The cultural side of Chemnitz

As host of the 5th German Music Festival, Chemnitz also wants to show its best musical and cultural side. Museums, churches, institutions, clubs and musicians have prepared a special music festival programme.

The sounding town hall

The highlight of Chemnitz's supporting programme is the Chemnitz Sound Night on 10 May at 10 pm on the Neumarkt. Light, video and sound come together in a fascinating multivision show organised by the Chemnitzer Künstlerbund e. V. (Chemnitz Artists' Association). Afterwards, the North Bavarian Youth Wind Orchestra, conducted by Ernst Oestreicher, will perform works ranging from popular classical music to symphonic interpretations of rock classics. The Chemnitzer Klangnacht is a cooperation project between the organiser BDMV, the city of Chemnitz and the Chemnitzer Künstlerbund e. V. Admission is free.

During the music festival, the Chemnitz Town Hall will present its musical and artistic specialities. Every day at 9 a.m., the morning call of the tower keeper Stefan Weber, the playing of the carillon and brass music from the High Tower will be heard. The mural by Max Klinger can also be viewed, accompanied by music from the year the artwork was created.

Music at Tietz

On 10 and 11 May from 10 am to 6 pm, the city library is hosting an exhibition of sheet music and CDs on the subject of brass music. On 10 May at 11 a.m., the Mozart rally will also start in the Tietz event hall. The aim is to find facts and figures about the history of music. Admission is free.

The Neue Sächsische Galerie invites you to the exhibitions "Defying Gravity" and "SOMETHING IN BETWEEN" at Tietz from 11 am to 5 pm. Admission costs 3 euros; admission is free for those under 18.

The extraordinary at Weltecho

In the evenings, you can relax with music and dancing at Weltecho (Annaberger Straße 24, 09111 Chemnitz). Several events invite you to do so, including a concert with a serious background on 10 May at 8 pm. The project Strom & Wasser feat. THE REFUGEES will be performed. A unique project by singer-songwriter Heinz Ratz, who interprets a firework of dub, reggae, hip hop and Balkan beat numbers with world-class musicians who live in Germany as refugees. Admission costs 5 euros. From 10 pm, the virtuoso Balkan sounds of Äl Jawala and DJ Marco Stani invite you to dance. Admission costs €8 in advance and €10 at the box office.

On 12 May 2013 at 6 pm, the work "In C" by Terry Riley will also be performed. The work, composed for any number of musicians and consisting of 53 short musical phrases, brings together amateurs and professional musicians. Anyone wishing to take part with their instrument can register at oscar@weltecho.eu.

Admission costs 7 euros, concessions 5 euros.

For the next generation of musicians

On 9 May, instruments can be heard and tried out on the Chemnitz sound trail prepared by the Saxon Mozart Society on the Küchwaldwiese from 2 to 4 pm.

The Mozart Boys & Girls Rovereto from Italy, the Chomutov Youth Art School from the Czech Republic and the Ensemble 100 Mozartkinder from Chemnitz will meet on the Küchwald stage on 10 May at 4 pm. They will be putting on a joint performance of "The Magic Flute on the Küchwald Stage".

The Municipal Music School offers a taster programme at the Kraftwerk (Kaßbergstraße 36, 09112 Chemnitz). On 10 and 11 May 2013, wind instruments can be admired and tested from 13:00 to 16:00.

Classical concerts

As part of the Mozartfest, there will also be two concerts for the 5th German Music Festival. On 9 May at 19:30 in the Schloßkirche, the music will be experimental. The clash of baroque violin, steel harp, alphorn and long strings, consisting of 30 metre long copper wires, promises a special sound experience. Advance tickets cost 12 euros, concessions 10 euros, at the box office 14 euros, concessions 12 euros.

The musical ambassador of the German Music Festival, trumpeter Ludwig Güttler, will be performing on 11 May. He will be conducting the Saxon Wind Academy at 8 pm in St Peter's Church. There will be an exciting encounter between works by Mozart and Wagner. Tickets cost between 10 and 20 euros in advance and between 12 and 24 euros at the box office.

Special offers at Chemnitz museums

Most of Chemnitz's museums are also open for the German Music Festival. For example, the Museum of Industry (Zwickauer Straße 119, 09112 Chemnitz) is hosting a special exhibition entitled "Charm & Shame - 150 years of the cultural history of underwear". On 11 May at 11 a.m., there will also be a public guided tour "Saxony makes music" - music and musical instruments in the exhibition. Admission costs 6.50 euros, concessions 2.50 euros. Children up to the age of 18 do not have to pay admission.

On the subject of "No SEDisfaction. Youth culture, music and politics in the GDR", the author and musicologist Prof. Dr Michael Rauhut will speak on 10 May at 7 pm at the Chemnitz Tram Museum (Zwickauer Straße 164, 09116 Chemnitz). Afterwards, the group "Wind, Sand & Sterne" will play. Admission is free. The Chemnitz branch of the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records of the State Security Service of the former GDR, the Saxony State Centre for Political Education, the Wilhelm-Külz-Stiftung and the Chemnitz Tram Museum invite you to this event.

A forgotten musical instrument - the Chemnitz Concertina - will be shown in a video presentation at the Schloßbergmuseum Chemnitz (Schloßberg 12, 09113 Chemnitz). Opening hours are on 9 and 12 May 2013, 11:00 - 18:00, on 10 and 11 May 2013, 11:00 - 21:00. Admission costs 6 euros, concessions 4 euros. Children up to the age of 18 do not pay admission.

All offers of the Chemnitz programme can be found in a separate flyer. This is available at public town halls, advance booking offices and other locations.