Opening of the special exhibition

On 21 April 2026

Using modern media to present art and culture - this is the challenge the Schickling Foundation in Ottobeuren is taking on. As part of the special exhibition "Auch der Gesang kaum darf es enthüllen", which deals with "Musical relationships in the work of Erich Schickling", video films and sound recordings can also be seen. So Schickling's world of images can now be approached on several levels. An example? "Death and the Maiden" can be viewed not only in four reverse glass paintings, but also as a film recording of a concert in which the Malion-Quartett performed Schubert's work of the same name at the Foundation in 2025. For some works, background information can be called up via QR code.

King David with the harp is another subject that Schickling often took up. An exhibition room of its own is devoted to him, in which the video "David und die Musik" can also be heard and seen. It refers to a performance in 2025 in which Prof. Maria Stange (harp) explored Robert Schumann's circle of the "Davidsbündler", to whom he also dedicated the "Davidsbündlertänze".

Prof. Stange also let her harp sound at the opening of the exhibition. Beginning with the Sarabande from Bach's lute suite BWV 996, which seemed "grand" on the harp, sonorous and lofty. The duo with a transverse flute that had actually been planned had to be cancelled; instead, the recorder of Andreas Kammenos sounded together with the harp. First in the work "Syrinx", which Claude Debussy dedicated to the encounter of the god Pan with the nymph Syrinx, who escaped him by turning herself into reeds - from which Pan then built the flute named after him. Pan once again inspired the French composer Jules Mouquet (1867 to 1946) to write his duet "Pan et les Oiseaux - Pan und die Vögel".

To connect Pan or other figures of Greek mythology such as Orpheus and Eurydice, Odysseus and the songs of the Sirens with the themes of the Bible, to sound them out for shared archaic motifs of life, that was one of Schickling's central tasks in life. That such timelessly valid work can now also be approached from a new perspective is good news. He is glad to come to this "place of power on the Günz", said Klaus Holetschek, CSU parliamentary group leader in the Bavarian Landtag. Especially in these currently so unsettled times, such places are important, where one can come to rest and turn inwards. "Do not forget the soul!" These words of Father Kneipp are valid more than ever. How important it is to support culture not only in the big cities was emphasised by Petra Beer from Memmingen, who had come on behalf of the district of Swabia. Both elected representatives agreed that the good 30,000 euros of funding from the Kulturfonds Bayern is in good hands here.

Hope for the future of the Foundation also comes from seeing how a network is growing and emerging around Ulrike Meyer that fills this place with life. On this occasion, express thanks were also given to the voluntary helpers, without whom such an exhibition cannot be realised.

The exhibition is open Monday to Friday from 14:00 to 17:00, and on Sunday from 10:00 to 12:00. On Saturdays or at other times it can be visited on request.