Music theory all alive
Symphony – a four-movement work for orchestra whose individual movements differ in tempo, character, and form, yet ultimately blend into a harmonious whole. I had to think about that when I visited the “Werftsommer” at the Kulturwerft Gollan as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival immediately think of. Symphony or also harmony: at the Werftsommer everything simply fits together perfectly.
ALLEGRO – THE SHMF
The first movement, which sets the theme and the key signature. Quick, lively, cheerful, cheerful. All these adjectives describe Germany’s largest classical music festival excellently. What seems to be self-evident to us today, however, was almost revolutionary in 1985: when the festival idea was born, it was about bringing musical experiences directly to the people and leaving the “sacred halls” of classical music. Becoming more approachable. It has since been associated with great names such as Bernstein, Menuhin, Mutter, Lang Lang, Rostropovich and Netrebko, to name just a few greats. After the country focuses, the composer retrospective and artist portraits are now integral components.
There are weekend workshops with children and young people under the direction of renowned artists such as Grubinger, Landgren and Meyer. The concerts, performances and readings now enliven more than 100 venues in the north, including neighboring Denmark. In my mind’s eye, hat-wearing ladies appear in front of finely filled picnic baskets at the music festivals on magnificent estates in the most beautiful corners of Schleswig-Holstein. Since 1986, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival has grown up and developed into a great, wide-ranging cultural offering that dares to break new ground and open up to musical styles that do not automatically carry the label “classical”.
aNDANTE – ThE CULTuRAL WALL GOLLAN
The second movement, which is performed at a moderately slow tempo. Serene. Quiet. Attributes that belong to the Kulturwerft Gollan and the people who breathe new life into the historic industrial complex.
Gollanwerft looks back on a long and eventful history. Every time I visit it, I am enchanted by its morbid charm, which is unparalleled in Lübeck. Brick-red halls, steel and iron details, rust and broken windows contrast vividly with modern glass fronts and the latest lighting and stage technology. By no means a lost place.
Much more an industrial monument, which the entrepreneur Thilo Gollan has virtually kissed awake from sleep. Since 2014, he has been carefully developing the halls, which had fallen into disrepair, into a place where the focus is on culture and encounters. Where ships were once built and repaired, space has been created for concerts, readings, trade shows and corporate events. Also for graduation balls and talks with Chancellor candidates as in 2017 and again in 2021. The Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival has also been using the Kulturwerft Gollan as a venue for several years.
SCHERZO – THE SHMF SHIPYARD SUMMER
“A tone piece of light and cheerful character, in which humor and jocular whimsy play a lively game with the emotions.” This is what the musicological dictionary says.
This year, the SHMF and the Kulturwerft Gollan realized an open-air format together for the first time with the“Werftsommer” and the atmosphere was more than cheerful. Happy faces in bright sunshine. In the relaxed atmosphere, conversations with the performing artists arose as if by magic. The outdoor area is simply predestined for a musical adventure with creative singer-songwriters. While sipping a delicious Bionade in the shade of the bunker, a former factory air-raid shelter, the view wanders over railroad cars and warehouses into the distance to the towers of St. Jakob’s and St. Mary’s.
The festival’s location at this historic site, within sight of Lübeck’s Old Town, further enhances the musical experience. I am so thrilled that Lübeck shows itself here not from the strikingly beautiful side, but from the “so-is-the-life” perspective. Real and as a work in progress.
“With the Werftsommer, SHMF has created a format that simply fits perfectly into the Werfthallen and the open-air space: special and a bit more experimental with alternative genres, a great supporting program and varied, regional gastro stalls. That’s exactly the kind of festival we were missing here. We look forward to more of the same. It just felt so good to hear live music again, sit in the sun and just enjoy that special festival atmosphere.”
Thilo Gollan, founder and operator of the Kulturwerft
Allegro Finale – cultural stroll in steel brick halls
The Gollan halls 5 and 9 offer the “Werftsommer” the chance to browse through lovingly crafted art, everyday poetry of the Bücherpiraten from the gumball machine to discover with the handlettering artist Babette Büttner or in a horse trailer converted into a peepshow under the motto “Screen in a box” to enjoy a fleeting audiovisual experience by artists Andreas Dorau, Sönke Held and Anne Schulte.
Many of the offers are presented within the framework of the intitiative Kulturfunke Culture spark . Culinary highlights include homemade ice cream from Soulmates, freshly made fish sandwiches from Fangfrisch, specialty coffees from Cycle Roasters and cupcakes from Bäcktakulär.
Until August 2, several more concerts will take place at the Kulturwerft Gollan. You shouldn’t miss them! Click here for the SHMF programme:
