Hagen Rether

Hagen Rether (born October 8 1969 in Bucharest) is a German cabaret artist. The most remarkable features in his performance are usually the presence and use of a grand piano and his carrying a baseball club (in the German context it is less related to sports than to street violence) while entering stage, than puts it onto the piano before laying off his dinner jackett. Then a red armband can be seen, featuring the black symbol of the German public employment agency within a white circle.

This seems to be an intented allusion to the Nazi's swastika armband, thus alluding to Edmund Stoiber, former minister-president of Bavaria and leader of the conservative CSU, who in one speech referred to unemployed East Germans as voters of the neo-Nazi party NPD.

Among the topics Hagen Rether relates to are not only federal, state and international politics, but also religion, media, consumerism and globalization.

Biography

Hagen Rether spent his child years in Bucharest, Romania and in Sibiu, being the son of German-origin Siebenbürgen-based parents [http://www.siebenbuerger.de/zeitung/artikel/interviews/6435-hagen-rether.html] . In 1973, his family relocated to Germany moving to Freiburg. As he playes the piano since eight years of age, Rether studied at Folkwang_Academy in the city of Essen, where he still lives today (2008).

Before going on tour with his stand-alone show, he used to be the pianist in Ludger Stratmann's show as well as in cooperation with other artists. Since 2003 he is giving his show "Liebe" (en.: Love), which he constantly refreshes and varies according to contemporary necessities surrounding each single performance.

His show is predominantly political in topic. Sometimes he begins by eating a cup of yoghurt and constantly interrupts his talk performance by music; over large sections of the show he also accompanies his talk by playing the piano, adopting song selection, temper and speed of what he plays to the topic he is about to cover.

Important targets for his satires and biting ironies are, among many others, the Catholic Church, George W. Bush as well as German artists of public renown like Günther Grass, whom he criticizes for not admitting until August 2006 that he had actually been member of the Waffen-SS while still receiving a Nobel Prize for (as Rether implies) bad writing, and furthermore German pop singer Herbert Grönemeyer for commercially exploiting his own wife's death in his songs.

Also parody has a role to play in his work, as he targets people from history and current political and medial proceedings for his satires (e.g. Jürgen Rüttgers).

Awards

* 2003
** Fohlen von Niedersachsen (en., approximately: The Lower Saxony Colt awarded by TAK Hannover
** Tegtmeiers Erben (an award in memory of a local North-Rhine-Westphalia-based persona by German comedian and cabaret artist Jürgen von Manger)

* 2004
** Stuttgarter Besen in "Gold"
** Prix Pantheon - Jurypreis "Frühreif & Verdorben" (award shared with Serdar Somuncu)
** Paulaner Solo
** Tollwood-Festival München - "Kleinkunstpreis"
** Passauer Scharfrichterbeil
** Zeck-Kabarettpreis - Newcomer award "Fresh Zeck"

* 2005
** Bavarian Cabaret Prize "Senkrechtstarter" (en. approximately: High-flyer)
** Deutscher Kleinkunstpreis "Förderpreis der Stadt Mainz"
** Goldener Spaten "Senkrechtstarter" [Spaten-Brauerei: [http://www.spaten.de/3_produkte_markenwelt/3_2_sponsoring/3_2_1_goldener_spaten/index.htm "Hagen Rether (Kabarett-Senkrechtstarter)"] ]
** Sprungbrett (Förderpreis des Handelsblattes)
*2008
** Deutscher Kleinkunstpreis in der Kategorie "Kabarett"

Discography

* 2005: "Liebe" ISBN 3866041624
* 2007: "3. Politischer Aschermittwoch 2007" ISBN 393126565X
* 2007: "Liebe Zwei" ISBN 3866047118

External Links

* [http://www.hagen-rether.de Homepage von Hagen Rether]
* [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseballschl%C3%A4ger#Waffe on the meaning of the Baseball Bat in German Culture (German)]

References

Personendaten
NAME=Rether, Hagen
ALTERNATIVNAMEN=
KURZBESCHREIBUNG=deutscher Kabarettist
GEBURTSDATUM=8. Oktober 1969
GEBURTSORT=Bukarest
STERBEDATUM=
STERBEORT=