The OPUS KLASSIK 2020 goes to ...
Siemens Arts Program production wins OPUS KLASSIK for Best Concert Recording.
Stephan Frucht: “We’re so delighted that this project was nominated in several OPUS KLASSIK categories and that we won Best Concert Recording. It would never have been possible without a team effort. Everyone who put so much passion and innovation into the project shares this accolade, as well as the great Viktor Ullmann of course, whose work I hope to showcase on concert stages throughout the world. He has earned it.”
There is a connection between art and science. They require creativity, obsession, persistence, passion and always the urge to try something new.Herlinde Koelbl
In times of climate change and corona, the world is becoming particularly aware of how important science is. Research is increasingly at the center of social events. Scientists must be able to see further than anyone else to influence our future. How do they think, what drives them?
With her project "Fascination of science", the worldwide respected photo artist Herlinde Koelbl has set herself the goal to photograph scientists and to show their motivation, influences and ways of thinking - through the eyes of an artist. Siemens Arts Program is pleased to support this unique photo art project and make it visible to a broad public.
The exhibition will be on display from October 5, 2020 until January 29, 2021 at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Berlin.
I wanted to find out how they think and with what insights they influence our lives and our future. I have traveled halfway around the world to know these top scientists better and to communicate their fascinating scientific results and life experiences and, yes, to bring science to life. I want to inspire young people to see role models in these impressive personalities and to take this exciting path themselves.Herlinde Koelbl about her work
In her project entitled “Fascination of science” Herlinde Koelbl portrays 60 of the world’s pioneering scientists and Nobel Prize winners and quite literally makes tangible their insights and the fascination of science.
As part of this process, she asked each of her subjects to note down the essence of their research on their own hand. For this, she immerses herself in their research and life in very personal interviews.
Herlinde Koelbl is looking for the individuals behind the discovery and what drives them – irrespective of origin or nationality: The interviewees not only closely sketch out their research, but also grant a glimpse into their private lives, looking back on their personal experiences, successes and setbacks on their way to the top.
Roland Busch, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Siemens AG, states about the project:
"The “Fascination of science” project is an ode not only to science, but also to the power of art. Herlinde Koelbl once again succeeds in fascinating people with her photographic works. At the same time, she builds a bridge between art and science. As a physicist, I am fascinated by how Herlinde Koelbl makes tangible the interrelation between these two disciplines. With her 60 portraits of outstanding researchers she also shows a human side of science. Moreover, I am convinced that “Fascination of science” will also motivate many young people to become passionate about science and research."
Stephan Frucht, Director of the Siemens Arts Program, adds:
“The body of work documents in an impressive way that science and art are similar in nature and rightly enjoy special protection under the constitution.”
Images: Fascination of Science by Herlinde Koelbl
The freedom of the arts and sciences is one of the cornerstones of democratic societies. As an innovative company committed to progress and innovation, we consider it our natural duty to protect and nurture this freedom.Prof. Dr. Stephan Frucht, Senior Vice President Culture and Sponsoring
Going Digital against oblivion - tribute to the murdered composer Viktor Ullmann
75 years ago, the composer Viktor Ullmann was murdered in Auschwitz. The Siemens Arts Program wants to keep alive the memory of Viktor Ullmann, representing numerous artists who were expelled and murdered by the National Socialists. We hope that Ullmann's music will be (re)discovered by many people all over the world. Therefore, we have started an audiovisual art project with the pianist Annika Treutler and the media artist Alexander Stublić.
My aim is to make Ullmann’s music as highly regarded and as well-known as the work of those of his great contemporaries who were not persecuted. The work deserves it! In his music, Ullmann developed a very special language and a tonality all his own.Annika Treutler, in tribute to the composer
The Siemens Arts Program has launched an audiovisual art project in partnership with pianist Annika Treutler and media artist Alexander Stublić. The project is based on Piano Concerto Opus 25 by the composer Viktor Ullmann, who was murdered at Auschwitz in 1944. The art project features an elaborate new 3D audio recording of the concerto alongside a virtual reality media art installation.
The music was recorded at the RBB concert studio in Berlin in partnership with the Deutschlandfunk Kultur radio network, and performed by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stephan Frucht (Artistic Director of the Siemens Arts Program).
