Otmar Suitner Homage
On Monday, May 23, 2022, the Staatsoper will honor Otmar Suitner (1922-2010) on the occasion of his 100th birthday with a homage event in the Apollo Hall.
Otmar Suitner, who was General Music Director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden from 1964 to 1991 and was succeeded by Daniel Barenboim, would have celebrated his 100th birthday on May 16th.
As general music director, the conductor, who was born in Innsbruck, was not only the musical director of a tradition-conscious orchestra, but also “the head and heart of his Staatskapelle” for several decades – as the musicians themselves put it. As an Austrian in the GDR, he embodied the kind of international openness that he was able to maintain through his work at the State Opera and the Staatskapelle during the time of German two-statehood. Numerous guest performances and sound recordings of lasting value, but also the continuous cultivation of the opera and concert repertoire of the classic, romantic and modern eras (up to the world premieres of works by Paul Dessau, among others) bear witness to this.
The homage will take place on May 23 in the Apollosaal with musical contributions from members of the Staatskapelle Berlin. In addition to information about the life and work of Otmar Suitner, the film "After the Music" is the focus of the event, in the presence of Igor Heitzmann, who is also Otmar Suitner's son. The film was partly shot in the Apollo Hall. In "After the Music," Igor Heitzmann tells the story of an approach: to the father, the distant conductor, to the GDR that has disappeared, the unusual paths in life of the parents - and to the music. He shows the great moments from Suitner's musical life, celebrated concerts and tours, but also simple orchestra rehearsals or working with the students in his conducting class at the Music University in Vienna. He reconstructs the family history in pictures and conversations. The father expresses his feelings in music, the son with the camera.
“After the Music” is the portrait of a man who balanced between worlds: between East and West, private life and career, wife and lover - and who above all else always lived for music. A film about a great conductor, told by his son who is looking for music to find his father.