Kap Arkona

In his composition "Kap Arkona" Alfred Bösendorfer paints a colourful picture of Germany's "North Cape" on the island of Rügen. It illustrates the beauty of the white chalk cliffs, green avenues, thatched fishermen's houses and romantic harbours. It invites you to a musical excursion into the varied history of Germany's largest island.

In the majestic introduction a sailing ship glides gracefully on the sea in front of the cape. In the next section - Allegro vivo - the composer introduces the so-called Störtebecker episode. It recalls one of the most dazzling figures of the Middle Ages: Klaus Störtebecker was admitted to the pirate community off Cape Arkona and later became one of the most notorious pirates of the Baltic Sea. The following Misterioso part shows another face of the Baltic Sea - dark and strange. The following slow section refers back far into this history of the Cape: to the legendary Slavic temple castle on Cape Arkona, the sanctuary of the god Svantevid. Finally, the composer takes up the pirate episode again and leads "Kap Arkona" to a lively finale.