The Honest Eye: Camille Pissarro's Impressionism is a captivating exhibition that traces how Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) helped shape the beginnings of Impressionism. Throughout his life, he remained receptive to emerging artistic movements, continually evolving his distinctive vision of landscapes, cities, and people in an era of profound change. This spirit of innovation also resonated in music, where the transitional period between Romanticism and the dawn of the 20th century ushered in powerful new impulses and transformations.

The concert on June 20 at the Museum Barberini reflects these artistic developments through a selection of representative works. Music by the little-known composers Friedrich Kiel and Louise Farrenc captures the introspective world of Romanticism, where emotions are conveyed not only through melody but also through a richly expressive atmosphere. Gabriel Fauré’s compositions embody musical Impressionism, in which melodies interact fluidly with color and texture. In César Franck’s celebrated Violin Sonata, listeners can experience a musical game of illusions: themes are continuously revisited and reinterpreted, echoing Camille Pissarro’s focused yet ever-shifting artistic gaze.

The KlangFarben concert series thrives on spontaneity. Musicians from the Kammerakademie Potsdam engage in a direct dialogue with the artworks on view. Clemens Goldberg, music journalist and presenter for rbb, and Ortrud Westheider, director of the Museum Barberini, bring together art and music as they explore the stories behind the compositions—a true experiment in interdisciplinary performance.

KlangFarben
Bridging to Modernism – Avant-Gardes in Art and Music
June 20, 2025, Museum Barberini
Tickets: €29

Featuring:

Clemens Goldberg, rbbkultur music journalist and critic
Ortrud Westheider, Director, Museum Barberini, Potsdam
Peter Rainer, violin
Alma-Sophie Starke, cello
Guillaume Durand Piketty, piano
In cooperation with the Kammerakademie Potsdam