In the media art installation, artist Alexander Stublić brings together genre-transcending audio and video recordings made during the 3D musical production to create dreamlike scenes, some with motifs from places where Viktor Ullmann worked and composed.
The media installation uses virtual reality and immersive sound technology to illustrate Ullman's piano concert and shows new, digital ways of multidimensional music transmission.
The audiovisual art project uses cutting-edge technology in a sophisticated production that blazes a new trail in music reproduction. Through the visual, three-dimensional experience of the recording and the scope offered by 21st century technologies, the Siemens Arts Program hopes to bring Ullmann’s music and the story of his cruel fate to a wider audience, including to a younger generation.
Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944) is an Austrian composer, conductor and pianist.
Because of the Jewish origin of his parents, Ullmann was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1942, where he created a large part of his works. There he composed for example "Der Kaiser von Atlantis" and "Die Weise von Liebe und Tod". On October 18, 1944, Ullmann was killed shortly after his arrival in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
Stephan Frucht (artistic Director of Siemens Arts Program) says about the project: "January 27, 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust remind us that remembrance can never be complete. At the same time, it is an obligation never to silence those voices that were not allowed to express themselves during their lifetime or that could no longer express themselves. This also includes many Jewish artists who were never able to fully develop their creativity because they were denied the freedom to create art. This fate of many great artists from the visual arts, who were branded "ostracized", was also shared by important musicians and composers, including Hans Krása, Pavel Haas, Gideon Klein and Viktor Ullmann, all of whom fell victim to the Nazi regime."
Siemens Arts Program has made a new recording of Viktor Ullmann's Piano Concerto Opus 25 (composed in 1939) together with pianist Annika Treutler. This is the first recording of the work in 3D audio format.
The production was realized under the direction of Stephan Frucht (Artistic Director Siemens Arts Program) with the Deutschlandfunk Kultur and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin in the large broadcast hall of the RBB in Berlin. Prof. Thorsten Weigelt (Universität der Künste Berlin) and the 3D-Immersive Audio Specialist Stefan Bock (IAN Munich) were in charge of the recording.
The new recording - consisting of an audio CD and Blu-ray - contains not only the Piano Concerto Opus 25 but also Ullmann's Piano Sonatas No. 3 (1940) and No. 7 (1944), which Annika Treutler recorded in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche in Berlin-Dahlem. The album release is on January 31, 2020 on the label "Berlin Classics" (Edel).
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A lab of ideas for creativity and change
Arts and culture are a vital driving force for exploring identity, creativity and self-reflection. The Siemens Arts Program builds bridges between disciplines, enabling the company to discover new ways of thinking through new experiences. As a creative department within Siemens AG, we see our role as that of mediator between the worlds of art and business. In an open and impartial way, we engage with future challenges from an artistic and cultural perspective so that we can actively shape transformation and change in line with our corporate values.
The Siemens Arts Program does this by creating innovative projects with prominent individuals and institutions from the arts and culture scene. The aim is to encourage collaboration - both personal and thematic, involving creative actors, artistic excellence, and innovative institutions - with our company. The opportunity to participate in the creative process is a key criterion for project selection and management in the Siemens Arts Program. Our aim here is to unleash a powerful inspirational force. Our projects also have a broad relevance and serve as a model within the company.
In a nutshell
In 1987, Siemens AG launched the “Siemens Kulturprogramm” (Siemens Cultural Program) with the aim of developing a specific cultural program for the company. Starting from internal cultural activities, it developed into a well-known and versatile international program for the promotion of contemporary art and culture in the early 1990s. This company-owned cultural institution implemented initiatives on its own initiative in addition to traditional sponsoring. In 2015, the Siemens Arts Program was relaunched under the artistic direction of Prof. Dr. Stephan Frucht.
The Team
Prof. Dr. Stephan Frucht, Artistic Director Siemens Arts Program, Senior Vice President Culture and Sponsoring
Anke Bobel, Project Management
Andrea Clarén, Project Management
Katia Ernst, Trainee
Martina Heindler, Project Management
Julia Ripke, Working Student
Rebeca Williams, Organization & Projects
Press Contact: Konstanze Somborn, Yashar Azad
The Siemens Arts Program has a delivery role and does not consider applications for funding from third parties. Engagement with arts and culture is expressed through its own projects and interdisciplinary partnerships. Starting a corporate collection in the conventional sense is not a stated aim of the Siemens Arts Program.
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