Wendelin Bitzan

Wendelin Bitzan

Musician・Researcher・Digital Content Creator

Letter to the Berlin Cultural Administration

Dear Berlin-based musicians and artists!
There are a number of supporting measures for the aid of businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but the group of professional freelancers in culture are not sufficiently captured by these. Many of our colleagues who face existential loss of theirs incomes have already contacted local or federal cultural politicians individually. Yet I am afraid that these efforts will not be adequately appreciated and considered—that’s why I prepared a collective letter to increase the perceptibility of our concerns and matters. I will send it to Klaus Lederer, the Berlin Senator of Cultural Affairs, on April 24, 2020. You are welcome to support the inquiries and sign the letter. Please also spread and share the link!

Sign the letter to the Berlin cultural administration

Freelance artists are systemically relevant.

Cancellation Compensation

If life wasn’t such an unpredictable affair, I would have been performing two Medtner sonatas tonight in a lecture recital at Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, together with my dear colleague Frank Zabel who would have played Scriabin. Goodness, was I looking forward to this event, and still regret that it had to be cancelled. As a little compensation I edited my recording from a private concert in September where I presented the first movement of Medtner‘s Sonata-Ballade, Op. 27. Here it is—I’m confident that the technical and acoustical deficiencies of this document won’t impair the pleasure of listening all too much. Have a wonderful evening!

Medtner: A Muscovite in Berlin

I tried to make productive use of the past days of pandemic lockdown to complete my lengthy study of Nikolai Medtner‘s Berlin period, 1921–24. This fascinating endeavour determined me to delve into a not-so-well-known section of the composer’s biography, and to elaborate on certain facts and details hidden in his correspondence and commemorative literature. For those of you who might be interested, a preprint of the article is available for reading and commenting on the platform academia.edu. Looking forward to your suggestions!

Bridging the Crisis with Social Benefits

Dear fellow freelance artists who are in danger of existential loss of earnings associated with the coronavirus crisis: Please do not rely only on donations, union initiatives, or aid efforts of the government. I recommend that you file an application for German social welfare to secure or augment your income for the short term. Processing a new request will take a few weeks, depending on the work load of your responsible job center. Don’t consider this move a social stigma, but a legitimate claim of resources that you are entitled to obtain as you are suffering from a state of distress caused by governmental measures. I applied for social benefits myself several times—the inevitable paper chase is considerably lower than in a tax return, and you will be granted a financial relief in due course for a period of six months.
The required forms and attachments are available via this website. If you have questions or are in need of advice with your application, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I’ll be happy to help.

Feasting on a Shrift

Just wanted to let you know that my review of the infamous festschrift for Siegfried Mauser has been published in the current issue of Die Musikforschung 73, No. 1 (2020): 65–67. There is no digitised version as far as I am aware—drop me a line if you fancy reading it and do not have access to the journal. #criticbait