The Caligari FilmBühne is located in one of the few fully preserved movie theater buildings from the silent film era. For this reason, the anniversary series deliberately focuses on the relationship between music and silent film. In five silent film concerts, classics from the silent film era are reimagined through new musical interpretations and compositions by prominent contemporary musicians. A participatory project brings children and young people together with a film composer to collaboratively develop and perform a live accompaniment for an entertaining program of short films. The accompanying program explores the lines of rupture and continuity in the silent film legacy. 

“The music does not engage in nostalgic retrospection, but rather creates a space of resonance where historical references and modern performance techniques converge. All five film scores present different stylistic approaches to accompanying silent films from a contemporary perspective,” says Nina Goslar, curator of the anniversary series. Film curator Nina Goslar has selected five films that exemplify the diversity of the cinematic year 1926. Goslar, who worked for many years as a silent film editor at ZDF/Arte and was awarded the German Silent Film Prize in 2020, was able to enlist accomplished musicians for the project. Together, they open up new perspectives on the historical films. Three of the five film scores are new compositions created specifically for the anniversary program. 

Diego Ramos Rodríguez serves as the project’s musical director. The series begins on Sunday, September, with a screening of Paul Czinner’s comedy of mistaken identity, “The Violinist of Florence.” In this context, violinist Ramos Rodríguez will perform the film score composed by Uwe Dierksen as part of a four-piece ensemble. For the closing gala on Sunday, December 20, Ramos Rodríguez will take the stage as a composer. The program features a contemporary newsreel and film footage from Wiesbaden, as well as Buster Keaton’s homage to cinema, “Sherlock Jr.” 

Even the youngest audience members are part of the anniversary program. In cooperation with the Wiesbaden School of Music and Art, music students under the direction of composer Barbara Lenz will accompany early silent films. In addition to cello and piano, so-called Orff instruments will also be used. These instruments can be used to create specific sounds, such as a fire alarm, a train whistle, or the wind. At the two events on Sunday, November 29, and Sunday, December 6, a different group of children and teenagers will perform each time. 

Three events explore the silent film heritage in a critical and innovative way from various perspectives. They combine film, music, and lectures, rounding out the anniversary series. 

The program:

· Reinterpretation: Sunday, September 6, 7:00 p.m., “The Violinist of Florence,” silent film concert, directed by Paul Czinner, Germany 1926, 82 minutes, FSK: 0, music by Uwe Dierksen, cast: Diego Ramos Rodríguez (violin), Miguel Casas (trombone), Nathan Watts (cello), Miharu Ogura (piano). Paul Czinner’s comedy of mistaken identity is paired with ensemble music composed by Uwe Dierksen for four instruments.

· Friday, September 25, 7:00 p.m., “According to the Law,” silent film concert/new composition, directed by Lev Kuleshov, USSR 1926, 81 minutes, FSK: unrated, music by Uwe Oberg, performers: Uwe Oberg (piano), Rudi Fischerlehner (percussion). “According to the Law” is a rarity in film history. Pianist Uwe Oberg and percussionist Rudi Fischerlehner will give Lev Kuleshov’s “Western from the East” a completely new musical interpretation. 

· Thursday, October 22, 7:00 p.m., “The Adventures of Prince Achmed,” silent film concert / new composition, directed by Lotte Reiniger, Germany 1926, 66 minutes, FSK: unrated, Composition: Ensemble Tanava, Cast: Johanna-Leonore Dahlhoff (flute), Alireza Meghrazi (kamanche), Nicola Pacha Vock (double bass), Ramin Rahmi (percussion/vocals). The first feature-length animated film in cinematic history will be screened with music by the German-Iranian ensemble Tanava, which bridges the gap between tradition and modernity.

· Sunday, December 6, 7:00 p.m., “Dancing Mothers,” silent film concert, directed by Herbert Brenon, USA 1926, 64 minutes, Rating: Unrated, Composition: Maud Nelissen, Cast: Maud Nelissen (piano), Daphne Balvers (soprano saxophone). Two stars from two generations play mother and daughter. Pianist Maud Nelissen and soprano saxophonist Daphne Balvers accompany this enchanting silent comedy.

· Sunday, December 20, 6:00 p.m., Kino-Varieté, Silent Film Concert / New Composition / Closing Gala, duration approximately 130 minutes with intermission, Host: Janboris Ann-Kathrin Rätz (Host), Composition: Diego Ramos Rodríguez (Composition), Cast: Members of the Ensemble Modern. The series concludes with a colorful evening featuring short films, music, singing, and a Buster Keaton comedy centered on a daydreaming movie projectionist.  

Dates:

· Sunday, November 29, 11 a.m., and Sunday, December 6, 11 a.m., Children’s Silent Film Concerts—short films with live music, silent film concert / new composition, duration approximately 60 minutes, recommended for ages five and up, composition and musical direction: Barbara Lenz, performers: students from the Wiesbaden School of Music and Art. The program features exciting and humorous films from the early days of cinema: a kitten is fed, chairs are juggled, a fire truck is pulled by horses, and Sleeping Beauty appears in fairy-tale-like silhouette images. And in LIBERTY, Laurel & Hardy try in vain to swap their pants. 

Reflection: 

· Thursday, October 8, 5:30 p.m., “Films: Seeing and Hearing! A Lecture with Film Examples,” Lecture: Dr. Dietrich Stern. For musicologist Dr. Dietrich Stern, the close connection between film and music as equal partners is perhaps the most important legacy of silent film. In his film lecture, he presents his new approach to the cinematic material.

· Sunday, October 11, 5:00 p.m., “From Caligari to Hitler: German Cinema in the Age of the Masses,” directed by Rüdiger Suchsland, Germany 2014, 119 minutes, FSK: 0 and up; director Rüdiger Suchsland in conversation with film scholar Prof. Dr. Marcus Stiglegger. According to Siegfried Kracauer, the cinema of the Weimar Republic serves as a seismograph for social upheavals. How relevant is this perspective today? Director Rüdiger Suchsland offers a fresh perspective.

· Monday, November 9, 7:00 p.m., “Three Films by Ella Bergmann-Michel,” silent film concert and lecture / new musical composition, duration approximately 100 minutes, lecture: Bettina Schulte Strathaus, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main; composition: Bernd Thewes; performers: Dietmar Wiesner (flute), Moritz Schneidewendt (bass clarinet), Achim Seyler (vibraphone +), Bernd Thewes (composition and sound direction). The evening focuses on the work of Frankfurt filmmaker Ella Bergmann-Michel, created immediately prior to the Nazi dictatorship. The event undertakes a unique experiment by combining a lecture by film scholar Bettina Schulte Strathaus with a performance of film scores composed specifically for this evening by Bernd Thewes. The series is an event organized by the Cultural Affairs Office of the State Capital of Wiesbaden in cooperation with the DFF—German Film Institute & Film Museum and the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation. The series is sponsored by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, Hessen Film & Medien, and SV SparkassenVersicherung.  

Admission prices:

Silent film concerts: 14 euros; reduced rate: 12 euros; with the Wiesbaden Film Art Card: 10 euros 

Children’s silent film concerts: 5 euros 

Events in the “Films: Seeing and Hearing” series: 9 euros, reduced rate 8 euros, 7 euros with the Wiesbaden Film Art Card, 

Surcharge for extra-long films: 1 euro for films 130 minutes or longer. 

For more information: https://caligari.wiesbaden.de/jubilaeumsreihe/jublaeumsreihe-caligari