"We see the Tonhalle as a mirror of (urban) society."

The Tonhalle Düsseldorf has found a very exciting approach to dealing with one of the most pressing issues of our time: "Green Monday". Each Monday's zodiac concert is dedicated to a sustainability topic, such as energy efficiency, waste and recycling or traveling by public transport. Visitors to the Tonhalle are invited to express their views and experts share their knowledge in the "Green Talk". There are a total of twelve symphony concerts that invite people to reflect together on sustainability issues. Highlights include the "Green Pieces", musical fragments of thought by eleven composers who contribute their musical interpretation to topics such as recycling. The compositional fragments will be brought together in the final zodiac concert at the end of the 2023/24 season. We wanted to find out more and asked Michael Becker, Tonhalle Artistic Director, three questions.

Together with the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle has introduced "Green Monday" for the 2023/24 season. This is also about reducing the CO2 footprint. What concrete plans are there to achieve this?
We have changed typical parameters of concert operations in an open-ended way to reduce CO2. The audience decides whether they can live with these changes - for example, less light, different food, more public transportation. So far, it looks very good. We will therefore be able to permanently reduce some CO2 equivalents. What remains will have to be avoided in other ways. How? We won't know until next season ...

Green Monday" is part of the series of zodiac concerts that take place on Monday evenings. It begins with a so-called "Green Piece", a piece, a musical fragment that is intended to capture sustainability in music. The concept reads super exciting, but is also somewhat abstract. Can you please explain this to us?
The results are very different: they can be abstract, so that you don't recognize the concrete theme one-to-one. But there can also be very concrete references to the theme: The composer Gordon Hamilton, for example, has written an upcycling piece on the subject of "garbage", in which instruments built from garbage and scrap can be heard. We found the work by a Japanese composer on public transport very impressive. It was rather melancholy and very slow - that must have been the view from Japan of public transport in Europe.

The Tonhalle Düsseldorf always takes a stand. In January 2024, for example, you will award the Human Rights Prize to the Russian human rights activist Sergei Lukashevsky or refer to Igor Levit's conversation with Robert Habeck on your website. That's not necessarily common for cultural institutions. What is your motivation for getting involved in socio-political issues?
We see the Tonhalle as a mirror of (urban) society. Music is an incredibly evocative medium. It can't just be a floral accessory, but can - I think it must - send out or accompany messages in order to remain meaningful. This can be achieved by linking it to very specific social or political discussions. On the other hand, it also works through programs, i.e. the combination of pieces of music that can tell a bigger story than the individual work. This social relevance acquires great credibility when it is conveyed not only by guest artists, but also - as in our case - by our own orchestra as "residents" of the house.

You can find more information about "Green Monday" at tonhalle.de.

Michael Becker has been artistic director of the Tonhalle Düsseldorf since 2007. After his school days in Hanover, he studied viola at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf and was a member of various orchestras. In Hanover, he also completed a degree at the Institute for Journalism and Communication Research and worked for newspapers such as Hannoversche Allgemeine and radio stations such as NDR and MDR. For the Tonhalle, he established "Tonhalle 0-100", making it the first concert hall in Germany to offer music for every age group. He also introduced the youth symphony orchestra, founded an under-16 orchestra and a children's orchestra. With the "Green Monday" project, he has also initiated an innovative series, a forum for discussing climate protection in a musical setting.

Interview: Cynthia Blasberg
Lead photo: Portrait of Michael Becker, photo: Susanne Diesner