When can the Light Accord exhibition be seen?

The exhibition can be seen from October 2, 2026, to February 28, 2027, at the Villa Dessauer in Bamberg.

What are the opening hours?

The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays from 11 AM to 6 PM.

How much does admission cost?

The regular admission price is €6, and the reduced admission price is €3. Children and youth up to and including 18 years have free admission.

Where is the exhibition taking place?

The exhibition takes place at the city gallery Bamberg – Villa Dessauer, Hainstraße 4a, 96047 Bamberg.

Is the Villa Dessauer accessible for people with disabilities?

According to the visitor information of the museums of the city of Bamberg, the Villa Dessauer is not accessible for people with disabilities.

Are there guided tours or events?

During the exhibition period, a comprehensive accompanying program is planned. Individual guided tours and dates will be published by the participating cultural institutions.

Light Accord: How Andreas Herzau Makes the Sound of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra Visible

Name: Light Accord. Andreas Herzau Photographs the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
Start: 2026-10-02T10:00:00+02:00
End: 2027-02-28T18:00:00+01:00
Location: Stadtgalerie Bamberg – Villa Dessauer

When Music Becomes Visible: Andreas Herzau and the Photographic Sound of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra

The exhibition Light Accord. Andreas Herzau Photographs the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra transforms the city gallery Villa Dessauer into a resonance space for photography, music, and memory. From October 2, 2026, to February 28, 2027, visitors will encounter the internationally renowned orchestra through the distinctive imagery of the photographer Andreas Herzau, who passed away in 2024.

Photography Between Precision and Movement

Andreas Herzau photographed the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra over several years during rehearsals, concerts, and international tours. His images document not only the daily life of an orchestra but also translate musical dynamics into visual rhythms. Extreme framing, steep perspectives, graphically condensed black-and-white compositions, as well as vivid colors characterize an imagery that expands and consciously transcends classical reportage photography.

The play with sharpness and blur, movement, and stillness offers an aesthetic experience beyond mere representation. Herzau portrays instruments, bodies, spaces, and gestures as fragments of a larger sound event. This creates an artistic experience that dissolves the boundaries between photographic art, music history, and visual interpretation.

The Soul of Music in the Image

In 2014, Andreas Herzau accepted the invitation of the poet Nora Gomringer to photograph the anniversary volume celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. This collaboration developed into a long-term artistic relationship. In three so-called Bamberg Diaries, Herzau captured the travels, concert halls, international cityscapes, the musicians, and their concert performances.

His photographic approach did not aim for a supposedly objective document. Herzau sought a subjective yet precise form of seeing. His photographs resonate like a prelude, a dramatic finale, a tranquil adagio, or a surprising scherzando. The examination of the works makes visible how closely photographic composition and musical structure can be connected.

80 Years of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and a Complete Photographic Work

The exhibition comprehensively honors Herzau's collaboration with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra for the first time. At the same time, it looks at the 80-year history of the orchestra and presents selected examples from the artist's broad photographic oeuvre. Around 200 images connect reportage, art photography, and cultural documentation.

The curation of the museums of the city of Bamberg was developed in cooperation with the F.C. Gundlach Foundation, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, and the International Artist House Villa Concordia. Thus, Light Accord connects the history of a significant orchestra with the archive and artistic aftermath of a photographer who sought not to illustrate music but to make its atmosphere tangible.

Exhibition Atmosphere in the Villa Dessauer

In the rooms of the Villa Dessauer, a concentrated exhibition atmosphere unfolds between light, surface, and movement. Color photographs set bright accents, while black-and-white photographs direct the gaze to contrasts, body postures, and architectural structures. The changing perspectives lead from the stage behind the scenes and from Bamberg into international concert landscapes.

The exhibition is suitable for a deep exploration of the works as well as for an initial approach to photographic art. It offers cultural education about the working methods of an orchestra, about photographic image strategies, and about how an invisible phenomenon like music can be transformed into a visual form.

Conclusion: An Artistic Experience Between Sound and Image

Light Accord makes the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra visible as a working, traveling, and making-music organism. Andreas Herzau's photographs open new perspectives on concerts, rehearsals, movement, and collective concentration. Anyone who wishes to experience photography, music history, and contemporary exhibition culture with all senses should not miss this special presentation in the Villa Dessauer.