[aghet] [ağıt]

“…I am the open wound between
Orient and Occident.”

[aghet] [ağıt]

To commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Dresdner Sinfoniker and guitarist Marc Sinan conceived the concert project aghet – ağıt which successfully premiered in RADIALSYSTEM V in Berlin in November 2015, dedicated to Sinan’s grandmother Vahide, a survivor of the genocide. The production was again performed at Festspielhaus Hellerau, in April, 2016 and in cooperation with the No Borders Orchestra the show toured further to Belgrade in Serbia and Yerevan in Armenia in November of the same year.

In Turkish, the term ağıt means mournful song, while aghet is the word used by the Armenians to describe the tragedy that befell them in 1915. The concert attracted considerable international attention with the Turkish ambassador to the EU calling on the EU Commission to halt the project.

During the conflict, leading Armenian intellectuals in the Ottoman Empire were arrested in Istanbul –resulting in deportations of Armenians throughout Anatolia, mass murder and death marches into the Syrian desert, with an estimated 1.5 million people being killed. To this day Turks and Armenians cannot agree on a common narrative that would allow for an unambiguous description of these events. As the most important Turkish ally during the First World War, the German Empire was also embroiled in these criminal acts, yet the German Foreign Ministry ignored all reports about deportations and slaughter.

The Dresdner Sinfoniker attempted to achieve reconciliation with their concerts and were joined by musicians from Turkey, Armenia and Germany, as well as members of the No Borders Orchestra, (which is also a reconciliation project, bringing together musicians from the former Yugoslav states). Two commissioned works by Zeynep Gedizlioğlu (Turkey) and Helmut Oehring (Germany) and the viola-duduk double concerto Surgite Gloriae by Armenian composer Vache Sharafyan formed the core of this extraordinary commemoration project.

The concert saw the creation of a central orchestra featuring 12 musicians from Germany, Turkey, Armenia, Serbia and Bosnia, as well as mediation activities. These included, a youth theatre performance of Franz Werfel’s novel The 40 Days of Musa Dagh, and the photo exhibition The Bare Life by photojournalists Christoph Püschner and Frank Schultze on the highly topical subject of flight and expulsion.

In cooperation with HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts Dresden, Dresdner Kammerchor and AuditivVokal, RADIALSYSTEM V Berlin, No Borders Orchestra, National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, and Marc Sinan Company. Supported by Creative Europe, Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony, City of Dresden, Dresden Cultural Foundation of the Dresdner Bank, Fonds Soziokultur, German Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia and Goethe-Institut Georgia.

Concerts

27. November 2015 | 8 pm | Berlin
Radialsystem V
aghet – ağıt – Concert

28. November 2015 | 8 pm | Berlin
Radialsystem V
aghet – ağıt – Concert

29. April 2016 | 7 pm | Dresden
Hellerau – Europäisches Zentrum der Künste
Educational Project “The 40 Days of Musa Dagh”
Theatre Performance

30. April 2016 | 8 pm | Dresden
Hellerau – Europäisches Zentrum der Künste
aghet – ağıt – Concert

5. November 2016 | 8 pm | Belgrade
Yugoslav Drama Theatre
aghet – ağıt – Concert

10. November 2016 | 7 pm | Yerevan
Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall
aghet – ağıt – Concert

13. November 2016 | 8 pm | Istanbul
German General Consulate
Performance cancelled!

News

Offener Brief an Frank-Walter Steinmeier | Absage des Konzertes in Istanbul

Lieber Frank-Walter Steinmeier, die schriftliche Antwort und Absage des Auswärtigen Amts auf unseren ausdrücklichen Wunsch, das Konzert in Istanbul nicht zu verschieben, endet mit den Worten: “Nichtsdestotrotz bin ich davon überzeugt, dass  … weiterlesen

Protest gegen den Ausstieg der Türkei aus der EU-Kulturförderung wegen des Projektes “aghet – ağıt”

Wir protestieren aufs Schärfste gegen die Entscheidung der Türkei, sich nicht mehr am EU-Kulturprogramm zu beteiligen. Laut türkischen Medienberichten und Aussage der EACEA … weiterlesen

