Skip to page content

The Weimar Republic:
Germany 1918-1933

The Weimar Republic began as a bold German political experiment at the end of the First World War and lasted until the rise of Nazism. The era was marked by incredible intellectual productivity, with German artists making lasting contributions in the fields of literature, art, architecture, music, dance, drama, and film. Berlin, in particular, proved to be fertile ground for artists, including composers Kurt Weill and Paul Hindemith. Join in a wide-ranging look at this fascinating, turbulent time.

 

“Music is meaningless noise unless
it touches a receiving mind.”

– Paul Hindemith

Max Beckmann, Dance Club in Baden-Baden, 1923 © 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

CONCERTS

Esa-Pekka Salonen Conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen returns to explore this culturally explosive period and its contemporary resonances.

 

FRI–SAT / FEB 7–8 – 8PM
SUN / FEB 9 – 2PM

Weill’s Violin Concerto with Salonen

Salonen leads significant works from the Weimar Republic.

Carolin Widmann, violin

HINDEMITH . Rag Time (on a theme of J.S. Bach)
WEILL  Violin Concerto
BACH (arr. Schoenberg)  Two Chorale Preludes
        “Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele,” BWV 654
        “Komm, Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist,” BWV 667
HINDEMITH  Symphony: Mathis der Maler

Get Tickets

THU–SAT / FEB 13–15 – 8PM
SUN / FEB 16 – 2PM

Weimar Nightfall: The Seven Deadly Sins

Vibrant musical theater from the Weimar Republic.

Simon McBurney, director
Gerard McBurney, music consultant/dramaturge
Los Angeles Master Chorale
        Grant Gershon, Artistic Director

HINDEMITH  Murderer, the Hope of Women
WEILL/BRECHT  Das Berliner Requiem
WEILL/BRECHT  The Seven Deadly Sins

Get Tickets

EVENTS AND PERFORMANCES

Weimar Variations

Curated by Stephanie Barron and Nana Bahlmann, Weimar Variations brings the LA Phil’s exploration of the period to unconventional spaces within Walt Disney Concert Hall and venues throughout the city, including the Egyptian Theatre and Black Rabbit Rose, among others. A varied collection of public programs, including commissioned installations, performances, films, exhibitions, and a cabaret, Weimar Variations investigates the themes of the era and their contemporary resonances.

Weimar Variations is presented in collaboration with American Cinematheque, REDCAT, and Hauser & Wirth.

   

 

THU / FEB 6 – 8:30PM
PERFORMANCE

Ursonate
Sound Poem by Kurt Schwitters

A rare reading of Kurt Schwitters’ seminal sound poem

Buy Tickets

FEB 10–23
ON DISPLAY • FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The Triadic Ballet
Costumes by Oskar Schlemmer

The Bauhaus masterpieces on display in BP Hall

Photo Archive C. Raman Schlemmer, www.schlemmer.org 

Learn More

FEB 7–16
ON DISPLAY • FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Susan Philipsz
Prelude in the Form of a Passacaglia (2019)

Sound installation in the Blue Ribbon Garden

Learn More
FEB 7 – 7PM & FEB 9 – 1PM
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Weimar Variations
Workers Chorus

Protest songs on Grand Avenue

Lesley Leighton, conductor
Members of Los Robles Master Chorale

JOIN US

 

 

SAT / FEB 8 – 7PM
PERFORMANCE • 
ACCESSIBLE TO ALL FEB 8 TICKETHOLDERS

Nicole Miller
Transition (world premiere, LA Phil commission)

Pre-concert performance of the Weimar-inspired laser light installation in BP Hall

Buy Tickets

FEB 10–16 
INSTALLATION • 
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Nicole Miller
Transition

Weimar-inspired laser light installation in BP Hall

Learn More

TUE / FEB 11 – 8:30PM • PERFORMANCE

Musik! Fantasie! Revolution!
A Weimar Cabaret

A transgressive evening of Weimar song

Buy Tickets

 

 

August Sander, Secretary at the West German Radio Station, 1931 © Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv; ARS, New York, 2019

FEB 15 – APR 12
EXHIBIT • FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

August Sander: New Women, New Men, and New Identities

Exhibit examining queer identity in the Weimar era

Die Insel, July 1930

Learn More

SAT / FEB 29 – 12PM
SCREENINGS • FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITH RSVP

Cinema: Berlin and Beyond

Weimar themes in film—from the classic to the contemporary

RSVP
SAT / FEB 29 – 8PM • PERFORMANCE

Pandora’s Box

1929 silent film masterpiece starring the unforgettable Louise Brooks

Presented in collaboration with American Cinematheque

Buy Tickets