Home  >  The Arts  >  Music

Music

The journalists Christoph Vratz und Wolfram Goertz discussing Debussy with the quartet of critics during the Piano Festival Ruhr 2012, photo by KFR / Mark Wohlrab

As Independent as Possible – the German Record Critics’ Award

Only the name is a bit awkward: the German Record Critics’ Award. Its reputation is immense. In summer 2013 the music world is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the prize.More ...
The trumpet player Don Cherry on the poster of the exhibition 'ECM – A Cultural Archaeology', photo by Ralf Dombrowski

Marketplace of Visions – The exhibition “ECM – A Cultural Archaeology”

An exhibition explores the interplay of visual impressions, auditory perception and aesthetics using the example of the record company ECM.More ...
Richard Wagner’s “Mastersingers of Nuremberg”

Highlights of the Wagner Year 2013

Leipzig, Dresden, Munich and Bayreuth: it was mainly in these four German cities that Richard Wagner lived and worked.More ...
Hanns Eisler in Hollywood (1943), photo by Archiv Dr. Jürgen Schebera, Berlin / Thomas Neumann

“Those who understand only a little bit about music don’t understand anything about it” – The reception of Hanns Eisler

Fifty years after his death, the political Hanns Eisler stands in the way of an appreciation of the artistic figure.More ...
The German composer Richard Wagner (here in 1862) revolutionised opera.

Loved and Hated – the German composer Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner, born in Leipzig in 1813, died in Venice in 1883, already divided opinion in his lifetime. He has remained controversial to this day.More ...
Hans Werner Henze, photo by picture alliance / dpa

“A spirit helped raise up my weakness” – On the death of Hans Werner Henze

A modernist steeped in tradition, a vast œuvre created with a marvelous freedom: the composer Hans Werner Henze has died in Dresden at the age of 86.More ...
Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin, photo by Staatsoper Unter den Linden / Monika Ritterhaus

Music, Power and Humanity – Daniel Barenboim turns 70

On November 15, 2012, Daniel Barenboim will celebrate his 70th birthday. The pianist and conductor has clearly left his mark on the German and international music world. A portrait.More ...
A question of creativity – music is performed in Darmstadt sometimes with unusual instruments, photo by IMD / Stefan Daub

Without Resentment – The International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt, 2012

Unlike the big festivals, Darmstadt is not primarily about concerts and premieres. The International Summer Courses are groundwork.More ...
Der Kirchenraum von St. Marien ist der stimmungsvolle Konzertsaal des Festivals montalbâne, Foto: montalbâne / Stefan Schweiger

Inquiring Minds – The Montalbâne Festival for Medieval Music

In the past few decades the early music movement has proven that in the span of time between 800 and 1400 there were gifted composers. The montalbâne Festival presents the evidence.More ...
The Hitzacker Summer Music Festival – chamber music near to the audience, photo by Hitzacker Summer Music Festival / Florian Graser

The Hitzacker Summer Music Festival – Tradition Meets the Future

The Hitzacker Summer Music Festival is one of the most important chamber music festivals in Germany. Here top musicians meet with an eager audience.More ...
Claus Ogerman in the Seventies, photo by Claus Ogerman Production

The Aesthete in the Background – the Arranger and Composer Claus Ogerman

He is himself hardly known, but many of the songs to which he contributed. Claus Ogerman is one of the most influential arrangers of past decades.More ...
Which direction? Concert halls of today have to know exactly how to acquire a strong own image, photo by Ralf Dombrowski

More Is More – Concert Halls Today

To make an opera or concert house successful in the long term means far more than merely putting together a good program. Part two of the two-part series “Concert Halls Today.”More ...
Nils Landgren, Photo by ACT Records / Sebastian Schmidt

The Swedish View – Nils Landgren and JazzBaltica

For a long time it was not clear whether the festival JazzBaltica could be continued after its twentieth anniversary. Then the Swedish trombonist Nils Landgren took the helm and dispelled the organizers’ doubts.More ...
The Freiburg Ensemble House, photo by Ensemblehaus Freiburg

A View of the Whole – the Freiburg Ensemble House

The Freiburg Ensemble House offers the ensemble recherche and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra a common home. It is to date a unique project in Germany with the character of a model.More ...
Interest in Jazz – a lot of young musicians like playing improvised music, for example Malte Schiller's Red Balloon, photo by Ralf Dombrowski

Necessary Niches – The Discussion on Jazz 2012

Jazz is being talked about. The art sections of newspapers debate it, the German parliament has devoted a major Question Time to it, new initiatives have been founded for it.More ...
The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, as it probably will look like, picture by Herzog & de Meuron