Steinmeier lobt “aghet – ağıt” Konzertprojekt der Dresdner Sinfoniker

„Die Deportation der armenischen Bevölkerung aus Anatolien liegt rund hundert Jahre zurück. Doch die offizielle Versöhnung des armenischen und des türkischen Volks über die Ereignisse in den Jahren 1915/16 steht weiter aus. Umso wichtiger sind Impulse für … weiterlesen

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Artists

Andrea Molino

Conductor

The composer and conductor Andrea Molino was born in Turin and lives in Zurich. From 1996 to 2007, he was musical director of the Pocket Opera … read on

Zeynep Gedizlioğlu

Composer

Zeynep Gedizlioğlu, born in Izmir (Turkey), studied composition under Cengiz Tanc, Theo Brandmüller, Ivan Fedele and Wolfgang Rihm … read on

Vache Sharafyan

Composer

Vache Sharafyan is one of the most renowned Armenian composers with an international reputation. In 1985 he won the prestigious All-Union … read on

Helmut Oehring

Composer

Helmut Oehring, born 1961 in East-Berlin, is a self-taught guitarist and composer. Between 1992 and 1994 he was a master-class student … read on

Markus Rindt

Artistic Director

Markus Rindt, artistic director of the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, was born in Magdeburg. He comes from a musical family – his mother was … read on

Marc Sinan

Guitarist

Marc Sinan is a composer and guitarist with German-Turkish-Armenian roots. In his early youth, he studied with Eliot Fisk and Joaquin Clerch … read on

Araik Bartikian

Duduk Soloist

Araïk Bartikian was born in 1962 in Gavar, Armenia. His grandfather, Ousta Haïrik, was a master from the Sevan area, an accomplished  player on the … read on

Matthias Worm

Violist

Matthias Worm, born in Berlin, received his first violin lessons at the age of 8 years. Following his graduation in 1977, from 1979 to 1985, he … read on

Premil Petrović

Conductor

Premil Petrović is initiator, chief conductor and artistic director of No Borders Orchestra. He studied conducting under Professor Winfried Müller … read on

Olaf Katzer

Choirmaster

Olaf Katzer has been the conductor of the Dresden Chamber Choir since 2011. In addition to his own concerts, he leads rehearsals for Hans-Christoph … read on

Stefanie Wördemann

Librettist

Stefanie Wördemann, born near Hamburg in 1974, studied music and German at the HU Berlin and was a founding member of the academy … read on

Carl Thiemt

Countertenor

Carl Thiemt began his musical career in the Dresden children’s and boy’s choirs. Even before his vocal studies, he explored many different musical … read on

Medienecho

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FAZ

vom 23.04.2016

Die Türkei macht auf europäischer Ebene Druck gegen das Konzertprojekt „Aghet“ der Dresdner Sinfoniker zum Genozid an den … weiterlesen

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Spiegel Online

vom 23.04.2016

Die Türkei hat offenbar auf EU-Ebene gegen das Konzertprojekt “Aghet” der Dresdner Sinfoniker zum Genozid an den … weiterlesen

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Spiegel Online

vom 25.04.2016

Der türkische Botschafter in Brüssel beschwert sich über ein Dresdner Musikprojekt – und die EU-Kommission entfernt … weiterlesen

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FAZ

vom 26.04.2016

Die große Katastrophe bleibt nur halb aus. Der Beschreibungstext des Konzertprojektes „Aghet – Die große Katastrophe“ der Dresdner … weiterlesen

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Financial Times

vom 30.11.2015

Helmut Oehring’s Massaker, hört ihr MASSAKER!, given its world premiere in Berlin last Friday, is dedicated to the protesters of … weiterlesen

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Kultur extra

vom 30.11.2015

Zwischen Orient und Abendland liegt Armenien, es bildet mit dem Berg Ararat, auf dem einst Noahs Arche landete, gewisser … weiterlesen

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Neues Deutschland

vom 01.12.2015

Im Gang des Foyers blickte einem auf gereihten Fotos das ganze Elend dieser Welt an. Frank Schultze und Christoph Püschner haben diese Bilder … weiterlesen

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ADK

Ausgabe 4/2015

Schon die Ankündigung „Ein Konzertprojekt der Dresdner Sinfoniker besetzt mit armenischen, türkischen und europäischen … weiterlesen