Description
Rilke's letters to a musician «Friend, if
you are not an angel...»
In January 1914, the 38-year-old Rilke, living in retreat
work retreat in Paris, receives an admiring
letter from a pianist from Vienna, Magda von Hattingberg.
Feeling completely understood by this young musician,
he opens up to her in a flood of letters,
"light, beautiful, which poured from my heart;
I can hardly remember having written such...", and dares an intimate retrospective of his entire
previous development, "so that I seemed to become the owner
of my life for the first time..."
Over five weeks, the daily letter exchange intensifies,
until the lovers finally set out on a joint
journey...
Vera Bauer, theater creator, and Benjamin Engeli, piano,
weave these extraordinary insights into Rilke's thoughts
and emotional world with colorful character pieces by
Frédéric Chopin into a dense literary concert.
Highlights
- Literary concert with Rilke's letters
- Piano music by Frédéric Chopin
- With Vera Bauer and Benjamin Engeli
General Information
The event takes place in ElfenauPark in Bern and offers a unique combination of literature and music. Rilke's letters to the pianist Magda von Hattingberg are accompanied by colorful piano pieces, providing a deep insight into his thoughts and emotional world.
Location
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Event Calendar
October 2026
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