10 YEARS
KULTURPALAST
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THIRD PLACE
›We need places where people can meet; we already have enough places where they are isolated.‹ When Wolfgang Schäuble spoke these words at the opening of the Kulturpalast on 28 April 2017, they were both a warning and a promise. Today, ten years later, Dresden can proudly say that the new Kulturpalast has indeed become such a meeting place for the city’s residents and visitors – a vibrant ›third place‹ where anyone can come without barriers and enjoy a wide range of activities, from concerts and readings to lectures, workshops and guided tours.
With Café Tutti and its panoramic view of the Altmarkt, the spacious, ultra-modern rooms of the Central Library, the exhibition and experience spaces of the COSMO Science Forum and the Centre for Building Culture (ZfBK), and last but not least the small theatre of the cabaret Die Herkuleskeule, it attracts more than a million visitors each year.
THE CONCERT HALL
At the heart of the Kulturpalast is its concert hall, celebrated for its outstanding acoustics and excellent sightlines. Its reputation has spread far beyond Dresden, attracting leading artists from around the world. Today it welcomes around 370,000 visitors each year – and the number continues to grow.
WE CELEBRATE
We are celebrating this anniversary with a week-long programme and invite you to concerts with Chief Conductor Sir Donald Runnicles, who will conduct the world premiere of Sir James MacMillan’s Sixth Symphony, as well as performances with the Philharmonic Choirs, which are also celebrating their 60th anniversary.
Over the past ten years, the Kulturpalast and its concert hall have also hosted charitable events on many occasions. In April 2019, for example, a charity concert was organised at short notice to raise funds for the organ damaged in the devastating fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, with Olivier Latry performing. In spring 2022, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra appeared as guests in the concert hall, offering an opportunity to express solidarity and support.
To mark the tenth anniversary, we are further strengthening our close ties with artists from Ukraine with a concert by the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra conducted by the Ukrainian conductor Natalia Ponomarchuk. A reading of outstanding contemporary literature also reflects our close connection with the Dresden Municipal Libraries and their Central Library in the Kulturpalast – a partnership that can be especially rewarding for lovers of both books and music.
INTERNATIONAL APPEAL: IAMA CONFERENCE
From 26 to 28 April, the Kulturpalast will host the 36th International Annual Conference of the International Artist Managers’ Association (IAMA), turning the building into a lively meeting place for the international classical music community. The conference will culminate in the gala concert “10 Years of the Kulturpalast” on 28 April, demonstrating the extent to which the Kulturpalast and its concert hall have also established themselves internationally as an important hub.
The IAMA Conference is regarded as one of the most important gatherings in the international classical music world. Around 800 orchestra, concert hall and artist managers from across the globe will take part to exchange ideas, make new contacts and negotiate contracts – networking that will also benefit the Dresdner Philharmonie, its guests and the city of Dresden.
SUPPORTING THE NEXT GENERATION: KURT MASUR ACADEMY
Another anniversary will follow in 2027: the Kurt Masur Academy, the orchestra academy of the Dresdner Philharmonie, was founded in 2017 to train outstanding young musicians within the orchestra and prepare them for a professional career. It is no coincidence that it bears Kurt Masur’s name. For the former Chief Conductor and later Honorary Conductor of the Dresdner Philharmonie (1927–2015), the promotion of young talent was one of his greatest concerns.
Many musicians who had the opportunity to work with him still recall his remarkable passion and instinct for recognising the potential of young players and guiding their development. Just a few weeks before his death, he was able to visit the construction site of the new concert hall and was convinced that something truly significant was taking shape there.
Since 2017, the Dresdner Philharmonie, in cooperation with the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music Dresden and with the support of the state capital, has welcomed a new group of musicians each year to its two-year training programme. With great success: many graduates have already gone on to secure permanent positions in orchestras.
