Die Damen und Herren Daffke

In the artist's words:

From Daffke!

Four voices and a piano, that's "Die Damen und Herren Daffke". They tell stories about life. Sometimes loudly, sometimes quietly, always with heart and soul and sometimes with a drop of rum.

Since 2014, Friederike Kühl, Franziska Hiller, Kurt Kuhfeld, Markus Paul and Ilan Bendahan Bitton (piano) have been hauntingly interpreting the songs of Jewish and ostracized composers. They balance artfully at the interface of political song, operetta kitsch and movie hits and bring the musical melting pot of the 1920s to the boil once again. For the audience, the bubbling becomes audible and the ambivalence of the Weimar Republic almost palpable.

In summer 2021, the Daffkes had another crazy idea: with a lot of support, they converted a GDR van into a traveling stage with the aim of bringing the magic of the stage to every corner of the meadow. The audience simply provides their own seating. This is how the folding chair concerts came about. Because one thing is certain: music doesn't need large halls, just a place where people can come together.

Guest performances have taken "Die Damen und Herren Daffke" to the Kurt Weill Fest Dessau, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival, the Brandenburg Summer Concerts and the Volksbühne Berlin, among others.

"Die Damen und Herren Daffke" are winners of the "carte blanche" concert series at the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm. They have received funding from the Landmusik initiative and Neustart Kultur. Since 2022, the ensemble has performed regularly as part of the cultural program of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.