ARD Radio Play Days 2006

Listening has always been one of the focuses at ZKM. The new music line in the Media Museum, with listening and concert spaces that make a progressive repertoire available to the public, underscores ZKM’s competence in this area once again: a good atmosphere for the renowned ARD Hörspieltage! For five days, (almost) everything will revolve around the diverse forms of radio’s only genuine art form.
The radio play departments from ARD and Deutschlandradio will offer public presentations showcasting the highlights of their current productions. Also taking place will be an accompanying program of diverse events such as live-radio plays and performances, live radio broadcasts, discussion groups and workshops, and also a special children’s radio play day. Trombonist Mike Svoboda will open the festival with his improvisational work (8 November, 6 p.m.), the Ensemble Ascolta will offer an unconventional musical reinterpretation of silent films from the 1920s, playing compositions by Saariaho, Brümmer, and Tutschku (9 November, 9 p.m.). SWR2-Dschungel will do an on-site recording of the soundtrack for a radio play production on (10 November, 9:30 p.m.). Works by Curran, Cerha, Gobeil, and Furukawa will provide a one-of-a-kind surround sound experience in the ZKM_Klangdom, with its 40-channel loudspeaker orchestra. A lounge and party will be going strong every night and on 10 November, the SWR3 DanceNight will take place in the atrium of the HfG with the Berlin Beatbox team »4xSample«.

Like in all major festivals, there will be contests and prizes to add a bit of excitement and stir conversation: highlight here is the first ARD radio-play award, decided on by a jury headed by Christina Weiss, former Minister of State for Cultural Affairs and Media. Public debates will follow the award presentations. The award presentations will be broadcast live on Sunday, 12 November at 11 a.m. in the SWR2 matinee program, as will the awarding of the German children’s radio-play award (Deutschen Kinderhörspielpreises) and the City of Karlsruhe’s award for children’s radio-plays (Kinderhörspielpreises der Stadt Karlsruhe). On Saturday evening, the Short Radio-Play award will be given to independent radio-play producers, Premiere im Netz, together with the ARD Online Award, the audience award of the radio-play days. The winner will be decided by festival and online guests.