The scenic documentation of the Paulskirchen debates, which the Frankfurt author Walter Boehlich presented in 1973 to mark the 125th anniversary of the first German parliament, is more topical today than ever. Particularly at a time when the value of German democracy is being questioned, these passionate documents of its beginnings are electrifying. From thousands of pages of meeting minutes, Boehlich filtered issues such as the right to work, the disarmament of Europe, anti-Semitism, and nationalism.
In between speech battles, Michael Quast, accompanied by accordionist Vassily Dück, sings songs from the revolutionary year of 1848.
Vassily Dück hails from Siberia and first played a garmoshka, a concertina, when he was five. He studied at the State Conservatory in Novosibirsk and has since developed a repertoire of great stylistic variety, from Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor to Tango Argentino, Jazz Musette and his own compositions. He has appeared in productions at the Theater Willy Praml, the Burgfestspiele Bad Vilbel and the Frankfurt Opera, among others.
Text source and further information about this event: http://www.frankfurter-buergerstiftung.de/node/2487
