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career with his renowned Beaux Arts Trio, a trained in Hanover and now living in Berlin,
career he is now winding up with profoundly opts for social engagement with profound
moving solo performances that are thrilling conviction. He unflinchingly risks strong in-
music lovers in many countries. Martha Argerich tellectual and emotional exertion in order to
is likewise a legend in her own time. She present himself as “Citizen. European. Pianist”.
returns to the Festival to perform here for Let us thus take up the call to be “Citizens,
the 25th time, in tandem with cellist Mischa Europeans!” as the motto for this year’s Festival.
Maisky, who was born in Riga and was trained Eurocentrism, however, is something that
in Moscow. Born, just like Argerich, in Buenos obviously remains quite foreign to us. Thus,
st
Aires, Daniel Barenboim has lived in Tel Aviv, the 31 Edition of the Ruhr Piano Festival will
London and Paris, and now calls Berlin his welcome such illustrious artists as Emmanuel
home: this year will mark his 28 performance Ax, Philip Glass, and Jeremy Denk, all from the
th
at the Ruhr Piano Festival. And now that Grigory US; Canadian pianists Marc-André Hamelin,
Sokolov is celebrating his 22nd appearance at Chilly Gonzales and Jan Lisiecki; the Japanese
the Ruhr Piano Festival, I can look back on how pianist Maki Namekawa, and “Rising Stars”
difficult it was to ensure travel and visas when- Ran Jia, Tiffany Poon and Changyong Shin from
ever we invited this great artist to come from China, Hong Kong, and Korea, respectively. In
the other side of the Iron Curtain to perform in our JazzLine series we look forward to
the West in the 1970s and 1980s: today, thank welcoming international jazz greats such as
goodness, things are different. Michel Camilo, Fred Hersch, Hiromi, Jacob
Karlzon, and Harold López-Nussa.
In our Education Projects – for instance in the
borough of Duisburg-Marxloh in the north of Jeremy Denk, for one, will open his recital with
the Ruhr Area – children and youngsters from Beethoven’s variations on the hymn “Rule,
many different cultural backgrounds meet and Britannia”. This bitterly ironic allusion steers our
collaborate: kids who were born and raised in gaze toward an event which, in all probability,
Duisburg work hand in hand with new immi- will unfortunately become a reality in 2019: an
grants who have arrived from Southeast Europe, event that reflects a retrograde, anti-European
along with refugees from Syria and other sentiment by re-installing old borders. The United
war-torn regions. Together, in our Education Kingdom plans to leave the European Union. In
Projects, they are introduced to the European this year we welcome several fine artists from
musical tradition. By learning to play with these the UK: Graham Johnson, a legendary Lied
pieces and dance to them, they grow to feel accompanist and a staunch European; and also
like a team: they form a community and learn two young début performers who have recently
the German language by singing it together. been attracting major attention on the musical
This is our true hearts’ devotion: European scene, 22-year-old Martin James Bartlett, and
culture, the culture we all share. The point is the young Londoner Alexander Ullman.
not to try to “defend” our culture from supposed
outsiders by re-erecting old borders, but to In 2018 we celebrated the Ruhr Piano Festival’s
th
communicate this culture and help others grasp 30 anniversary. If over the years we have been
it. We are thus making European identity able to offer you such a fabulous selection of
accessible to our new fellow citizens, some- pianists, and if we have been able to commit
times even in a nonverbal way, thanks to music. our energies to significant, well-conceived
Thus, instead of devoting our annual focus to long-term educational projects in the course
a certain composer or country as in previous of the last decade, it is all thanks to tireless
years, the Ruhr Piano Festival has chosen a dedication and generous support on the part
much broader subject as its main theme for of the moderators and member enterprises
2019: music joins us all together in a community that conform the Ruhr Circle of Initiatives,
that crosses the generational divide to encom- which has held the Festival aloft as its cultural
pass Europe and the entire world. flagship project from the very beginning. And,
naturally, we also have our sponsors to thank.
As a prime example of world citizenship, the As one of their exemplary representatives, I
fabulous pianist Igor Levit, born in Novosibirsk, wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Rolf
Klavier-Festival Ruhr 2019 15