A salon featuring compositions by Bettine von Arnim and Johanna Kinkel, alongside contemporary contributions by Dorothee Schabert, a 2025 fellow of the Cultural Foundation.

In 1831, Johanna, a young musician, seeks a new beginning in Berlin. For several months, she lives with Bettine von Arnim, almost as a member of the family. Johanna eventually marries Gottfried Kinkel, a professor and one of the fighters for the Baden Revolution of 1848/49 in Rastatt. After he is arrested by the Prussian military, deported to Spandau, and imprisoned in the citadel, he manages to escape in 1850 – partly thanks to the support of Bettine von Arnim.

Perspectives on Bettine von Arnim’s life appear to have developed different points of emphasis in West and East Germany. In the East, she was at times stylized as a role model. Christa Wolf, for example, honored Bettine as an extraordinary figure of her time: highly gifted, an advocate for the poor and disenfranchised, and committed to a degree that reached the limits of self-endangerment. The salon Bettine West-East explores these themes – not only through the compositions of both women.

Performers:
Ensemble Svolian, Freiburg, consisting of
Svea Schildknecht (Sopran)
Annette Winker (Fagott)
Olivia Shurman (Klavier)

Moderation and Concept:
Dorothee Schabert

Sunday, June 14, 2026, 3 p.m.
Free admission
Wiepersdorf – Bettina-von-Arnim-Straße 13, 14913 Niederer Fläming, Germany

There will be a public rehearsal hosted by GEDOK Brandenburg on June 13, 2026, at 6 p.m. (Seebadallee 45, 15834 Rangsdorf).

By attending the event, you agree that the recordings made there may be used for public relations purposes.