Event

In May 2026, SCHOLA HEIDELBERG and ensemble aisthesis will revisit a historic date of global significance: the American Declaration of Independence of 1776. In cooperation with the DAI Heidelberg, a literary-musical project is being created that highlights the United States as a refuge for European Enlightenment thinkers as well as the complex transatlantic interactions of the past 250 years.

Under the direction of Ekkehard Windrich, eight singers and twelve instrumentalists will perform two interrelated programs, moderated and contextualized by Jonathan Springer (DLF Cologne). The focus will be on vocal-instrumental works from the 18th to 21st centuries, including two world premieres.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's “Neue Litanei” (New Litany, 1786), based on a text by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, provides an audible testimony to Enlightenment religiosity influenced by reform theology. Songs by Charles Ives represent the independence of American modern music. Works by Arnold Schoenberg and Ursula Mamlok remind us that in the 20th century, the USA was a refuge from totalitarian regimes for many European artists.

Two new compositions add a special touch: in her commissioned work “The Unfinished Dream,” American composer Joanne Metcalf reflects on central concepts from the American founding documents against the backdrop of current political developments. In his premiere "New York Studie - 5. März 1968" German-Mexican pianist and composer Stefan Litwin takes up motifs from Uwe Johnson's “Jahrestage" ("Anniversaries”) and develops them into a musical plea for democratic self-assertion and intellectual independence.

UNABHÄNGIGKEIT 1776 does not see itself as a commentary on current politics, but rather as a space for artistic reflection. Amidst the tensions of current debates, the project focuses on the philosophical and ethical foundations of the ideas formulated in 1776—human rights, religious freedom, self-determination—and their significance for European-American understanding.

Advance ticket sales start on February 24, 2026.
Further information here.