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Germany's Top Five

DW staff (na/mh)September 5, 2005

As September begins, DW previews the best in Germany with the punk of the Sex Pistols, the surrealism of Max Ernst, readings from Doris Lessing and the world's best B-Boying in the mix.

https://p.dw.com/p/78Yu
Sid Vicious, lead singer for the Sex Pistols, helped forge music's punk revolution.Image: AP

Fancy some pop art? Then you'd better get your skates on. The "Got the Look" exhibition at Cologne's Museum of Applied Art enters its last stretch and for those who want to follow the journey of music artwork from Miles Davis through the psychedelia of the Beatles and The Doors to the nihilistic styling of the Sex Pistols and Nirvana and beyond, the (museum's) doors will close on Sept. 18. Get there before the exhibition moves on and you'll enjoy a multimedia explosion of video, music and design. Posters and flyers from the ages by artists such as Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Rick Griffin and Raymond Pettibon document the development of art promotion in music while live performances play on screens around the museum. The audio guide also provides songs from artists featured in the artworks. All in all, it's a groovy experience.

Ludwig van Beethoven Denkmal in Wien
Beethoven born on Dec. 17, 1770 in Bonn, is honored annually at his hometown festival. He gained his reputation as a great componist and pianist in Vienna, however, where he also died on March 26, 1827.Image: dpa

It's Beethoven time again in Bonn. The annual Beethovenfest starts on Sept. 8 in the birthplace of the great composer and this year the motto of the festival is "Liberté" -- a byword of the Enlightenment and a clarion call of the French Revolution. The 2005 season of concerts will retrace Beethoven's relations to French culture and how the ideas and turmoil of the Revolution had on the composer and his music. Many of his works, including the "Sinfonia Eroica" and "Fidelio," are directly related to events that occurred in France at the turn of the nineteenth century and will be on the program for this year's events.

The Beethovenfest runs from Sept. 8 - Oct. 10.

Max Ernst Museum eröffnet
The Max Ernst Museum opened on Sept. 3, 2005 in Brühl, featuring a first-time collection of his surrealist and emotionally riveting art.Image: dpa - Bildfunk

Come get a glimpse of Max Ernst's world. A first-time full collection of Max Ernst's (1891-1976) dada and surrealist sculptures, plus 100 works on loan from public and private collections are on display at the First Max Ernst Museum in Brühl. An added highlight are his 36 D-paintings, his annual birthday gift to his wife Dorothea Tanning. Foreboding forest landscapes contrast with happy dream-like visions, while neighboring images juxtapose humor and violence. Go to the basement for an audio-visual experience with Peter Schamoni's multimedia display, featuring interactive film-projection and touch screens. In Ernst's words, "you can drink the images with your eyes."

The opening exhibit runs Sept. 4, 2005 through March 5, 2006.

Doris Lessing
The British author Doris Lessing, whose vast writings across several genres count her among the most significant writers of the 20th century, claims among her best-known novels "The Golden Notebook", "Martha Quest," and "The Fifth Child."Image: dpa

Read a good book lately? The International Literary Festival in Berlin can offer some fancy fare for your literary diet. Nearly 150 international writers from 46 countries will participate in the festival, including Doris Lessing, Paul Mahr, and Hans Magnus Enzensberger. Poetry nights feature readings by Dana Gioia, Juan Felipe Herrera, C.K. Williams, Mark Strand, Ellen Hinsey and Edward Hirsch. Other highlights include Kenzaburo Oe reading from „Tagame“ and Judith Hermann reading Alice Munro. The festival winds down with a multi-author tribute to Susan Sontag and a concert with Gcina Mhlophe.

This full-packed literary feast runs Sept. 6-17.

Hip Hop Kultur durch das Objektiv von Martha Cooper
Hip Hop has spread worldwide and cultivated its various art forms since its origins in the 1980s on the streets of New York City. Photo: Martha Cooper, HIP HOP files, Photographs 1979-1984Image: Martha Cooper

Get your kicks at the World Wide Hip-Hop Challenge. The best of the best will compete for an international jury and thousands of fans at the Hip-Hop World Challenge in Leipzig. Come see first-hand the international appeal of this fast-growing youth culture. Selected competitors in B-Boying and Beatboxing will wow the crowd as they show off their moves and DJ teams such as Zion (Jap) and Lords of Fitness (Ger) will truly make music with their instruments. Invited B-Boys include Rodolphe (FRA), Hong 10 (KOR) and Pelézinho (BRA). The Beatboxing competition will feature 20 artists and 5 teams.

The competition runs Sept. 9-10.