LUXEMBOURG (Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg)
A fews indications
Located at the intersection of the Roman and Germanic worlds, as of the outset an enthusiastic participant in the drive for building Europe, Luxembourg has made its diversity one of the bases of its cultural policy. This multilingual country (three official languages: Luxembourgeois, French and German), its geographical location and its demographic situation (almost 40 % resident foreigners) have led it to use these advantages so as to become a determined artisan of intercultural dialogue and to follow an avant-garde cultural policy, in all fields of activity, symbolized by the organization in twelve years of two European cultural capitals (in 1995 and in 2007). In the capital, the preservation and renovation of the heritage (fortified districts appearing on the Unesco World Heritage list, transformation of the old prison, originally a Benedictine abbey, into a Cultural Center for meetings, the Abbey of Neumünster, dedicated to cultural dialogue, renovation of the old city…), are found side by side with the construction of new tools serving artistic dissemination and creation (the Grand-Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art, also called Mudam Luxembourg, designed by Leoh Ming Pei, or the Philharmonie designed by architect Christian de Portzamparc…). The visual arts have some prestigious exhibition areas, dedicated both to contemporary creation, the vitality of which was rewarded by the award of the 5Oth Gold Lion at the Venice Biennial 2003 to Luxembourg artist Su-Mei Tse, (Musée Grand-Duc Jean, Casino Forum d’art contemporain), and to presentation of the heritage (fine arts, archeology, proto- and pre-history at the National Museum of History and Art). The Philharmonic Orchestra of Luxembourg, directed by Frenchman Emmanuel Krivine, groups leading musicians of various nationalities, in the service of a repertoire assigning an important position to contemporary music. Luxembourg’s surprising multilingualism also characterizes the literary field, the heir of some classic authors, such as Michel Rodange (1827-1876), famous above all for his adaptation of the Roman de Renard into Luxembourgeois, and the very impertinent «Renert ».
Organization of cultural policies
Ministry of Culture, Higher Education and Research
20 Montée de la Pétrusse
L-2912 Luxembourg
Tel.: +352 2478 6624
Fax: +352 29 21 86
www.mcesr.public.lu
EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE COUNTRY
Franco-Luxembourgeois Tandem
20 October in Paris, Salle Pleyel
Concert
Philharmonic Ochestra of Luxembourg
Directed by: Emmanuel Krivine
Piano: Aldo Ciccolini
19th an d 20th century music
Liszt, Ravel, Debussy, Saint-Saëns
And also...
17 July in Val d’Ajol
18 July in Granges-sur-Vologne
Concert by the Robert Schuman choir
A choir of 40 cross-border young people aged 16 to 26, coming from four border countries – Germany/Saarland-Rheinland, France/Lorraine, Luxembourg, Belgium/Wallonia-Brussels – and selected in each country or region by the partners of the European Institute for Choral Singing in Luxembourg.
13 October in Paris, Delégation générale de la communauté française et de la région Wallonne de Belgique.
Concert by André Mergenthaler, cellist
A mixture of classics revisited and personal creations.
July- August in Forcalquier, Gap and Saint-Etienne-les-Orgues
Robert Brandy 2008
Exhibitions by Luxembourgeois painter Robert Brandy and meetings between the artist and internationally-known writers, coming in particular from Luxembourg. The latter will be asked by Robert Brandy to produce an unpublished text, intended for collective publication, illustrated by the artist and published on the occasion of the summer 2008 exhibition.
18 November in Paris, Fondation Biermans-Lapôtre
Cinema
A showing of short films by Luxembourg directors from the series of 12 short films made in Luxembourg.
- Updated: 19.06.2008
