BERLIN
Music/Concerts
Labor Sonor – The Sound of the Second Hand Clapping
The artists involved in Berlin’s Echtzeitmusik scene are among the city’s most innovative, contemplative, and experimental. A new series sees musicians from that quirky crowd interpreting each other’s works. Originally made to be played, and probably improvised upon, by the composer, pieces were transcribed and given to other talented music makers for a “second hand performance.” See what guitarists/electronic composers Annette Krebs and Burkhard Stangl do with each other’s music Monday night.
Price: €6
Location: KuLe, Auguststrasse 10
Times: Monday, February 18, 8pm
More Information: www.echtzeitmusik.de
Galleries/Museums
Animation and Video Works Curated By Katie Armstrong
Berlin institutions have a soft spot for artists based in their own city. But since Eigen + Art opened their new location in the former Jewish Girls School in Mitte last spring, the German capital has a new space devoted to international artists who aren’t based in Berlin. Next up is a group video show curated by the New York animation artist Katie Armstrong. See works by talented folks who don’t live in Berlin when the new exhibition opens Thursday.
Price: Free
Location: Eigen + Art Lab, Auguststrasse 11-13
Times: Thursday, February 14, 5-9pm (Opening); Tuesday – Saturday, 11am-6pm; through March 23
Phone: 030 246 28 40
More Information: www.eigen-art.com
COLOGNE
Music/Concerts
Anne-Sophie Mutter and Sinfonia Varsovia
A violin superstar, Anne-Sophie Mutter is known for her command of the classical repertoire, but she’s also a champion of contemporary music, having premiered works by the likes of Krzysztof Penderecki and Witold Lutosławski. On Thursday night, the German musician joins Warsaw’s Sinfonia Varsovia for an evening of works by Antonin Dvorak, Arvo Part, Benjamin Britten, and Lutoslawski. British baton waver Michael Francis conducts.
Price: €25 – 150
Location: Kölner Philharmonie, Bischofsgartenstrasse 1
Times: Thursday, February 14, 8pm
Phone: 0221 20 4080
More Information: www.koelner-philharmonie.de
Bloc Party
Thank goodness the guys are back from their hiatus. The London band was always good at getting the party started, and it looks like they haven’t lost any of that electro-guitar vigor we’ve all come to love so much. Watch Kele Okereke and the boys rock the stage at E-Werk Monday.
Price: €31.50
Location: E-Werk Köln, Schanzenstrasse 36
Times: Monday, February 18, 8pm
Ticket Hotline: 0221 2801
More Information: www.e-werk-cologne.com
Unit Asia
Made up of musicians hailing from Asian countries, Unit Asia brings their thoughtful jazz fusion tunes to Europe this month. Witness the Japanese-Malaysian-Thai quintet go from mystical new-age melody makers to seething rock/jazz soloists in a single set. The group plays a free concert at The Japan Foundation in Cologne Friday.
Price: Free
Location: Japanisches Kulturinstitut Köln (The Japan Foundation), Universitätsstrasse 98
Times: Friday, February 15, 7pm
Tickets: 0221 940 55 80
More Information: www.jki.de
FRANKFURT
Galleries/Museums
Yoko Ono – Half A Wind Show
Yoko Ono turns 80 on Monday. It seems like just yesterday she and John Lennon were holding their “Bed-In for Peace” at an Amsterdam hotel. How time flies. Always one for out-of-the-box ideas, the Japanese artist has fostered an extraordinary oeuvre in her long career. Schirn Kunsthalle’s retrospective features some of her earliest works like “Instructions for Paintings” and “Grapefruit.” If you’re still holding a grudge for her alleged role in the Beatles’ break-up, let it go and celebrate the great lady as she turns 80.
Price: €10
Location: Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt , Romerberg
Times: Tuesday, Friday – Sunday, 10am-7pm; Wednesday & Thursday, 10am-10pm
Phone: 069 29 98 820
More Information: www.schirn.de
Music/Concerts
Winter Journey – Twenty-Four Songs By Franz Schubert Set to Poems By Wilhelm Muller
The composer Franz Schubert was so taken by the poetry of Wilhelm Muller that he wrote two song cycles based on his verse. The second, “Winter Journey” was written in 1827, the same year the Dessau poet came to his unfortunate death at the mere age of 33. Hear vocalist Jan Kobow and pianist Michael Guenther perform “Gute Nacht,” “Gefror’ne Traenen (Frozen Tears),” and the 22 other songs about love and loneliness Saturday in Frankfurt.
Price: €15
Location: Bolongaropalast, Bolongarostrasse 109
Times: Saturday, February 16, 8pm
Tickets: 09 395 997 811
More Information: www.clavier-am-main.de
HAMBURG
Theatre
Jerome Bel and Theatre Hora – Disabled Theatre
Don’t underestimate the mentally disabled. Acclaimed choreographer Jerome Bel worked with Theatre Hora, a Zurich based company made up of actors with mental disabilities to create the aptly titled piece Disabled Theatre. The play challenges social conventions about disabled people’s relationship with the creative process and offers a new perspective on intellect and art.
Price: €15 – 22
Location: Kampnagel, Jarrestrasse 20
Times: Thursday, February 14, 8pm; Friday, February 15, 8pm; Saturday, February 16, 8pm
Tickets: 040 270 949 49
More Information: www.kampnagel.de
Music/Concerts
The New World Songs – Songs From North America, Australia, and New Zealand
It may be second nature to look to Europe for culture, but the “New Worlds” have their own unique styles of music too. This week, New Zealander Eve Hirsch, American Audrey Bashore, and Australian Andrew Young sing traditional and contemporary tunes from their homelands, while Paul Matthews tickles the ivories. Enjoy an evening of Anglophone song at The Irish Rover, and have a Guinness while you’re at it.
Price: €13
Location: The Irish Rover, Grossneumarkt 8
Times: Thursday, February 14, Friday, February 15, Saturday, February 16, 7:30pm; Sunday, February 17, 3pm
Tickets: 040 317 31 41
More Information: www.roverrep.net
MUNICH
Events
International Motorcycle Exhibition
Get out the leather jacket, strap on your helmet, and ride like the wind to Munich this weekend. The International Motorcycle Exhibition celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. From Harley Davidson to Honda, BMW, and Suzuki, the world’s most esteemed motorcycle manufacturers have set up their shiny new models at the MOC Event Center. Go and lust over the latest sport bikes, scooters, cruisers, and touring bikes.
Price: €12
Location: MOC Event Center, Lilienthalallee 40
Times: Friday, February 15 – Sunday, February 17, 9am-6pm
Phone: 07071 156 91
More Information: www.imot.de
Galleries/Museums
Rise and Fall of Apartheid: Photography and the Bureaucracy of Everyday Life
A girl sits on a bench designated “for Europeans only,” while her black nanny caresses her neck from the bench behind her. The photo, which is part of a new exhibition at the Haus der Kunst offers a view of life during apartheid. It joins over 500 photographs, artworks, films, videos, documents, posters, and periodicals to present the history of apartheid in South Africa. Go to the panel discussion Thursday when historians, filmmakers, and photographers talk about Drum Magazine, a historic publication that featured shots by both black and white photographers.
Price: €8
Location: Haus der Kunst, Prinzregentenstrasse 1
Times: Thursday, February 14, 7pm (Panel Discussion); Monday – Sunday, 10am-8pm; Thursday, 10am-10pm; February 15 – May 26 (Regular Hours)
Phone: 089 21127 113
More Information: www.hausderkunst.de