The 2012 Dresden Music Festival presents during the next weeks a multifaceted Festival with the special focus to the European Triangel between Prague, Vienna and Budapest. From May 15th to June 3th several concerts with bohemian, hungarian and austrian but international composer and interpreter will take place at the Festival.
The gala concert by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Spano and the soloist`s Jan Vogler and Ray Chen will give the festive start on 15th may. Afterwards the festival offers several extraordinary concerts and interprets like Symphonic Concert by Mozart of the Vienna Philarmonic conducted by Daniel Barenboim on 16th may at the Semperopera, „Sounds of the Danube“: virtuoso Folk Music from Hungary in cooperation with Schloss Wackerbarth on 20th may, the recital of the tenor Ian Bostridge and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightment with music by Johann Sebastian Bach at the Frauenkirche on 24th may. The final concert will feature the Filarmonica della scala from Mailand conducted by Daniel Harding with Symphonic Concerts by Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Strauß, Antonin Dvorak at the Kreuzkirche on 3th june.

Get to know more about the musical tradition in Dresden Join our walking tour, which starts daily at 11 a.m. at our green signboard at the Schlossplatz-square. Welcome to the Dresden Music Festival!
Claudia Innerhofer

During all our walking tours through the Old Town we inform our guests about the reconstruction of the houses on the New Market Square. It is the area which has changed the most during the last years and reflects nowadays Dresden’s former charm.

The square and the surrounding area were a busy area with numerous civil and nobility houses until 1945. But it had been an open space after the bombing and the destruction of these houses. However, since the reopening of the Church of Our Lady, the reconstruction of the New Market Square has started too.

The latest residential block (no. VIII) opened in April covers an area of 5,700m² and is situated between the Schlossstrasse and the Johanneum.

Most of the houses have historical façades, some houses were even reconstructed according to the historical plans. E.g. Schlossstrasse (Castle street) no. 34 which is also one the most striking houses in that block. It has a larger-than-life statue of Daniel Pöppelmann, court architect of Augustus the Strong, who inhabited this house once. The cellar vaults inside date back to the 15th c. and were incorporated in the reconstruction and function now as the wellness area of the recently opened Swissotel with 235 rooms and suites.

Parallel to the Schlossstrasse runs the Schlösserstrasse (‘Tax collector’s lane’). Most of the houses there accommodate shops but also an apartment hotel and a luxury residence with 19 owner-occupied flats.

And finally we suggest a stroll through the Kanzleigässchen (‘Small office alley’) as you can see Dresden’s most famous dancer Gret Palucca on the façade there. If you should not see her at first sight, we show you that special wall decoration during our walks starting daily at 11AM.
Anke Winkler

… after the set-up of the model train fair in February 2012 in Dresden.
Thanks to MEC Bregenz for this great picture!

PS: You can also book us on a special public walking tour in the evening for exhibitors or guests of your trade fair or convention in Dresden. Please contact us for further information.

Not just a walking tour with DresdenWalks provides many opportunities to explore Dresden and its surroundings. Also the monthly reports on the DresdenWalks website  offer the latest activity highlights.

Dresden is the city with the largest concentration of research institutions in Germany. A little insight into research, science and industry of yesterday and today gives a new special ehibition of the Technical Collections Dresden.

Since 2nd March one can plunge in the world of science during a visit to the technical collections. There, the fascinating exhibition “Science Cabinet of Wonder” of the Helmholtz Association is a guest until the 29th April. On display are around 500 animated and acoustic accentuated pictures from the work of the largest research organization in Germany. The spectacular images provide insights that otherwise only the scientists themselves catch sight of.

The picture show demonstrates how the researchers bring the universe into the lab in order to explore antimatter and solve the mystery of dark matter. It will surprise you with unexpected insights into the anatomy of a 260 million year old dinosaur or shows that carbon nanotubes are 20 times stronger than steel but as light as aluminum. On large LCD screens, the fascinating images from science are presented – microscope photographs, satellite images, computer animations, x-rays, but also staged photographs of scientific objects and devices.

The exhibition aims to build on the momentum of the initial exploration – the awe of the wonder of our world, the curiosity and questions about its origins, development and future.
Katharina

As Goethe had already said in his ‘Easter Walk’ (Faust Part I)

‘From the ice they are freed, the stream and brook,
By the Spring’s enlivening, lovely look;
The valley’s green with joys of hope;’

The time has come also in Dresden – the snow has gone, it is springtime!

And DresdenWalks starts into the new season!

Join us and stroll with our guide through the streets of the Old Town.

Just as Goethe, you will be impressed when you stand on Bruehl’s Terrace, because already he had adored the view above the Elbe valley.

Our tours start daily at 11 a.m. at the green sign on the Schlossplatz square.

Complete your stay in Dresden with a boat tour on the river. Book the combo tour with us and you get 1 EUR discount p.p. Pre-booking is recommended.

So you can enjoy for example the ‘River Sighsteeing Tour’ at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. or you decide for the ‘Palace Tour’ starting at 10.30 a.m., 2.30 and 4.30 p.m.. This tour goes further upstream to Pillnitz Palace, the former summer residence of the Wettin dynasty, where you can enjoy your private Easter walk in the park.

 Or go to see the ‘Old Masters Picture Gallery’ in the Zwinger Palace as Goethe already did and admire Raffael’s ‘Sistine Madonna’

And last but not least we wish all our guests a happy Easter!

This creative article was written by Anke.

The Park of Pillnitz, situated in the suburbs of Dresden and famous for the old summer residence of the Wettin dynasty and a botanical garden, is going to charge an entrance fee, starting on 2nd April 2012.

