Danae Dörken

»Music and the arts – they are a level where you can begin to imagine a positive path for the future and draw hope and strenght from.« - Danae Dörken

A pictoresque Tiny House in the countryside, just east of Bonn. It belongs to Steven Walter, the artistic director of the Beethovenfest. 

Together with co-presenter Coco Elane, he invited five musicians who will be performing at this year's Beethovenfest, to the idyllic little house for personal conversations, cooking together – and of course exclusive intimate concerts, accompanied by a camera crew.

The first guest is German-Greek pianist Danae Dörken. She talks about her favourite pieces of music, her own festival, her artistic career, stage fright and much more. She plays the Prélude No. 1 by Manolis Kalomiris, who is introduced with a wink as »world-famous in Greece«, the dreamy Intermezzo op. 118, No. 2 by Johannes Brahms resounds between chopping board and salad bowl. Finally, Danae Dörken shows her artistic passion once again with the »Fire Dance« by Manuel de Falla.

For the culinary enjoyments of the evening, Danae Dörken brought olive oil from Molyvos, her home village on the Greek island of Lesbos. While slicing cucumbers for a greek salad, she talks about her festival for classical music, which she founded together with her sister Kiveli on her home island in 2015 – in the »epicentre of the refugee crisis«, as Steven Walter notes.

Danae Dörken explains why it is important, especially in existential crises in life, to create a »positive counter-force« through the arts – and what moving scenes have thus resulted from the festival. The complete conversation is available in the ARD Mediathek.

Danae Dörken's intense personal and musical experiences across Germany and Greece make her an inspiring musical personality. At this year's Beethovenfest she will be heard in a solo recital and in concert with the BREEZE wind quintet.

The Tiny House Concerts series was created by ARD Kultur, Deutsche Welle and Beethovenfest Bonn.