A Star Is Born at the Museum Folkwang

Mick Jagger 1975
©Didi Zill

Few things touch us as music does.
Just hearing one note of a familiar, personal melody can set off a whole chain of memories, emotions and vivid pictures in our hearts and minds.
And so it also is with the exhibition ‘A Star Is Born’ showing until October 10th in the Museum Folkwang in Essen. The first major exhibition of this kind to be shown in Germany.
The show is extensive, over 300 exhibits in room after room filled with the work of the world’s great photographers - Albert Watson, Annie Leibowitz, Richard Avedon, David LaChapelle, Mick Rock, portraying rock ‘n’ roll stars, huge bands, memorable songs, unforgettable performances and quite obviously most treasured memories.
There are added treats such as a tiny Japanese disc player and album covers side by side with the original photograph that the album cover was designed from.
Music flows in places; discs are on the walls; magazines and autographs are also on show.
There’s also a really atmospheric movie - clips of classic concerts: David Byrne in his huge suit, Patti Smith, Jimi Hendrix, The Stones, David Bowie, Blondie, The Whitestripes and all.
I thought I was going on to admire great photography of well known bands and solo artists and so it was, but it was also much more than this.
Especially moving were the various members of the audience that visited the show that afternoon.
Couples and singles moved through the rooms in a kind of bubble of memories. Smiling at one another, smiling to themselves. Few words were spoken. It seemed everyone had a memory to share with these amazing photographs. Be it of a live performance they had witnessed or tune that was gliding through their minds.
These images triggered emotions in every way and so this is an exhibition of many facets.  Some of the photographs are awe inspiring, some amusing, many intriguing. There are beautiful portraits, adrenaline-filled, live-on-stage shots and intimate backstage and offstage views.

Take a trip to Essen, it's easy to reach by train, and experience this all for yourself. 
The museum is open Tuesdays - Sundays from 10am - 6pm. Late night opening Fridays until 10.30pm.
From Tuesdays to Sundays, and on all public holidays there is a free shuttle, the Folkwang Bus, from the south exit of Essen Hauptbahnhof to the museum every 15 minutes.

A Star Is Born entry €8 
The museum also has an excellent English website that, refreshingly, is easy to find your way around.

A Star Is Born
Museum Folkwang
Museumsplatz 1
45128 Essen

RhineBuzz on facebook


There is a RhineBuzz group on facebook with over 430 members of all ages. New people join all the time - take a look around, there are many more pictures on here of our events, the people we attract, the fun we have!
Please do join, it is a really good way of hearing about our events first hand.
I received an email recently from a young person who has now been to a couple of our events: 


 'I'm really glad I found out about Rhinebuzz. I can see that it is very likely going to completely change my experiences and attitude here in Germany'



Honey from the Roof of museum kunst palast

A Press Photographer and the Beekeeper
I spend my time doing some pretty novel things some days.

At the end of September I was on the roof of the museum kunst palast where the first museum’s honey was premiered!
All spring and summer the bees have been busy collecting their nectar from the nearby Hofgarten and Rhinepark. Local beekeeper, Olaf Linowski, set up a hive on the museum’s roof and now nearly 100kg have been harvested for the first time.
mkp Director Beat Wismer and his team look on against the Düsseldorf Skyline
You can buy the Hofgarten Honig only from 
the museum shop.
250g €6.90
A great and very novel gift from Düsseldorf. 
Or a treat for yourself - I tried it and it was delicious!

American Citizen Services Day




American Citizen Services Day in Düsseldorf
Wednesday 22nd September 2010 10am - 2pm 
U.S. Consulate General Duesseldorf
Willi - Becker - Allee 10
40227 Duesseldorf
Tel.: (0211) 788 - 8927
Fax: (0211) 788 - 8938
The U.S. Consulate General Düsseldorf no longer provides American citizen services. This means you would normally have to take a trip to Frankfurt for any of these essential services. However on September 22nd the office in Düsseldorf will provide these services for the day, so make the most of this opportunity!

