What's on in Germany: December 6 – 12

This Week's Highlights: Surf films in Cologne, a Hansel and Gretel opera in Munich, and a play about the Brothers Grimm premieres in Frankfurt.

BERLIN



Music/Concerts


Jazz at the Berlin Philharmonic

Help UNICEF and go see some jazz this week. A new series called “Jazz at the Berlin Philharmonic” starts Tuesday when three shining stars of jazz piano tickle the ivories at the Philharmonic's Chamber Music Hall. Polish pianist Leszek Mozdzer aka “the romantic,” joins German pianist Michael Wollny “the consummate master pianist,” and Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala “the natural phenomenon,” in solo, duo, and trio piano sets. Pieces by Bach and Chick Corea, as well as the performers' own compositions fill the program.

Price: €15 – 35
Location: Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert-von-Karajan-Strasse 1
Times: Tuesday, December 11, 8pm
Tickets: 030 254 88 999
More Information: www.berliner-philharmoniker.de



Galleries/Museums


Christian Rothenhagen: Metropolitan – Exhibition Opening

Street lamps, telephone lines, and old Victorian homes. The Berlin-based artist and graphic designer Christian Rothenhagen made beautiful drawings of San Francisco during a visit to the Northern California city. His images of Berlin and Toronto join them at a new solo show that opens at Strychnin Gallery Friday. Marvel at the amazingly straight lines in his urban landscape illustrations.

Price: Free
Location: Strychnin Gallery, 
Boxhagenerstrasse 36
Times: Friday, December 7, 7pm (Opening); Wednesday – Saturday, noon – 6pm
Phone: 030 9700 2035
More Information: www.strychnin.com



One on One Exhibition

Have you ever looked at art in quiet solitude? Ever been alone in a gallery where the only set of eyes transferring their scrutinizing gaze onto the artwork is yours? It's nice isn't it. The One On One exhibition at KW Berlin features works and spaces intended to be seen or experienced by one person at a time. It's intimate, confrontational, and an interesting way to consume art. Go Tuesday when an artist, curator, and historian discuss the “conflict between intimacy and public view.”

Price: €6
Location: KW Institute for Contemporary Art,
Auguststrasse 69
Times: Tuesday, December 11, 7:30pm (Dornbracht Conversations: “Public Intimacy”); Tuesday – Sunday, noon – 7pm; Thursday, noon – 9pm; through January 20, 2013 (Gallery Hours)
Phone: 030 243 4590
More Information: www.kw-berlin.de




COLOGNE



Film


Surf Film Festival Cologne

Surf's up in Cologne this week when nine movies about surfing flash across the big screen. Follow the journey of brothers Julian and Joaquin as they venture from California to Argentina in “Gauchos del Mar,” or see historic footage from the 1960s and 1970s in the award-winning adventure sport documentary Last Paradise. The event kicks off with an art opening Thursday.

Price: €7.50 (Single Ticket); €24 (Combi-Ticket)
Location: Fritt Boards, Venloer Strasse 510 and Cinenova Arthouse-Center
Herbrandstrasse 11
Times: Thursday, December 6 – Sunday, December 9
Phone: 040 0876 01770
More Information about “Homemade Cologne” and other alternative Christmas markets: www.surffilmfestival.de




FRANKFURT



Film


Big Cinema – The German Film Museum at the Staedel Museum

It's not uncommon for art to play a starring role in film. On Saturday, the German Film Museum and the Staedel Museum present a series of cinematic classics, blockbusters, and rare film treasures that all incorporate celebrated artworks – from ancient cave drawings, to twenty-first century street art – in their frames. Though most are dubbed in German, three of the films, including Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010), The Mill and the Cross (2011), and Caravaggio (1986) will be shown in their original English language versions.

