»Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted« (Matthew 5:4)

Johannes Brahms composed his »Deutsches Requiem« not as a mass for the dead, but as a gripping work of consolation for the living. Jochen Sandig takes the composer at his word and transforms it into a »Human Requiem« and a concert event for everyone. His staged, choreographed production turns the profoundly human and interreligious message of the Requiem into a sensual experience, focusing on love which overcomes pain and grief, celebrating life in its finite nature. The Rundfunkchor

Berlin under Gijs Leenaars creates miracles on this interdisciplinary evening, for all its singers fill the space with their voices as soloists. The Liederhalle in Stuttgart is transformed into an open space of community and collective catharsis. The separation of stage and auditorium is lifted; the audience is confronted with sound from the stage, but experiences it from all sides. Text, body, space and sound merge in a total work of art. Created in 2012 at the Radialsystem in Berlin, the production has toured to

Adelaide, Amsterdam Athens, Brussels, Granada, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Paris, Rotterdam and New York, meeting with overwhelming responses. The New York Times voted the production one of its ten best concerts of the year, calling Brahms’ Requiem an »anthem of our times« – our mortality unites all humans in one fate. In April 2021 the moving production also brought together those participating in the memorial service for the victims of the coronavirus pandemic which President Frank-Walter Steinmeier hosted.

A production of the Rundfunkchor Berlin in cooperation with Sasha Waltz & Guests and Radialsystem Berlin.

The concert invites you to wander through the space. Accordingly, there are no seating tickets. If you want to rest in between, you can use seats at the edge of the room.

The event is part of the subscription package »Tanz und Ritual« [Dance and Ritual].

Image © Phil Dera