Kunstpunkte August 21/22 & 28/29

Lea Lenhart Kunstpunkt 142
Düsseldorf artists open their studios
Have you seen the the blue 'star' posters all around town and wondered what they are for?
Kunstpunkte happens on two weekends in August 21/22 and 28/29. Over 300 artists studios are open to the public, Saturdays from 2 - 8pm and Sundays from 12 - 6pm. The listings of the artists participating can be found on the website www.kunstpunkte.de 
Click first on the weekend you would like to go under 'Wochenübersicht' and the list of artists & their addresses will appear.
As the studios are spread all over the city there is also a shuttle bus available. For €15 a bus takes you around selected studios for 3 hours, the tours are accompanied by an artist. Buses leave from The Rheinterrassen, Josef-Beuys-Ufer 33 at various times. Tickets available from Heinrich-Heine-Alle 24.
For the first time, this year's event will also be accompanied by a musical programme.
Leaflets with a map of all participating studios can be found all over the city in bars, cafes and restaurants so you that you can also just make your own way.

Susanne Kamps Kunstpunkt 177

We will be bringing you are own accompanied tours of selected studios soon but in the meantime do take a look at some of studios open over the Kunstpunkte weekends and discover a Dusseldorf you had a no idea existed.

Ruhr. 2010 Essen European Capital of Culture

The Ruhr Metropolis is just a short train ride away from Düsseldorf. 2010 sees the city of Essen celebrate the title as the European Capital of Culture, but the entire region is involved as the converging cities and nearly 6 million people enjoy a rich and varied program of arts and culture throughout the year.


Not only museums and galleries are taking part. The locals are opening up their homes and creating art projects, hundreds of local businesses are involved, the water, ever vital in the Ruhr Valley, also plays an important part. There are towers to climb and concerts to hear. Even a motorway to go and party on!
It can be a bewildering program, but there is an excellent 'events of the day' download which can help you decide what to do when. Almost all locations are well served by good public transport links.
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On July 18th the Ruhr motorway, the A40, all 60 km of one of Europe's busiest highways; the main vein that normally links the cities of the metropolis was closed to traffic for the day and 20,000 tables were set up to host an ambitious day of festivities of the numerous arts and cultures of this area. It became the longest still-life the world has perhaps seen.

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The Baldeneysee in Essen is a calm oasis in the middle of what was once the industrial heart of Europe. A beautiful lake where you can canoe, sail and enjoy the water in the middle of the city.
Four atolls have been created as part of Ruhr. 2010 which you can visit by paddle boat. You may climb on three of the four atolls and paddle around all four. The three you can visit are especially intriguing once you actually get onto them and climb around.
All based on the theme of 'Art is Energy' artists and scientists were invited to see what they could come up with. The results make a very pleasant day out. Go and paddle!
Paddle boat hire and visit to the atolls €7 per person. max 4 in a boat per 45 minutes. Be prepared for a wait, or reserve ahead 01805 15 2010. There is also an exhibition hall nearby where you can see more about the project.
12.05. – 30.09.2010, daily 10:00 – 19:00
Baldeneysee Essen, Hardenbergufer, 45127 Essen
Ruhr-Atoll-Halle: €3 - 4 boat rental: €6 – 18


Opera and Ballet on the Rhine for All




What a wonderful evening Friday was as Düsseldorf embraced Opera and Ballet for All.
An audience of 12,000 enjoyed the spectacle on Burgplatz, a few of the RhineBuzz community were disappointed that they did not manage to purchase the few tickets that became available to us for the Opera House - so they went along to Burgplatz and had a fabulous evening as they told me afterwards. The atmosphere was grand, the fireworks were dramatically launched from 2 helicopters; the Opera House performances spectacular.


















Earlier, mesmerised children enjoyed a snippet of Robin Hood as the brightly-coloured soldiers from the children's opera marched onto Burgplatz. I saw this production last December and can only urge all you parents to take your children along next season. The production is in German but I do believe that children of all nationalities will enjoy this, the production is so vibrant - the costumes and energy so bright and gorgeous. The children in the audience in December were glued to their seats, their calls for 'more' at the end deafening!
At the Gala 21 RhineBuzzers joined the 1,300 that took their seats in the Opera House. Elegant visitors relished in glorious performances, Olesya Golovneva was especially memorable with her amusing performance of Bernstsein's "Glitter and be Gay'.


