Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear friends of Kurt Weill,

It is a great pleasure for me to extend for the first time some words of welcome. Since taking up my post in August, I’ve enjoyed a wealth of new experiences: it has been fascinating to delve every day into the life and work of the brilliant composer Kurt Weill, while at the same time I have shared in the excitement of helping to shape the future of the city of Dessau together with numerous partners.

My predecessor, Clemens Birnbaum, was remarkably successful in his work as festival director. Aided by a small team and the Kurt Weill Society e.V., he was able to generate a wider appreciation for Kurt Weill’s achievements, although it must be said that the composer still does not occupy the position he deserves in the annals of 20th century music. The Kurt Weill Festival 2010 also carries the stamp of Clemens Birnbaum. “New Art is True Art” is the motto of the upcoming festivities, and I can assure you – without giving too much away – that this will be an exceptionally interesting festival. With the lively cooperation of the Anhaltisches Theater, the Bauhaus Foundation and many other partners, we will create waves far outside the borders of Saxony-Anhalt. Resourceful Weill fans will no doubt have already gleaned from publications of the Anhaltisches Theater that one of Kurt Weill’s rarely heard works, “One Touch of Venus”, will be performed in Dessau. For this production we are highly indebted to the new general manager of the theater, André Bücker, who has thus given a clear signal of his commitment to our partnership straight after taking office. The omens are also good for a healthy collaboration with the new director of the Bauhaus Foundation, Philipp Oswalt. We would like to build bridges between our institutions that remain open the whole year, rather than limiting cooperation to the period of the Kurt Weill Festival. Certainly the fact that the Kurt Weill Centre is located in the Meisterhaus Feininger is a great stimulation, as well as a challenge, to try to strengthen our ties. Together with André Bücker, we feel it is incumbent upon our three cultural institutions to turn Dessau into a creative cauldron once again – as it was in the first 30 years of the 20th century. With many other partners and actors we want to generate the same energy and vitality in the city that Lyonel Feininger once helped to create. Please go to www.dessauern.de to find out more about this great initiative.

I would be delighted if you are able to accompany our various activities with goodwill and appreciation, and hope that our work continues to achieve its goal: exciting your interest and enthusiasm in the music of Kurt Weill.

Yours sincerely,

Prof. Michael Kaufmann
Intendant and Director Kurt Weill Centre