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In Johann Sebastian Bach's repertoire, there are glorious cantatas with timpani and trumpets, as well as more emotional pieces that touch the heart. To find out which are the most beloved cantatas of the global Bach community, the Leipzig Bach Festival conducted a large-scale poll. The top 50 of this "Bach hit parade" will be performed by renowned ensembles at this year's Bach Festival, from June 11–21.  The Bach top 50 hit parade More than 7,000 Bach fans from 20 countries voted for their favorites from Johann Sebastian Bach's liturgical cantatas. Just like in the Eurovision Song Contest, they were able to award points: 12 points for their first choice, 10 for second place and so on. However, the final ranking will not be revealed until each concert. Artistic director Michael Maul only...

In Johann Sebastian Bach's repertoire, there are glorious cantatas with timpani and trumpets, as well as more emotional pieces that touch the heart. To find out which are the most beloved cantatas of the global Bach community, the Leipzig Bach Festival conducted a large-scale poll. The top 50 of this "Bach hit parade" will be performed by renowned ensembles at this year's Bach Festival, from June 11–21.  The Bach top 50 hit parade More than 7,000 Bach fans from 20 countries voted for their favorites from Johann Sebastian Bach's liturgical cantatas. Just like in the Eurovision Song Contest, they were able to award points: 12 points for their first choice, 10 for second place and so on. However, the final ranking will not be revealed until each concert. Artistic director Michael Maul only...

Their reputation among the ancient Greeks wasn't exactly the best: The Amazons were regarded as ruthless and fearless warriors who rode into battle on horseback armed with bows and arrows. They wore pants, sported tattoos and got high on drugs during orgies — or so the story went.  In short: "The Greeks were shocked because the ancient Greeks had a paternalistic society, dominated by men," US historian Adrienne Mayor tells DW. "Women were kept in the home, weaving and taking care of children." A society where women had equal rights would've been hard for the patriarchy to process. That's why the Amazons were demonized by claims that they enslaved men and murdered male offspring. But the Greeks also held them in great fascination, immortalizing the warrior women in statues, murals and on ...

A Tehran Revolutionary Court has fully upheld an in-absentia verdict against prominent Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, which sentences him to one year in prison on the charge of engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as a two-year travel ban. Panahi is also prohibited from joining political and social groups and associations, Panahi's lawyer Mostafa Nili told Iranian media outlet Emtedad on Sunday. The grounds cited for the verdict include making an "underground and problematic film against the establishment," supporting political prisoners and backing popular protests against the government, including the "Woman, Life, Freedom" demonstrations. The initial court ruling against Panahi had been issued while he was abroad, promoting his film "A Simple Accident"...

In "Backrooms," Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a failed architect who runs a dreary discount furniture-store, drinking himself to sleep in his shop, depressed by his divorce. One day, he discovers a portal to a mysterious labyrinth of corridors with no apparent end. His therapist, Mary, is played by "Sentimental Value" star Renate Reinsve. She also ends up in the creepy hallways, all while dealing with her own haunting childhood memories. Best known for Cannes hits, Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve is now in the global spotlightImage: A24/AP Photo/picture allianceAt only 20 years old, director Kane Parsons has now become the youngest filmmaker in history to top the US box office with the movie produced by independent studio A24. On its opening weekend alone, the film with a production budg...

The Wim Wenders Foundation announced on Wednesday that the 1975 film "Falsche Bewegung" ("The Wrong Move"), at the center of a headline-grabbing dispute between the German filmmaker and actress Nastassja Kinski, is being withdrawn from circulation for the time being. Kinski has been trying for years to get filmmaker Wim Wenders to remove a scene from the movie. In the brief scene, her co-star Rüdiger Vogler (then over 30 years old) visits the 13-year-old in her bedroom, where she is lying on a bed wearing only panties. The man undresses down to his underwear and lies on top of her; he slaps her and then caresses her face. "Although I didn't know much at the age of 13, I could already tell that it wasn't right," the German actress recently told the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung newsp...

Good news about the state of the planet might seem to be in short supply, but it's out there. Each week, DW's environment desk brings you what went right.

Since the beginning of June, everything quiets down in German Ikea stores on Wednesdays between 5 and 7 p.m. — with no music to be heard, dimmer lights and no announcements over the PA system (except in the case of an emergency). All in all, customers and staff are experiencing less of a strain on their senses — and that's the whole idea behind the Quiet Hour. The concept stems from an initiative by the German association Gemeinsam Zusammen (Together Together). "We want the Quiet Hour to provide relief for people with invisible disabilities. Their nervous systems are often permanently overwhelmed, which is why we'd like to provide them with moments of relief, with low sensory stimulation," Rebecca Lefevre, the association's spokesperson, told DW. The Quiet Hour is meant to break down the...