Author: admin-andreasrichter

It took us a little while to think about the fitting message for this year’s season’ s greetings. The music world has probably never faced comparable challenges, and we are all painfully aware of how many artists and free structures this crisis quickly became existential for.

Nevertheless, it was good and helpful for us to see how much connection and solidarity can be felt even in difficult times. This makes us confident that all of us who care about music will be able to bring concert life back to life in all its diversity and beauty as soon as this is reliably possible. We lead an intensive dialogue about the development with our artists and ensembles – and it is a great pleasure to see how much energy this conversation holds and how many plans are forged for new, exciting projects.

Although it was a very short concert year, we consider ourselves lucky having seen at least some of our many planned concert projects taking place: The very first meeting between the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Sir Simon Rattle in the Philharmonie Berlin, the anniversary “Leonore” with René Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester, and of course the exciting trip with the Freiburgers to Melbourne – which ended just before the first lock-down in March.

As an agency, we are ready to greet the upcoming changes in the music market with excitement and optimism. Among other things, we used this concert-free time to design new online and offline consultation formats that support artists, ensembles and orchestras in developing sustainable strategies and projects and thus help to shape future concert life.

But before everything can start again, we wish you and you a peaceful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Our office will be closed between 19th December 2020 and 10th January 2021. 

The questioning of traditional forms of performance and the development of alternative ideas – what is required of all artists and promoters in pandemic times has always been raison d’être for the Berlin STEGREIF.orchester. In its projects, the young ensemble allows classical repertoire and current music styles, experimental sound forms and improvisation as well as new room and performance concepts to come together and thus abducts the audience on a turbulent musical adventure tour. From the middle of September the STEGREIF.orchester can finally be experienced live again in Germany and Austria – as always without sheet music and conducting, but with passion, joy of experimentation and a few surprises!

„It has always been a symbol of hope and perseverance in difficult times. Already in the past it was an important concern of the festival to present a positive counterforce in challenging times.” (Danae und Kiveli Dörken)

Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, the Molyvos International Music Festival will take place in summer 2020. The enthusiasm of the two founders Danae and Kiveli Dörken and the enthusiasm of all their fellow campaigners resulted in a concept adapted to the changed framework conditions, which does justice to both the core orientation of the festival as well as the technical requirements and possibilities: under the motto “Synchronicity”, from the 24th July, three top-class concerts in Germany and Greece, live streams and a sophisticated program, including the world premiere of the commissioned work “Moments” by Nickos Harizanos.

The Molyvo concerts (August 17th and 18th) will be streamed live on social media (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram) and broadcast on Greek radio as well as on the Classical: NEXT platform and the Facebook page of the “Rondo” magazine.

July 24th 2020 – Funkhaus des SWR Stuttgart: Works by Schumann, Britten, Truan, Murphy and Theodorakis (Philippe Tondre, oboe / Sebastian Manz, clarinet / Sarah Christian, violin / Maximilian Hornung, cello / Danae Dörken, piano / Kiveli Dörken, Piano)

August 17, 2020 – Molyvos: Works by Haydn, Bartók, Fauré, Mendelssohn, Brahms (Stathis Karapanos, flute / Dionysis Grammenos, clarinet / David Orlowsky, clarinet / Sebastian Manz, clarinet / Jonian Ilias Kadesha, violin / Danae Papamattheou-Matschke, Violin / Vashti Hunter, violoncello / Danae Dörken, piano / Kiveli Dörken, piano)

August 18, 2020 – Molyvos: Works by Haydn, Harizanos, Skalkottas, Beethoven and Debussy (Stathis Karapanos, flute / Dionysis Grammenos, clarinet / David Orlowsky, clarinet / Sebastian Manz, clarinet / Jonian Ilias Kadesha, violin / Danae Papamattheou-Matschke, Violin / Vashti Hunter, violoncello / Danae Dörken, piano / Kiveli Dörken, piano)

Molyvos International Music Festival 2020 Day 1
Molyvos International Music Festival 2020 Day 2

We are happy to welcome some new ensembles to our Special Projects section – despite all the corona-related restrictions. The Compagnia di Punto from Cologne, the Swiss soloist ensemble CHAARTS, the STEGREIF.orchester from Berlin and of course the Kronos Quartet based in San Francisco develop creative ideas to present and rediscover classical music in a surprising, unexpected way. Whether it is the arrangement, the concert format or the music itself that is reinvented through improvisation – these committed, unconventional ensembles fascinate the professional world and delight the audience!

Founded at the Künstlerhaus Boswil in 2010 and since then residing there, the CHAARTS ensemble has made a name for itself with the public and with well-known soloists, both nationally and internationally, thanks to its chamber music-style playing culture. In the 2021_22 season, CHAARTS and soprano Regula Mühlemann took a bow from Griegs Peer Gynt and Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream to Gounods Roméo et Juliette under the motto Feenlieder, and invited the flutist Maurice Steger to the Suite Italienne. You can find details here.

Beethoven’s symphonies in miniature – “An excellent ensemble opens up new perspectives on Beethoven’s symphonies 1 to 3”, the NDR judged in February about the latest CD release by the Compagnia di Punto. the ensemble presents the symphonies in arrangements by Beethoven’s contemporaries Friedrich Ebers and Ferdinand Ries for a chamber ensemble of only ten musicians – a special opportunity to discover new things in a familiar repertoire! Find out more here.

The intensive examination of traditional concert literature as well as today’s musical styles and sound forms, variable spatial and performance concepts, improvisation and playing without notes and conductor – the Berlin STEGREIF.orchester opens up new forms of reception in the classic repertoire. #FreeMahler – What Earth tells us reflects Mahler’s romantic concept of nature with regard to the acutely threatened environment of the present. More projects can be found here and here.

Experimentation, a spirit of discovery and the courage to constantly reinvent the string quartet game are the hallmarks of the Kronos Quartet, which is based in San Francisco. As one of the leading and most influential ensembles of its kind, it has shaped the international music scene for over 45 years in thousands of concerts and over 60 recordings. The Kronos Quartet works with the most renowned artists of its time and has placed over 1,000 orders for new compositions and arrangements to date. Among the more than 40 awards the ensemble has received are the Polar Music Prize, the Avery Fisher Prize and the Edison Klassiek Oeuvreprijs.

We are very happy that our first two concerts after COVID19 stopped all concert activities could have taken place! The wonderful Oberon Trio presented its Beethoven3 project, featuring versions of Scottish, Irish, and Welsh folk songs for voice and piano trio commissioned by George Thompson. Together with German tenor Christoph Prégardien, the trio performed at Kammermusiktage Mettlach (26th June) and Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele (27th June). The concert in Ludwigsburg was live streamed, and there is still a chance to enjoy it on our facebook page. 

The beginning of 2020 brings new challenges and leads us down under:

• Welcome on board, Iván Fischer and Budapest Festival Orchestra!
• Teodor Currentzis and the SWR Symphonieorchester on tour
• Freiburger Barockorchester perform in Australia
• Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica at the Easter Festival in Krems
• B’Rock Orchestra in Wilhelmshaven
• We are at the IAMA Conference in Barcelona

Learn more about our projects here.

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In January 2020, the Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFO), one of Europe’s most renowned orchestras and one of the ten best in the world, came to us. As part of this new partnership, we will take over the complete planning and coordination of the artistic program in Budapest, as well as the planning and implementation of the orchestra tours through Europe, the United States and Asia. We look very much forward to accompanying the artistic development of this wonderful orchestra and to working closely with Maestro Iván Fischer and the orchestra management in Budapest! Find out more about the orchesra here.