Abgesagt: Der Literarische Salon mit David Grossmann

David Grossmann (author) Navid Kermani (Host) Guy Helminger (host) Kristian Lutze (translation)

David Grossman, born in Jerusalem in 1954, is the most renowned contemporary Israeli writer. Having already received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in Germany, he will be honored with the Thomas Mann Prize in Lübeck on September 25. As part of his tour, David Grossman will make one additional appearance: in Cologne! Even though he has recently attracted attention primarily for his strong statements on the Middle East conflict—including his polemic “Peace Is the Only Option” —we at the Literary Salon would like to focus above all on his magnificent body of literary work—and also explore his connection to Thomas Mann. Grossman gained worldwide fame in particular with his novel “A Woman Escapes from a News Report,” in which he comes to terms with the death of his own son during the final days of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. He received the International Booker Prize for his 2016 novel “A Horse Walks into a Bar.” Most recently, Grossman published “Grandpa, Why Do You Have Wrinkles?,” a delightful children’s book.

In cooperation with MiQua, the LVR Jewish Museum in Cologne’s Archaeological Quarter, and the Academy of International Affairs NRW.

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Venue:

Stadtgarten

The first concert in the newly built Stadtgarten concert hall in the mid-1980s launched a program unlike anything Germany had seen: an independent, artistically driven concert series devoted to contemporary improvised music. It was guided neither by attendance figures nor by public subsidies, yet it guaranteed musicians minimum fees and was run on professional terms. The conditions mattered just as much: an acoustically optimized, street-level concert space offering a strong setting for audiences and performers alike. Operations were financed through the adjoining hospitality business, the Stadtgarten restaurant and beer garden, a model that drew attention well beyond Germany.

Today the Stadtgarten Köln ranks among Europe's internationally recognized venues for contemporary and improvised music. The American magazine Down Beat features it regularly in its listings; it has received Germany's federal APPLAUS venue program award several times, including "Venue of the Year" in 2016, followed by the German Jazz Prize in the same category in 2022. More than 400 events across the full spectrum of contemporary music now take place there each year. Its international standing rests above all on the high proportion of demanding, experimental programming.

A programming mission of this kind depends on reliable public support. The venue's 30th anniversary in September 2016 opened that prospect: through a partnership between the City of Cologne and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, programming work is being substantially strengthened, and from 2017 onward the Stadtgarten Köln is being developed step by step into a "European Center for Jazz and Contemporary Music" – with the goal of becoming one of Europe's leading music centers.

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More dates at Stadtgarten: