At last year’s festival, a concert of a different kind took place for the first time with the support of the mayor of Treptow-Köpenick, Oliver Igel.
The choirs performed in the historic halls on the site of the former Berlin electronics group AEG Transformatorenwerk Oberspree (TRO) transformer plant in Oberschöneweide, that was founded by the Jewish entrepreneur Emil Rathenau in the 19th century. These halls are now becoming a centre for culture in this up and coming district.
The Louis’ LAB in the Reinbeckhallen was born. Choirs from all over the world were singing together with Berliners and other Germans in an old industrial hall in Oberschöneweide – and “that is something very special”, says Regina Yantian, artistic director of the festival. “We fondly remember the hall, which was filled to the last seat, and the fact that at the end the audience was asked to sing the prayer ‘Sim Shalom – Give Peace’ (Ben Steinberg * 1929) together with the Synagogal Ensemble Berlin”. A wonderful concert evening turned into a special emotional experience for each and every visitor.
Nothing is closer to our hearts than to build on the stunning success of last year. The choirs participating in the festival will again appear in an informal setting, in a workshop atmosphere without a fixed repertoire, and involve the audience.
This year, there will be not only one song, but four that three choir directors will work with the audience. One of the pieces will be a prayer for peace in Israel: “Awinu ScheBaSchamaim” – Our Father in Heaven by Meir Finkelstein (*1951).
More from Louis Lewandowski Festival Magazin 2017
AN UNBROKEN LEGACY
Two months after the liberation of Berlin two hundred people gathered for a memorial service in the British sector of Berlin, in the cleaned-up ruins of the Pestalozzistrasse Synagogue. In a letter, an American GI describes this service to his wife, saying it was “impressive in the extreme,” “everyone wept,” and “one of the men switched back on the Eternal Light.” The ceremony began with Lewandowski’s setting of the Shehechiyanu, a blessing to celebrate special occasions and to give thanks for unusual experiences, then chanted by 73-year old Chief Cantor Leo Gollanin (1872 – 1948), who had survived the war in Berlin.
Dr. Gideon Joffe | Vorsitzender der Jüdischen Gemeinde zu Berlin
It is largely thanks to the great reformer of synagogal music that the traditional Jewish prayer service took on a new form.
Michael Müller | Regierender Bürgermeister von Berlin
I would like to welcome all musicians and guests to the 7th Louis Lewandowski Festival.
Nils Busch-Petersen | Festival director
Liebe singende und lauschende Teilnehmende am 7. Louis Lewandowski Festival, seienSie herzlich willkommen!
St. Nikolai, Potsdam
Erstmals gastiert das Louis Lewandowski ineinem der bedeutendsten BauwerkePotsdams: der evangelischen Kirche St. Nikolai. Die gewaltige Kuppel, unter anderem von der St.-Pauls-Kathedrale in London inspiriert, bildet den charakteristischen Mittelpunkt der Stadt.