Martin Schläpfer won new fans once again as members of a wider audience had the pleasure of experiencing four pieces by his magnificent ballet company.
The evening was rounded off by a buffet, so at midnight those that could stay, sat down, met new RhineBuzzers and tucked into variations of pasta & wine & especially gorgeous desserts. The gala dinner upstairs in the Opera House was still going strong as we left at around 1.30am.
Photographs ©Frank Heller, ©Bernd Ahrens and 
©Hans Jörg Michel
We were very fortunate that Kerry-Anne O'Brien, a member of the ballet company came to speak with us after the performance. The chance to hear about her work with The Rhine Ballet made the evening very special indeed. Thanks Kerry!


We wish everyone at the Opera House a relaxing and well-deserved summer break. RhineBuzz Opera events will be back in the autumn with newly structured ticket offers so that everyone can enjoy what this marvellous house has to offer us very lucky Düsseldorfers.

Opera Gala and b.05 Rhine Ballet

©Frank Heller
Opera for All 2009


Congratulations Rhine Ballet for being awarded the title of Best Ballet Company in NRW! 
A much deserved accolade for Martin Schläpfer and his ensemble. 
Martin Schläpfer at the Opera House
The wonderful Rhine Ballet premiered on June 12th at the Opera House in Düsseldorf with b.05.
This performance is made up of four pieces, three by Schläpfer and one by the Argentinian Teresa Rotemberg. Expect an evening of high emotion as you are swept along by music that includes piano pieces written by John Cage and a performance which combines saxophone and Schubert waltzes all interpreted by the incredible physicality of Schläpfer's dancers.
The final piece in the b.05, '3' celebrated it's world premier in Mainz in 2007. The words by Wiebke Hüster of the Frankfurter Allgemeine describe “There is hardly another choreographer today who is able to create works with so many layers of depth besides Martin Schläpfer – dances which really come to grips with the music, dances which open up a new terrain of movement, and finally dances which over and beyond the evening can occupy one’s imagination for so long”.
I am anticipating the evening of July 13th, when RhineBuzz will see this performance at the Opera House in Düsseldorf, with great excitement. The ballets b.01 - b.04 have all been mesmerising - I can't wait to see what Herr Schläpfer has in stall for us to round off this incredible season he has celebrated in Düsseldorf.
RhineBuzz at the Premier of b.03
His ballets are of such power. I can only urge anyone who has never seen one of his works to join us. We have had wonderful feedback, especially from ballet novices, you will not be disappointed and will almost certainly get to meet some great new people too. Our groups are a colourful bunch of vibrant characters of all nationalities.
If you wish to join us, please email caroline@rhinebuzz.com. We enjoy discounted tickets for the best seats in the house - you can see right up close the incredible physical effort and feeling that oozes out of theses amazing dancers.
Opera and Ballet for All
©Frank Heller


On 16th July the Opera House will present "Opera and Ballet on the Rhine for All" following the great success of "Opera for All" last year.
With the Rhine majestically as the backdrop, a massive screen of stunning quality is erected on Burgplatz, so that everyone is able to take part in the performance that is transmitted live from the Opera House that evening for free. Take along a deck chair and go along, you'll have a ball!
"Opera for All" had a truly festive atmosphere about it last year and no doubt this new event will encompass the same magic. Entertainment is provided from 3pm on the open-air stage. The performance itself in the Opera House, a stunning program of opera and ballet hosted by well-known personalities from German TV and film, begins at 8pm. RhineBuzz is thrilled to have been able to secure a few tickets.
The entire Opera House will be on stage - the Düsseldorf Symphonic Orchestra, The Choir, The Children's Choir, members of the Opera on the Rhine, the Rhine Ballet and world-renowned guest performers.
A truly magnificent event.

Antenne Düsseldorf Website of the Week!




Hello Rhinebuzzers - a dear German friend has just called me and said that
Antenne Düsseldorf has voted us the website of the week!
How cool is that?
We are very pleased - thank you!

It's a shame I didn't hear what they said about us on June 7th, but apparently it was something along the lines of - cool site that the Düsseldorfers were now also checking for a novel view of what was happening in their city.
The tours and events they said were also well established and highly regarded ...

If you understand German you can read and listen here!

museum kunst palast & the robert schumann hall

 
Le grand geste! opened at museum kunst palast in April and as part of the colourful accompanying program Thursday 6th May saw a talk in English by Vincent Katz, poet and arts critic on 'Artists in New York around 1950'.
This coming Thursday, July 15th the Ed Harris movie "Pollock" will be shown at 6.30pm in the museum. It will be in German.
Every Thursday the museum is open until 9pm. From 15th July until 1st August the mkp is offering two for one entry. Buy one ticket and bring a friend for free!
Le grand geste! features some 200 works in an exhibition of abstract and informal ideas from 1946 - 64 when this new form of painting was being celebrated around the globe. Bold and powerful, including the well-known paintings by Jackson Pollock this is a show not to be missed. A massive 1500 people attended the opening I am told.
Create your own Jackson Pollock!
museum kunst palast shared this fabulous link with us - have a go it's great fun!
Next Arts Session after the summer break: Sept 12th 2 - 4pm and Sept 23rd 7 - 9pm
At the last After Work Arts at mkp the RhineBuzzers had a ball as they put this into practice for real. They had a fabulous time -
"It was the best! Came home full of energy, what a great event, the After Work Art events at Museum Kunst Palast are amazing!"
It was outrageous fun!!! I think it reminded us all of what it once felt like to be in kindergarten and get in touch with our inner child, inner artists as well as work as a team and be creative as a group. I highly recommend it!"
"Loved it!"
email caroline@rhinebuzz.com to reserve your place.
Thank you to Ann-Katrin for the photos.


In June we hosted two dates on a Thursday and a Sunday. Both were a great success. After the summer break in August we will be back fro September every fourth Thursday of the month.
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The 440Hz Series at the robert schumann hall at mkp
Blank and Jones and Alexander Shelley and The Schumann Camerata Orchestra
On Saturday night I was invited to the Blank and Jones and Alexander Shelley concert at the robert schumann hall on the lower floor of mkp.
As part of the 440Hz Series the aim of these concerts is to bring classical music to a younger, broader audience by combining the talents of award-winning British conductor and cellist extrordinare Alexander Shelley with the young (average age 24) Düsseldorf Schumann Camerata Orchestra which he founded and the various genres of music - hip-hop, jazz, a cappella or as on Saturday night, electronica with Blank and Jones.
Now I'm not an electronica fan, but always open to have a listen to something I'm not 100% keen on, my companion and I walked into the cool museum on Saturday evening quite early as I wanted to see who was coming to this concert.
It was indeed a very mixed audience of all ages, including everyone from young dedicated Blank and Jones fans to a few retired folk and everyone in between. I did definitely miss any signs of the international community in those gaining great pleasure from the fantastically air-conditioned foyer. We obviously have yet to discover the joys of 440Hz.
What can I say? The concert was wonderful!!!
Even my vinyl-loving, "real instrument" aficionado companion was quite taken by the atmosphere of the concert, the tones and sheer enjoyment with which these bright young classical musicians wove, blended and performed with the djs.
Conductor Alexander Shelley has a presence on stage that is exhilarating - he so obviously loves his work enormously and his musicians just adore being part of this project. The smiles on their faces said it all.
The evening included pieces by Ravel and a composition by Shelley himself.
Can't wait for the next 44Hz concert which if I understood the introduction correctly will involve a karoke-singing opera singer and the orchestra ... don't ask me! Just make sure you are there. We will let you know in plenty of time when it is.
RhineBuzz really enjoyed the Schumann Quartett event we took part in earlier in the year and now we know about more of your great program.
Thanks mkp for another wonderful evening!
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