Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe: Your German Culture Briefing - Liszt at Carnegie Hall, Films, Books and a Solo Faust

Your morning briefing for German culture lovers in New York: October is packed. The German Consulate General New York has put together a fall lineup that runs the gamut from a solo piano night at Carnegie Hall to film premieres, book talks, a one-man Faust, and a new art exhibition. Here is what you need to know this week and the dates to put in your calendar.

A Night of Liszt at Carnegie Hall

The standout on the calendar is Transcendante: Boris Cepeda, piano, coming to Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th St) on October 15 at 7:30 PM. Cepeda, a German-Ecuadorian Steinway Artist who first played Carnegie Hall in 2022, takes on an all-Liszt program – and it is a big one. Expect La Campanella, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, Mazeppa, and the Rhapsodie espagnole, alongside Liszt transcriptions of Schubert and Wagner, closing with Isoldens Liebestod. The evening is presented by the European Piano Academy of Atlanta. If you love virtuoso piano, this is the ticket to get.

Films and Theater Worth Your Evening

Start with KINO! Film Salon on October 11 – a free monthly online discussion group about German film, produced by Telescope Film and the German Film Office. A low-key way to get into German cinema from your living room.

For something on the big screen, the 14th Annual Chelsea Film Festival runs October 14-18, and on October 16 it hosts the East Coast premiere of TENEZ as part of Program #3: Who Are We? The film follows Leo, a young tennis player who has to face his former abusive coach before a big match – and spirals between the court and gambling halls along the way.

Theater fans get two picks. Berlin Exile(s) is a workshop performance running October 16-17, a new play built from the writings and music of German artists who lived through displacement. Then on October 31, the United Solo Festival at Theatre Row presents Faust – Parts I and II: Austrian actor Max Pfnür performs every role himself, in German with English subtitles. His one-man Faust won the jury prize at the Heidelberg Theatre Awards – a rare chance to see it in New York.

Festival Neue Literatur: Two Evenings of Books

The Festival Neue Literatur brings two literary nights to close out the month. On October 26, “Intimate Thresholds: Identity and Longing” pairs Laura Vogt and Nicole Krauss in conversation about their novels Woman, Idle and To Be a Man, moderated by Tess Lewis.

On October 27, “Guests and Ghosts” brings together Michael Lentz, Tanja Paar, Laura Vogt, and Jonas Hassen Khemiri, moderated by Alta Price. That same evening the 2026 Friedrich Ulfers Prize goes to Peter Wortsman, with a laudation by Priska Juschka. A strong night for anyone who follows contemporary German-language writing.

An Art Exhibition Worth a Visit

If you have a free afternoon, stop by Tammam Azzam: A Horizon Remains, on view from September 13 through December 6. It is the first solo New York show and the first institutional presentation in the United States for the Syrian-German artist – a good reason to make time for it before it closes.

Bottom line for this week: film on the 11th, piano on the 15th, film festival and theater on the 16th. Book your tickets now and enjoy October.