatre de Luxembourg etc, »Richard II. – Solo eines Königs« with the Thalia Theater Hamburg as well as the film music gala concert with the Film Academy of Baden-Württemberg, the Academy of Performing Arts Baden-Württemberg and the Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH.