The Villa Seligmann Bag Festival

Thu.
November 07, 5.30 – 9.00 p.m.

17.30
Admission, get-together, welcome by the artistic festival director, Marina Baranova and the organizer, Eliah Sakakushev-von Bismarck (Villa Seligmann) 18.00-19.00
LECTURE on the development of improvisation from a neuroscientific and holistic perspective by Univ.

Prof. em.
Dr. med. Eckart Altenmüller , HMTM Hannover –PAUSE — 19.30-21.00
IMPROVISATION – A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES
Concert encounter with the pianist, composer and improviser Prof. Dr. Noam Sivan (HDMK Stuttgart) followed by a salon discussion

In his program, Noam Sivan improvises both in historical styles – inspired by Bach, Chopin and other composers – and in the form of a musical journey that follows his stream of consciousness.
At its core, his Jewish identity is another source of inspiration.

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Fri.
November 08, 9.30 – 18.00 h

09.30-14.00
WORKSHOP / MASTERCLASS by Prof. Dr. Noam Sivan with students

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14.00-15.30
MIT KLASSIK SPIELT MAN NICHT?
Lecture by Maria I. J. Reich on historical improvisation –PAUSE– 16.00-18.00
REGARDING BEETHOVEN
Concert by Prof. Markus Becker (HMTM Hannover) with expansion on topics requested by the audience

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Sat. November 09, 11:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

11.00-12.30
THE SEASONS OF MY CHILDHOOD
Matinée with Ido Ramot (Israel) with piano improvisations on themes from P. Tchaikovsky’s “Seasons” followed by a salon discussion

In his project based on Tchaikovsky’s “The Seasons”, Israeli artist Ido Ramot uses music as a medium to build bridges and at the same time make visible the differences between people in terms of their upbringing and environment.
Alongside Tchaikovsky’s work, he presents his own improvisations inspired by the seasons of his childhood in Israel.
While Tchaikovsky musically captures the moods and landscapes of his Russian homeland, Ramot’s improvisations reflect the colors, sounds and atmospheres of Israeli nature.

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* * * 17.30–18.30
ASYNC: VON MUSIK UND ZUFALL
Philosophischer Vortrag von Damian Marhulets über die Ontologie des Zufalls, gestörte Kausalitäten, lemurianische Zeitkriege und erogene Zonen der Realität –PAUSE– 19.00–22.00
KALEIDOSKOP-KONZERT
Abschlussveranstaltung des Taschen-Festival mit den Pianist:innen Georg Thoma, Ashley Hribar, Marina Baranova, Prof. Roman Rofalski (HMTM Hannover)

Improvisation is a catalyst for extended musical interpretation, independent of style, historical context and performance practice.
Improvisation opens up a further dimension in musical interpretation, in which a momentary newness is created. The creation of the work takes place for both the performers and their audience.

In this kaleidoscope concert, the diversity of the art of improvisation interacts with the individual uniqueness of the performers.
The performers thus bring the Taschen Festival to a close and at the same time open up a world of unlimited possibilities.

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Short biographies in alphabetical order

Prof. Dr. Eckart Altenmüller is Scientific Vice President and Director of the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (HMTMH). After studying medicine in Tübingen, Paris and Freiburg and studying music (flute) in Freiburg at the same time, he specialized in neurophysiology and neurology. He has headed the institute in Hanover since 1994 and conducts intensive research into the central nervous processing of music and the sensorimotor function of music-making. He has also set up a special outpatient clinic for musical disorders. He remains artistically active as a concert flutist.

Marina Baranova, artistic director, was born in Kharkiv as the daughter of a married couple of pianists. Her training according to the ideals of the “Russian School” laid the foundation for her outstanding pianism, which she perfected with Vladimir Krainev in Hanover. After successful competitions and debuts, she realized that a career as a classical pianist only expressed part of her musical personality. She returned to improvisation and composition. She made her debut as a composer in 2013 with the album Firebird – Piano Meets World Percussion. To date, she has released six further albums in which she combines classical music, jazz, minimal music and synaesthesia. On the album Cosmic Calendar, released in 2023, she appeared as sole producer for the first time.

Prof. Markus Becker has established himself as an outstanding interpreter of piano literature from Bach to the modern era and impresses with his versatility, both in classical music and jazz. He regularly performs at renowned festivals such as the Ruhr Piano Festival and the Beethovenfest Bonn and has worked with leading orchestras and conductors such as Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. His recordings, including the complete recording of Max Reger’s piano works, have received numerous awards. As a professor at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, he has been passing on his knowledge to a successful pianist and chamber music class since 1993.

Ashley Hribar is an Australian-born pianist and composer. He has gained a reputation as a versatile musician whose repertoire encompasses world music, interdisciplinary art forms and a wide range of traditional genres. With a keen interest in contemporary aesthetics, he is the curator of numerous projects including Sound and Color in Scriabin’s Piano Sonatas and Magic Hands – Two hands, Two pianos. Ashley’s compositions are poly-stylistic collages, often using extended performance techniques, voice and electronics. In 2018 he completed his PhD at the University of Adelaide on the music of American composer Frederic Rzewski.

