Chord of Light. Andreas Herzau photographs the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra

To photograph something you cannot see!

Andreas Herzau took on this challenge when he accepted an invitation in 2014 to photograph the anniversary book for the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra's 70th anniversary. Since then, Andreas Herzau (1962 – 2024) accompanied the orchestra with his camera during rehearsals, concerts, and travels around the world.

The result is a multifaceted portrait of the internationally renowned orchestra. Herzau's photographs are as promising as a preludio and as dramatic as a finale, as passionate as an appassionato and as calm as an adagio, as silent as a tacet and as conversational as a parlando, sometimes as amusing as a scherzando and as cheerful as an allegro. In their expressive diversity, they celebrate music as much as photography.

This collaboration is now being honored for the first time in an extensive exhibition. An overview of the history of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, complements the exhibition at Villa Dessauer in Bamberg.

In his role as 'court photographer' to the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Andreas Herzau succeeded in "transferring the soul of music into the soul of photography." As a photojournalist, he had always been keen to expand the possibilities of classic reportage photography. He was not interested in the supposedly objective document, but rather in a subjective, but precise form of seeing and representation. This attitude shapes his unmistakable visual language: extreme cropping, steep perspectives, graphically condensed black-and-white compositions, striking color, and the deliberate play with omissions, with depth of field and motion blur characterize his photographs. Consequently, they are far more than a visual translation of the musical event. They document and interpret simultaneously, abstract and open new perspectives on the orchestra and its work.

In four photo books, Herzau shows the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in their hometown and on tours through Europe and Asia. After the anniversary book designed together with the poet Nora Gomringer in 2016, three "Bamberg Diaries" capture the everyday life of the musicians almost like a diary: their travels, the concert halls, the different cityscapes, and, of course, the concert performances.

Lichtakkord is an exhibition by the Museums of the City of Bamberg and the F.C. Gundlach Foundation, which preserves the archive of the photographer who passed away in 2024. In cooperation with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the International Artists' House Villa Concordia in Bamberg, where a selection of Herzau's Symphony Orchestra photos will also be shown from December 15, 2026, to January 24, 2027.

Significantly involved in the concept and design of the exhibition: Eleonora Cagol, Martin Habermeyer, and Fabian Ludovico for the Museums of the City of Bamberg; Sebastian Lux and Pascal Pakos for the F.C. Gundlach Foundation; Steffen Härtel-Klopprogge and Ilka Jacobus for studio m2m3.

The cooperation partners are also planning an extensive supporting program throughout the exhibition period.

The exhibition opening will take place on October 1, 2026, at 7:00 PM.

Villa Dessauer
Museums of the City of Bamberg
Hainstraße 4a, 96047 Bamberg
museum@stadt.bamberg.de
www.museum.bamberg.de
Tue–Sun & public holidays 11 AM–6 PM