Price: €18
Location: Staedel Museum
Dürerstrasse 2


Times: Saturday, December 8, 7pm
Phone: 069 605 0980
More Information: www.staedelmuseum.de



Theatre


A Grimm Tale

Two hundred years ago, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their first book of children's fairy tales. In honour of that marvelous event, Theatre Language Studio Frankfurt is staging a play about their lives. Penned by American playwright Lonnie Bradley, the two-act play weaves together the stories of two of the most imaginative brothers history has ever known. Take a seat in the audience this week and watch actors and shadow puppets portray the lives of these legendary storytellers.

Price: €17
Location: Internationales Theater
, Hanauer Landstrasse 7
Times: 7:30pm, Friday, December 7, Saturday, December 8, Thursday, December 13 – Saturday, December 15; 4pm, Sunday, December 9
Tickets: 069 499 09 80
More Information: www.internationales-theater.de



Hamlet – Mis-En-Scene/Performance

The actor, photographer, and filmmaker Jack Smith was a pioneer of underground cinema in New York from the 1950s until his death in 1989. An exhibition at the MMK, which runs until January, focuses on Smith's photographic work, and this week, actors from Städelschule's Pure Fiction Seminar pay tribute to the avant-garde performance artist with an unconventional staging of Hamlet at Portikus. Wine and nudity take the performance a step beyond your traditional theatre in the round.

Price: Free
Location: Portikus, Alte Brücke 2
Times: Tuesday, December 11, and Wednesday, December 12, 7pm
Phone: 069 962 44540
More Information: www.jacksmith.extratrouble.de and www.mmk-frankfurt.de





HAMBURG



Galleries/Museums


Captivated by Darkness – Charles Meryon and the French Etching Revival

Gargoyles and gothic arches are prominent in the etchings of Charles Meryon, a French artist who helped bring etching back into fashion in the mid-1800s. A collection of his work hangs at the Hamburger Kunsthalle this winter. Go and examine the exceptional precision of his scenes of Paris, including views of the Seine, Notre Dame, and The Conciergerie.

Price: €12
Location: Hamburger Kunsthalle, Glockengiesserwall
Times: Tuesday – Sunday, 10am-6pm; Thursday, 10am-9pm; through March 3, 2013
Phone: 040 428 131 300
More Information: www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de




MUNICH



Theatre


Hansel and Gretel Fairytale Opera

A live orchestra plays the music of Engelbert Humperdinck as a little boy and girl make their way through the woods. Follow the plight of that beloved brother and sister team Hansel and Gretel at Gasteig Saturday. The Bavarian Free State Theater's stimulating operetta features seven soloists and a children's choir. Who can blame them for not being able to resist that mean old lady's candy covered gingerbread house? After the show, go home and build your own.

Price: €34.95 – 44.95
Location: Gasteig Munchen, Rosenheimer Strasse 5
Times: Saturday, December 8, 5pm
Ticket Hotline: 089 54 81 81 81
More Information: www.gasteig.de



Music/Concerts


Method Man and Redman

East Coast rap hits Bavaria Wednesday night when two of New York City's most notorious MCs pick up the mic in Munich. “Throw your hands in the air and wave them like you just don't care” as Method Man and Redman bounce around the stage and bust out their post-Wu Tang Clan rhymes. A whole crew of supporting artists gets the room heated up.

Price: €39.50
Location: Backstage, Werk, Reitknechtstrasse 6
Times: Wednesday, December 12, 8pm
Ticket Hotline: 089 54 81 81 81
More Information: www.backstage.eu



Music/Concerts


Nina Attal and Band

Who can resist a cover of “Tell Me Something Good?” And when it's done with as much sass as Nina Attal's rendition, you can't help but get up out of your seat. Let's hope the funky French soul singer includes the Chaka Khan classic in her set Tuesday night at Munich's Jazzclub Unterfahrt, along with a few scathing solos on her Gibson.

Price: €17
Location: Jazzclub Unterfahrt, Einsteinstrasse 42
Times: Tuesday, December 11, 9pm
Phone: 089 448 27 94
More Information: www.unterfahrt.de