Damian Marhulets is a versatile composer, visual artist and curator of transdisciplinary projects with new forms of artistic expression. He is also a lecturer in composition and sound design. He was born in Minsk in 1980, where he trained as an oboist. After moving to Germany in 2000, he pursued new artistic paths and immersed himself in the experimental music scene. His music combines acoustic instruments with electronic elements and visual art. Marhulets studied composition and electronic music at the universities in Hanover and Cologne and has worked with outstanding artists and ensembles at renowned cultural institutions worldwide. His music is presented at international festivals.

Ido Ramot is a German-Israeli pianist who is characterized by his broad repertoire from baroque to modern and his special expertise in classical improvisation. Born in Israel in 1994, he made his debut with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra at the age of nine. Since then, he has played in renowned concert halls around the world. Ramot has won several prizes at international competitions, including the Chopin Competition in Tel Aviv and the “Maria Canals” in Barcelona. He is currently studying at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts in a unique master’s program for classical improvisation under Prof. Dr. Noam Sivan.

Maria I. J. Reich is a versatile Berlin musician, composer and author. She received extensive musical training in violin and composition at an early age, followed by studies in communication and cultural studies as well as music studies at the UdK Berlin and the HfM Hanns Eisler, where she specialized in jazz and improvisation. Reich is active throughout Germany as a violinist, violist and composer. She composes chamber music, theater and film music and performs regularly with various ensembles. As an author, she published her first volume of poetry “Kompost” in 2021. Reich also leads workshops and is involved in numerous international music projects.

Prof. Roman Rofalski is a professor of practical piano playing at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and a versatile pianist and composer. His musical work is characterized by a constant search for new challenges and artistic forms of expression. Rofalski moves with ease between classical literature, jazz, new music and experimental electronics. With the Roman Rofalski Trio, he has released several albums that reinterpret classical models such as Ravel and Schubert. He also gives concerts worldwide, is a permanent member of the Oh Ton Ensemble and works with the Stockhausen Foundation.

Prof. Noam Sivan is a pianist and composer and a pioneer in the revival of classical improvisation. He plays fugues and four-movement sonatas extemporaneously, leads orchestral and choral improvisations and collaborates with instrumentalists, singers, dancers and actors. His solo album Ambiro’s Journey has been described as a “new milestone in the development of improvisation”. Born in Haifa, Israel in 1978, Noam Sivan was Director of Improvisation at the Curtis Institute and taught at the Juilliard School. Since 2021, he has been a professor at the HMDK Stuttgart, where he leads one of the world’s first master’s programs for piano improvisation.

Georg Thoma is a piano improviser, pianist, music theorist and piano teacher. He works as a full-time lecturer for music theory at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, as an academic assistant at the University of Music Freiburg and as a lecturer for piano improvisation at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. Previously, he taught music theory as a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich from 2018-2024, music theory, piano practice and practical piano playing at school as a lecturer at the Mozarteum University Salzburg from 2021-2023, and piano at the Pullach Music School from 2018-2023.

As of September 2024 © Villa Seligmann

The festival pass gives you access to all events in the booked seating category:

Festival Pass Great Hall: € 80,-
Festival Pass Salon: € 50,-
Festival Pass Study € 20,-*

Alternatively, you can also book tickets for individual events:

• Lecture Prof. Altenmüller & Concert Prof. Sivan
  07. Nov., 6-9 pm
  € 26 / 18 / 5*

• Workshop Prof. Sivan
  08. Nov., 09.30-14 h
  Unit price € 8 (passive participation or listeners)
  Passive participation by students is free of charge for this event.

• Lecture M. Reich & concert Prof. Becker
  08. Nov., 2-6 p.m.
  € 20 / 15 / 5*

• Matinée I. Ramot
  09. Nov., 11 a.m.
  € 23 / 15 / 8*

• Lecture D. Marhulets & Kaleidoscope concert
  09. Nov., 5.30 pm
  € 26 / 18 / 5*

Ticket exchange and return
Purchased individual tickets for the Villa Seligmann Bag Festival can be exchanged. If there is a price difference within the same price category, the difference will be refunded. If individual tickets are returned, you will receive a voucher. Cash refunds are excluded. It is possible to exchange festival passes from one category to another. Refunds of festival passes are excluded. For all events (with the exception of the workshop on 08.11.), tickets are sold in three price categories:
Great Hall (max. 33 seats), Salons (max. 50 seats) and reduced rate for pupils, students and trainees. Seating is free in all price categories.

Remaining tickets can be purchased at the box office (cash only).

*) If required, students can apply for a waiver of the admission fee (including festival pass). An ID must be presented on request. Please contact us in good time at: karten@villa-seligmann.de

Tickets are available in the webshop of this website available.
Festival passes can also be purchased by sending an e-mail to karten@villa-seligmann.de or by calling 0511 844887-200.

Admission is always 30 minutes before the start of the event.