At this year’s Campus project, the sound-worlds from India are the focus of. Not an easy task for the young German and Indian musicians, the musical traditions, however, hardly be more different.
Since 2001, the Deutsche Welle and the Beethoven Orient festival in Bonn, the joint project “Campus,” a meeting format for the cultures of Europe and various transmission regions of the DW. Framework and implementation are always different, but always it comes to one thing: the encounter of cultures in a spirit of mutual openness. In past years, the countries of the Ukraine, to Brazil, to China and to Iraq and host countries of the project. In 2018, an entire subcontinent with a great, the West is largely unfamiliar musical culture is at the heart of the Campus-concert: India.
“Mission impossible”…
Young German and Indian percussionists in the Workshop in Mumbai
…so the task was initially that had been the Campus project this year – namely, to bring the Indian classical and West-European music together in a productive dialogue. “Because you can only fail”, experts warned. Because both music traditions are a cosmos.
The Indian classical art music is one of the few historically grown, complex musical tradition, which has not been replaced by the contact with the Western world or marginalized. Although it is similar in Rigor, tradition, and discipline of the Aesthetics of Western classical music; however, it is completely different, because the Indian classical music is improvised.
German-Indian dialogue in the character of the rhythm
Already in January of 2018, traveled to the Federal youth orchestra to India. “Because classical music has a long Tradition, we have travelled without any special expectations to India,” confesses Sönke Lentz, project Manager of the national youth orchestra. On-site exceeded all expectations: most of The concerts were so crowded that spontaneous video transfers were in the Foyer is needed.
Full halls during the concert of the national youth orchestra in Mumbai
In addition, the members of the national youth orchestra were able to see much of the country’s cultural treasures to admire, and came up with young Indians and Indians in contact, told Lentz. “These are experiences that are in the joint development of the new programme is indispensable.”
So also the Central idea of the India Campus has matured to the rhythm as a link between the Indian and European culture in the center. The second Phase followed in April: Young German percussionist of the SPLASH-Ensemble NRW traveled on behalf of the DW and the beethovenfest Bonn to Mumbai. Here they met their Indian colleagues, the tabla player from the Taal Yogi’s Ashram in Pune. Two Kathak dancers were; the rhythmic dance is an indispensable Element of the Indian percussion. What followed was a week of intense exchanges. The chemistry was instant, although the Indian musicians saw for the first Time, Western instruments such as the Marimba or Xylophone, and the young German at the beginning, difficult in the case of the Indian rhythms came along.
Bonn, here we come!
15. September was it then so far: the Beethoven-stage at the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB) brought together all of the Campus participants for the first Time. Ever since, the musicians of the national youth orchestra to work together with the young percussionists and dancers from Germany and India to its Campus program. They devote themselves to, among other things, a composition experiment of Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass, the rhythmic peculiarities of the Indian music to a Symphony orchestra, were transferred, or the India-inspired works by the American minimalist Steve the most.
Bernhard Schimpelsberger (l) and Rakesh Chaurasia (right)
A Premiere will be in again this year: Bernhard Schimpelsberger, Austrian born and a choice of Indian, as well as Rakesh Chaurasia, composer and Virtuoso of the Indian Bansuri flute, have written on behalf of the DW, the track “Kismet”. The title means “fate,” just like the theme of this year’s Beethovenfest.
The DW-Campus concerts will take place on 20. September in Bonn WCCB, and a day later in the University of the arts (UDK) Berlin.