Between 6-15 May, Greifswald will once again be transformed into the centre of northern European culture as part of the popular Nordischer Klang festival. After a successful anniversary celebration last year, this year's 31st reiteration of the festival will once again be held largely as an open-air event. A variety of artists from the Northern European countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Estonia will present the cultures of the Northern European region in concerts, exhibitions, readings and other events.
The first two acts to open the festival on Friday (6 May) are from this year's patron country Norway. Inspired by the groove roots of the 70's, Three Souls will fill the courtyard of the university's main building with detailed, rythmic funky groove. The band ISÁK plays urban pop. The English and Sami lyrics of frontwoman and activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen - since her victory on the TV talent show Stjernekampen she has become a very well-known star in Norway - are about climate, environment and racism. Isabel Sörling, the Swedish "Janis Joplin of Jazz" (Voice of the Year 2021 at the Victoires du Jazz) comes to Greifswald with her Paris band, followed by D'Sound (N), who have been filling the biggest international clubs for 25 years now with their mixture of acid jazz, soul, R&B, funk, pop and drum 'n' bass. The first festival weekend will be closed by Robert Zetterqvist & Quasimondo and Birdpeople from Åland with an evening of fusion jazz and alternative pop/Scandinavian Kraut.
The Norwegian Duo Vardøg plays baroque songs on the theme of love as a disease under the motto Die böse Liebesgicht ('the wicked gout of love'). The Finnish duo Aino & Miikhali are at home in the genre of folktronic, a mixture of folk and electronica. The Low-Fly Quintet (N) takes the audience back to the Golden Era of Swing. The programme continues with Stringflip (DK), who bring contemporary Nordic & Celtic folk to the stage. With their self-titled debut album, the string quartet was nominated at the Danish Music Awards 2021. It gets wonderfully emotional with Happy Heartaches (S), who captivate the concert guests with jaunty and sentimental bluegrass songs about love, pain, lust and sorrow. The Jazz Night at Greifswald's theatre opens the second and last weekend of the festival. Alongside the septet Östgötabandet (S), which will perform compositions by jazz musician Georg Riedel, famous in Germany for his music for the Astrid Lindgren films, will be OTOOTO (DK). The Danish quintet plays indie jazz with neo-soul/R&B groove elements.
The audience can experience three acts from Northern Europe at the closing festival on Saturday (14 May). With Whatclub from the Åland Islands, four thoroughbred musicians are on stage to swing passionate gypsy jazz. Mall Girl (N) play captivating pop songs, peppered with surprising twists and intricate guitar riffs. The closing party will be finished off by Lexsoul Dancemachine, a phat boogie, disco and funk troupe from Estonia known for bringing some serious power to the stage with their upbeat songs. There will also be a joint concert held by the music schools of the twin towns of Greifswald and Lund, and the Greifswald University Symphony Orchestra conducted by UMD Harald Braun will play a Finnish concert in Greifswald's cathedral that will include the 2nd Symphony by Jean Sibelius.
In addition to these concerts, there are also readings, exhibitions, panel discussions and cinema events for young and old. In her exhibition Nocturne, Jana Semrau shows visual art to Edith Södergran's modernist Finnish-Swedish poetry from the 1910s. The Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg is hosting an international conference on the question of secularisation in Scandinavian literature around 1900. As part of this event there will also be a public lecture with the Berlin sociologist Hans Joas. His topic: What comes after the secularisation theory? Religious and secular sources of the ethos of humanity. At the Museumswerft in Greifswald's harbour, translator Stefan Moster presents the novel Im Saal von Alastalo by Finnish author Volter Kilpi (original title Alastalon salissa). A special focus of this year's Nordischer Klang is on the Åland Islands, which are celebrating 100 years of autonomy this year. The band Birdpeople will speak about art and life in Åland. A panel event on security and identity politics with the Åland Peace Institute is extremely relevant in view of the current world situation. Sascha Zachhuber presents photographic impressions of the islands in his exhibition. Marcel Krueger will introduce his book Island: Eine Insel und ihre Bücher ('Iceland: An Island and its Books'). Author Sanne Jellings reads from her historical novel Ein Dänischer Winter ('A Danish Winter') about the Danish writer Karen Blixen. Impressions of Norway await visitors to the Pomeranian State Museum in the course of the Artistic Break with Dr Sabine Lindqvist.
As the film highlight of the festival, CineStar will show the comedy The Worst Person in the World, which was nominated twice at the Oscars© this year.
Especially for the festival's young visitors, the KinderKino will show Käpt'n Säbelzahn und der Schatz von Lama Rama (Captain Sabretooth and the Treasure of Lama Rama), a reading is also planned and Maja Nielsen will give an interactive reading about the Vikings.
Further information about the festival and the individual events can be found in the programme booklet, which will be available at several places in and around Greifswald (tourist information, cultural centres, music schools, libraries, etc.). All information on the festival schedule, Coronavirus protection measures, venues and ticket sales is available online at www.nordischerklang.de or as news on the social media channels Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well as on the YouTube channel or via newsletter. You can get a taste of the upcoming concerts on the festival's own Spotify channel.
As the long-standing media partner, Norddeutscher Rundfunk will again accompany and support the Nordischer Klang festival in the media this year.
Contact: Mariana Yaremchyshyna & Nikita Gravenhorst
email: presse-nokluni-greifswaldde
Tel.: +49 160/92807817
Free press photos in our press area at: https://nordischerklang.de/presse/