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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





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