The first interim use of the site for the concert hall in the Werksviertel has been decided: Circus Roncalli will pitch its tent on the site from October 14th to November 12th. In order to forestall any speculation, Minister of Art Markus Blume made it clear immediately after the announcement that the concept of interim use meant “no rejection of the concert hall”.
“Planning for this is continuing unabated,” said Blume. “As soon as these have been completed, we will assess the situation as part of the cultural agenda for all of Bavaria and make a decision on further steps.” More than 200 people from various trades are currently working on the design for the concert hall in Munich. This and the cost calculation based on it should be completed in the course of 2023. In the midst of the pandemic, Prime Minister Markus Söder ordered the ambitious project to take a “pause for thought”.
“Extremely pleased” was the head of the circus, Bernhard Paul, about this solution, which was suggested by the delicatessen retailer Michael Käfer, the son of his deceased friend Gerd Käfer. For the circus people, it ends the “perpetual search for a hostel in Munich,” as Paul said at a press conference this Monday. The same cannot be said for many musicians who are still counting on the building of the Konzerthaus.
With the 2023 Roncalli tour entitled “All for Art for All”, the circus is returning to Munich for the first time in four years: “The older ones may still remember that we played for a long time in an open space that was popularly known as ‘Roncalli’ Platz’ and later occupied by the Pinakothek der Moderne,” said Paul. “Where we were, art is created afterwards,” he adds confidently. And that might be a good omen for the concert hall.