Lennart Schilgen - Absence Notes. Songs and Poems

Being constantly reachable is yesterday's news. Lennart Schilgen returns with his third programme - and shines through absence. When he's not performing concerts and collecting arts awards (Prix Pantheon, Stuttgarter Besen, and many more), he does one thing above all: disappear. Among other pursuits, he goes on bike tours, visits monasteries, and attends communist summer camps. Or simply retreats into the depths of his thoughts, which often prove adventurous enough.

Out of these wanderings came songs about detours and paths through the world and the mind. Full of lightness and wit, yet unafraid to venture into darker corners. This time, things long swept under the rug resurface: an old PUR cassette, elementary school report cards, the story of a late-night bus stop. Fortunately, Schilgen guides listeners safely through every abyss - carried by his accomplished piano and guitar playing, his voice, and his "alert spirit, heart and humour, and sly punchlines" (citation for "Tuttlinger Krähe").

And if all else fails, there are always the poems: small linguistic treasure boxes, deeply absurd, supremely artful. The recently published "Collected Works" are, if we may briefly mention it, something like a bestseller in the realm of poetry collections.

Still have questions? You're welcome to email him anytime. He just won't reply. So best to simply come to the concert.