Düssel­dorfer Reden 2025

In the organizer's words:

The series on the big issues of our time - Schauspielhaus, Großes Haus

In 2017, the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus joined forces with the Rheinische Post to establish the Düsseldorfer Reden series as a forum for important contemporary issues. Since then, personalities from the worlds of art, science, society and politics have always been invited to share their thoughts on a wide range of socio-political issues with the audience in one-hour speeches in the first half of the year. Today, we feel surrounded by crises, each more pressing than the last. The war in Ukraine, the Middle East conflict, energy, climate change, the shift to the right ... The boundaries seem to be drawn ever more sharply and the willingness to differentiate seems to be dwindling. It is therefore high time to think and listen.

Igor Levit's speech will kick things off on February 2. He will be followed this year by the philosopher and author Svenja Flaßpöhler. On April 27 , the series will continue with the writer Saša Stanišić, followed by the sociologist Aladin El-Mafaalani on June 15 .

Igor Levit in conversation with Armin Laschet

on February 2 at 11 a.m. - Schauspielhaus, Großes Haus

Düsseldorf speeches open in a special format.

He is known worldwide as a pianist and is considered one of the best of our time. But Igor Levit says of himself: "I don't just want to be the man who presses the keys." And so his work goes far beyond music: he raises his voice against racism, anti-Semitism and all forms of misanthropy. He is committed to climate protection and stands up for democracy, often using artistic means. However, the terrorist act by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and its consequences, the current world situation, the climate of widespread uncertainty, the helplessness and aggression of these days have left Igor Levit in a kind of speechlessness. It seems impossible for him to give a normal speech under all these impressions. Nevertheless, he feels the need to enter into a public conversation on the Düsseldorf stage in order to overcome this uncertainty together and in dialog - and to describe a common perspective. He wanted Armin Laschet as a discussion partner, and the former Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia immediately agreed. The Düsseldorf Speeches will thus begin the year with an unusual but exciting and important dialog on the major issues of our time.

Svenja Flaßpöhler (philosopher and journalist) - "Staying together - How conflict creates connection"

on March 9 at 11 a.m. - Schauspielhaus, large house

In 2017, the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus joined forces with the Rheinische Post to establish the Düsseldorfer Reden series as a forum for important contemporary issues. Since then, personalities from the worlds of art, science, society and politics have always been invited to share their thoughts on a wide range of socio-political issues with the audience in one-hour speeches in the first half of the year. Today, we feel surrounded by crises, each more pressing than the last. The war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East, energy, climate change, the shift to the right ... The boundaries seem to be drawn ever more sharply and the willingness to differentiate seems to be dwindling. It is therefore high time to think and listen.

Following the opening of the series by Igor Levit and Armin Laschet in February, Svenja Flaßpöhler, philosopher and editor-in-chief of "Philosophie Magazin", will be our guest on March 9. The journalist and author has been publishing on philosophical, literary and social topics for many years. As a presenter, she has hosted her own programs on 3sat ("Buchzeit") and Deutschlandfunk Kultur ("Sein und Streit") and was co-founder of
of "Philo.live! The Philosophy Festival in Berlin".

Her pamphlet "Die potente Frau. For a new femininity" became a bestseller. She is a regular guest on television and takes part in public debate.

Her most recent book "Streiten" (Arguing) was published, in which she reflects on the culture of debate and the productivity of arguing as a differentiation from the much-invoked discourse. She will refer to this approach when she speaks in Düsseldorf under the title "Zusammenbleiben - Wie Streit stiftet Verbindung".