ritual: György Kurtág & Kafka-Fragmente

A song cycle as a performance, “(...) brilliantly sung by Marie Heeschen and just as magnificently performed by Anna Neubert. (...) This evening, directed by Malin Nagel, was just as Kafkaesque as the text: at times enigmatic, yet thought-provoking and deeply impressive.” (Bonner General Anzeiger)

Like fleeting fragments of language and sound, seemingly disconnected, György Kurtág’s KAFKA FRAGMENTS create an entire world—or even just a feeling—in a matter of seconds.

Kurtág, who is celebrating his 100th birthday this year, set texts from Franz Kafka’s diaries and letters to music in his song cycle for soprano and violin. They tell of the rituals of everyday life, of routines, encounters, and farewells, but also of countless hiding places, of horses plummeting from the sky with their manes streaming, and of divas on streetcars.

Both Kafka’s language and the nature of this smallest possible ensemble create spaces in which one’s own breath and thoughts become audible.

Marie Heeschen and Anna Neubert—both active in Cologne’s independent music scenes—have been performing the Kafka Fragments together for over ten years and, with dramaturgical guidance from Malin Nagel, have developed a visually evocative interpretation that blends music, language, and space.

A guided listening walk will take place before the concert.
Meeting point: 7:00 p.m. in front of the entrance to the concert hall (Venloer Straße 40, 50672 Cologne)

Accessibility:
Pickup service & on-site assistance available; one accompanying person admitted free of charge.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact us: produktion@ritual-music.de

ritual is a concert series—curated by Sophie Emilie Beha—that takes place on the 1st of every month at various locations around the Stadtgarten; for more information, visit the ritual website.