The day ticket, so called ‘Garden Ticket’, will cost 2.00 EUR p.p. and includes the entrance to the park as well as the entrance to the palm house (reduced entrance fee 1.00 EUR p.p., group entrance 1.50 EUR p.p., children under 16 years are free).

The ‘Museum ticket’ does not only include the entrance to the park but also to the museums (Arts and Crafts Museum, Pillnitz Palace). This one costs 8.00 EUR p.p. (reduced 4.00 EUR p.p.)

The best and most beautiful way to get to Pillnitz is a cruise on the Elbe River. The Saxon Steamboat Company starts its season on 5th April. There are several tours that include a stop at the Pillnitz pier: the Castle Cruise to Pillnitz, the new National Park Line (from Pillnitz to the Saxon Switzerland) and the Elbe Valley Line (Dresden to the Saxon Switzerland).

We would like to suggest you to combine a guided walking tour through the Old Town of Dresden with a visit to Pillnitz. Enjoy the wonderful Dresden Elbe valley on a historical steamboat cruise after our walking tour.

DresdenWalks is able to offer a special combo tour in cooperation with the Saxon Steamboat Company.

Our daily walking tours start at 11 a.m. at our green signboard on Schlossplatz square.
Claudia Innerhofer

It is a must for flower lovers! ‘Springtime in Dresden’ takes already place for the 4th time and is a big flower and floristry exhibition.

Landscape architects and market gardens have changed the old baroque palace in the Great Garden into a colorful dream with more than 25,000 flowers (mainly primeroses, tulips and daffodils), 500 shrubs and 2,000 herb- and medical plants.

Visitors can expect a floral journey through the time starting with garden Eden and continuing with Antique, Gothic, Baroque and Classic up to Modern gardens. The variety of plants and colors is combined with light- and instrumental installations as well as original Baroque sculptures.

The exhibition is opened on 2nd March and lasts until 11th May. Opening hours: daily 9 AM – 8 PM. The entrance is 7/5 € p.p.

The Great Garden is located not far away from the Castle Square where we start our English walking tours daily at 11AM!
A.W.

25th February to 30th December 2012

The German Hygiene Museum in Dresden devotes his latest exhibition to the passions. The Australian curator Catherine Nichols and the opera director Mariame Clément from Paris staged this special show as a great drama in five acts, where the visitor moves from stage to stage.

The aim of the almost 400 exhibits is to make the dramatic effects of the strongest and most dangerous of all human emotions come alive: love, desire, joy and amazement on the positive side, hatred, anger, fear, shame, sadness, envy and disgust as the negative passions. They not only symbolize passions but should also trigger them.

The variety of exhibits range from medieval to modern art works to trivial items like a whoopee cushion and up to curiosities, such as the plaster model of a corpse. They are complemented by several video installations.

The special show desiress to bring back the great feelings in perspective, which are now too often pushed to the brink.

Until the end of December 2012, visitors of the Hygiene-Museum Dresden can let themselves carried away by the passions.

K. Michael

Music is an essential part of the church community and is also an enrichment for the Dresden people and the visitors.

World famous ensembles, orchestras and choirs are expected this year again.

Well established series of concerts which already have a tradition like ‘Spiritual music on Sundays’ (every second Sunday 3 pm), the ‘BACHcycle’ (throughout the whole year), the ‘Dresden Organ Cycle’, the ‘Night Organ Music with candlelight’ (during the advent season) are on the program again.

But the church also offers new performances like the ‘Frauenkirchenbachtage’ (2th – 7th October) and the passion series ‘Cross and Resurrection’ performed by the church choir, the chamber choir and the ensemble Frauenkirche under the direction of the choir master and organist Matthias Grünert.
Beside of that the Church of Our Lady will be again one of the venues during the Dresden Music Festival 2012 which will be even opened at the church with a gala concert by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Spano on 15th May. Moreover, there will be different music performances with outstanding choirs, orchestras and ensembles like the Wiener Sängerknaben, the Camerata Salzburg and the tenor Ian Bostridge.

Last but not least the Frauenkirche offers several extraordinary concerts of soloists like the musicians Alison Balsom (10th November) and Gabor Boldoczki (11th August), the mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova (9th June) and the countertenors Andreas Scholl (22th September) und Bejun Mehta (28th July).

Recommendation: Get to know more about the church itself during the DresdeWalks walking tours which are offered daily at 11 am.
C.I.

World premier of the ‘Requiem’ in commemoration of the destruction of Dresden during WWII

It is a long and significant tradition to accompany the centenary of the bombing of Dresden on 13th February with a requiem.

There will be a special concert this year on the occasion of the destruction and the reconstruction of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). It is the premier of the requiem ‘Dresden’ by Lera Auerbach which takes place on February 11th.

The requiem is a commissioned piece by the Frauenkirche foundation and Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra).

Auerbach, who is the Composer in Residence during the season 2011/2012, is a Jewish Russian-American pianist and one of the most exiting artists today. Her music draws a wide line of forms and genres from opera to chamber music and her music is characterized by stylistic freedom and a relation between tonal and atonal music language.

The requiem ‘Dresden’ will have this special style of music too and will definitely give this event a respectively timbre.

The concert written for two boy´s voices, countertenor, bass, baritone, boys choir, men´s choir and orchestra is premiered by the Staatskapelle Dresden and conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

‘Dresden-Requiem’:

11th February 2012, 8 PM at Frauenkirche Dresden. The introduction starts at 7 PM.

13th  and14th February, 8 PM at the Semper Opera House
Claudia Innerhofer