Founded in the 1890, the German-Japanese Society (Wa-doku-kai, in Japanese) was originally an association of professors and students of the Department of Oriental Languages at the Royal Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. Whilst initially it organized conferences and mutual visits for both Japanese and German parties, it grew up to be the major promoter of German Japanese exchange in the spheres of language, business and culture. The Society is currently a chief actor in the facilitation of bilateral relations between the two countries as well as a key advocate for Japanese culture in Germany.

In May 2015, the German-Japanese Society Berlin marked its 125th Anniversary since its foundation. For the occasion, the Society organized a series of cultural events throughout the year including lectures, concerts, workshops, excursions and exhibitions. Within the framework of this cycle of events, a piano concert by the German-Japanese duet Takahashi - Lehmann will take place on the 14th of July.

Björn Lehmann and Norie Takahashi formed the duet in 2009. Since the inception of the project, Takahashi and Lehmann have taken part in numerous concerts and festivals in Europe and Asia. The repertoire of the two artists includes traditional works for four hands on a piano and for two pianos, as well as works of important 20th century composers. For this occasion, the duo will perform piano pieces by Schubert, Stravinsky and Schönberg.

"The Rite of Spring for a piano duet" – will take place at 18.30 in the building of the Embassy of Japan in Berlin in Hiroshimastr. 10 10785 Berlin. For detailed information of the concert program and for advanced registration please visit: http://www.djg-berlin.de/djgb.htm

• References: http://www.djg-berlin.de/

News from Berlin
Doina Plamadeala, Berlin Global