“The original meaning of peak is the top of a mountain. This word was very common and popular in German landscape poetry. Climbing to the top has always been something worth striving for. From this point of view, this saying fits well with the topic of cultural landscapes, so we can ask ourselves how important peaks are to our cultural landscape, how much peaks and mountain ranges can also shape these cultural landscapes, both literally and figuratively.
If we move from the cultural landscape to the literary landscape, this year inevitably brings us to the centenary of Thomas Mann’s novel Enchanted Hill, which may lead us to wonder to what extent the incorporation of the image into cultural landscapes may also mean their hierarchization? Does serious literature look down? Can we, in order to stay in the tone of “Enchanted Mountain”, speak “from above to us” and look at the “lowlands” from above?” – Prof. Dr. Rutha Leiserowitz.
On Saturday, July 13, the festival will be opened by the Opening Concert at the Nida Evangelical Lutheran Church. This year’s music program will feature the piece “Aukštumos” specially ordered for the festival and created by composer Dominykos Digimos (b. 1993), which will be performed by an orchestra led by conductor Karolis Variakojos. The concert will be conducted by musicologist Vytautė Markeliūnienė.
The theme of cultural landscapes and peaks chosen by the festival will be explored in various aspects by the events of the word program. On Sunday, at the Thomas Mann Memorial Museum, the theme “Emotions at the peak” will be presented by a guest from Germany – the president of the Max Weber Foundation, Ute Frevert, in a conversation with Ruth Leiserowitz.
Meanwhile, on Monday, historian Aurimas Švedas will talk with translator Antans Gailis regarding Thomas Mann’s own peak. On Thursday, philosopher Nerija Putinaitė will try to find answers to essential questions – a conversation on the topic “Do Immanuel Kant’s answers to the question “What is Enlightenment?” still make sense to us today, will be moderated by Nikodem Szczygłowski.
In the evenings, during the Cinema Nights program, which will be presented to the audience by Dmitrij Glushchevskij, films such as “Holy Mountain” (1926) by director A.Frank, starring actress Leni Riefenstahl, who visited Nida in the interwar years and lived in the famous Blode Hotel, Wim Wenders’ “Anselm – “The Whistle of Time” (2023) or Werner Herzog’s “Fickarall” (1982).
On July 16 (Tuesday), the date of writer Thom Mann’s arrival in Nida, celebrated by the festival as the day of his friends, there will be a meeting with Trent University professor Luca Crescenzi (Italy), who will talk regarding “Layers of Dreams in the Enchanted Mountain” in conversation with Ruth Leiserowitz.
During the festival, there will also be readings of Th. Mann’s work and a meeting with the winners of the festival’s traditionally organized essay competition this year, the show will be hosted by Laurynas Katkus.
On Friday evening, the works of Lithuanian and Polish composers – Osvaldas Balakauskas and Krzysztof Pendereckis will be played, and during the closing concert of the festival on Saturday, the string orchestra will play the works of George Enescu.
You can get acquainted with the festival program and purchase tickets for the event on the website www.mann.lt.
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2024-07-13 04:36:40