We Asked: Space to Grow

A cultural hub

I first came across the Gasteig as a young girl, when I was about 13, when I started singing in my mother’s choir. That was the Viva Voce choir of the Städtische Sing- und Musikschule. That’s still what it’s called today, even though my mother has since retired.

We rehearsed at the Gasteig on the first floor in Room 1.118 – a beautiful room that I still love to this day. The Gasteig has become a really important place for me: Even as a teenager, I spent a great deal of time there with the students of what was then the Richard Strauss Conservatoire (now the University of Music and Theatre Munich). I had lots of friends there, and there was a coffee machine on the second floor. That’s where you met people between rehearsals and could find out what was going on and who was playing where. The students were milling about there, and you could overhear some interesting conversations. For example, you’d hear exciting announcements about jam sessions. In the days before social media, word of mouth was still very important.

Later on, I went on to study jazz double bass at the Richard Strauss Conservatoire for two and a half years. The Gasteig has shaped me and been a constant presence in my life. I’ve since had the opportunity to visit this place on many other occasions, to rehearse there or to make recordings. For example, with my bandmate Simon Popp, who had a studio at Fat Cat, or with my stepbrother Nick McCarthy, with whom I also recorded my new album, which is coming out this autumn.

I was particularly delighted to have had the opportunity to play a concert at the Gasteig HP8 to mark the Gasteig’s 40th anniversary. Everything came together so beautifully that night. My mother was there too, and she was delighted to see how all these connections had once again come together in one room. It’s wonderful that this connection has also grown to the new Gasteig site, and I’m looking forward to many more projects.

Polina Lapkovskaja, or Polly, is a musician, performance artist, composer, theatre director and music producer from Munich. She is known as the lead singer of the band Pollyester.

The key(s) to a career

At the age of 13, I began a junior programme at the conservatoire, which I continued as a Bachelor’s degree after completing my school-leaving exams. On my first day as a percussion student, I was given a large bunch of keys to all the rooms at the Gasteig, which from then on became my second home. It was an incredibly formative time. Most days after school, I would meet my granny at the station. We’d swap my school bag for a rucksack with drum sticks, and then I’d travel to Haidhausen five days a week for practice.

For years, I spent up to twelve hours a day at the Gasteig. For me, it was the ideal place to grow up as an artist. I knew everything and everyone there – from the porter to the cleaner. You’d bump into world-famous stars in the corridors or in the café, and I often sat in on rehearsals with the Philharmonic. I have always found the atmosphere at the Gasteig incredibly inspiring: a colony of artists and cultural figures, complete with a library, right here in the city.

It’s the people who make a place what it is, so the move to the Gasteig HP8 hasn’t changed that. I owe a great deal to the Gasteig – not least my percussion group: we now perform all over the world, but we first met at the Gasteig. Fortunately, the Gasteig seems to have a special hold over me: my very first solo concert, when I was 15, took place there, and this year I was also able to complete my concert exam –Excellence in Performance – there.

Christian Benning is a multi-percussionist. He performs worldwide as a soloist and with the Christian Benning Percussion Group.

A loving companion

I started my studies at the Gasteig in Haidhausen in 2018. The first few years were the most exciting, but the university’s move to Sendling, to the Gasteig HP8, was also absolutely thrilling for us students. The move didn’t change our sense of community, because we were still a family and continued to bump into each other in the corridors. Every room has its own magic, and the Gasteig has managed to bring its own magic to the HP8 as well. That’s down to the staff, of course, but also to its underlying philosophy: we create art and culture and offer the people of this city a place where they can hang out. You could say that the Gasteig is like a grandfather who walks alongside you, always watching over you from above and taking you along with him.

Every step in my career began at the Gasteig. I’ve performed on every stage there – from the small concert hall in the old Gasteig, where I gave my first school concerts, to the Isarphilharmonie in Sendling. I performed there with Sportfreunde Stiller in 2022 – that’s been my biggest gig so far as a musician. That moment on stage at the sold-out Isarphilharmonie remains etched in my mind like a photo: playing the “Sportis”’ hit Ein Kompliment, and the hall goes wild – even though the audience there normally sits. It was a party and a great moment with the crew as well – just brilliant.

Laura Glauber is a vocal coach and singer with the band Lauraine. Accessibility and inclusion are fundamental aspects of Laura’s life; she has worn an orthosis since she was a child.