The Pearls of the Business – Concert Halls and cultural Identity

Concert houses are the icing on the cake of cultural policy. Everybody likes to open one, everybody rejoices in their success. But they bring with them obligations. Part one of the two-part series “Concert Halls Today.”More ...
“Balkan Brass Battle” - Fanfare Ciocarlia vs. The Markovic Orkestar I photo: © Asphalt Tango

Balkan Beats and Gypsy Mania

Lift up your hands! Lift up your legs! And don’t forget to raise your glasses! How the Roma sound has hit Germany – it’s only seconds before the turntables and the dance floors rock.More ...
Tomomi Adachi recreates John Cage’s “Sixty-two Mesostics re Merce Cunningham” at the festival MaerzMusik 2012, photo by MaerzMusik / Kai Bienert

Textbook, Good-Bye! – The festival MaerzMusik 2012 celebrates John Cage

The work of John Cage has been the subject of turbulent debate in the German music world. MaerzMusik 2012 was devoted to his art and its influence.More ...
Musicians of the project Music for the One God © www.one-god.eu

Harmonious Triad of Religions: The Multinational Project “Music for the one God”

Under the direction of the Turkish composter and oud player Mehmet Yeşilçay, the multinational project “Music for the One God” unites the sounds of Islamic, Sephardic-Jewish and Christian music. Stefan Franzen reports.More ...
St. Thomas Boys Choir of Leipzig in concert, photo by Thomanerchor / Gert Mothes

800 Years of Music – The St. Thomas Boys Choir of Leipzig

In spring 2012 the St. Thomas Boys Choir of Leipzig (Thomanerchor) is celebrating its 800th anniversary. It is one of the oldest cultural institutions of Europe. A portrait.More ...
Wolfgang Rihm, photo by Onuk Fotografie, Bernhard Schmitt

“I don’t write pure music” – Wolfgang Rihm at 60

Wolfgang Rihm is one of the most successful contemporary German composers. On March 13, 2012, he will celebrate his 60th birthday. A good occasion to draw up an interim balance.More ...
Irakisches Ensemble Al-Qubbanji

Fusion östlicher und westlicher Klangfarbende

Vor 80 Jahren tagte der erste internationale Kongress der arabischen Musik in Kairo.
More ...
Organ recital at the Klais-Organ in the Frauenkirche in Nuremberg part of the 57. ION (Nuremberg International Organ Week, 2008); photo: ION/ Christina Kuhn

Lively Scene. Germany – Land of the Organ

Mozart called it the “king of instruments”: in Germany a bustling music scene with deep historical roots has developed round the organ.More ...
A binaural robot in a semi-anechoic room; photo: Weinzierl / TU Berlin, Department of Audio Communication

Something Or Other with Music – Composition Programmes for Sound Artists

With the increasing importance of the media world, the job description of the composer is changing. New courses of study are taking this into account.More ...
The classical music department at Ludwig Beck in Munich; Photo: Ludwig Beck

Worry or Opportunity? How the Internet Is Keeping Shops for Classical Music CDs on Their Toes

Some shops have shown that they can position themselves successfully.More ...
Metropolis; © Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung, Walter Schulze Mittendorf

“Listening to Movies” – What the Senses Have to Say to Each Other

Film and music come together again: The Salzburg Biennale and the Berlin MaerzMusik present “Lightplay Music” and “New Music to Old Films”.More ...
Cover of „Ratinger Hof“, published and designed by Ralf Zeigermann, Verlag Robert Wiegner; photo: Verlag Robert Wiegner

The Making Of History – Ratinger Hof Revisited

Where it all began. A small pub in Düsseldorf was the most important breeding ground of Punk in the Federal Republic of Germany. Now the story is being retold.More ...
Opening of Worldtronics 2010; photo: Stephanie Pilick

Of Beats Migrating Round the World – the Worldtronics Festival

The electronic music scenes of the world present themselves at the Worldtronics Festival at the House of World Cultures in Berlin. They show themselves to be highly unpredictable and yet strangely familiar.More ...
Copyright: Aino Laberenz

On the Death of Christoph Schlingensief: “He Believed in the Power of Art”

(23 August 2010) Christoph Schlingensief is dead. The Goethe-Institut has lost a close friend with the passing of the universal artist, director and agitator. The cultural figure and the cultural institute were bound together by many mutual projects – the most recent was the festival hall for Africa.More ...

Classical Music from Germany   deutschenglish

Orchestras, concert halls and festivals: Germany’s classical music scene – background information and current trends

Contemporary Music from Germany   deutschenglish

The vibrant scene of ensembles, concerts and festivals of contemporary music, current trends and background information

Jazz from Germany   deutschenglish

Artists and stages, labels and festivals, universities and competitions – background information and current trends
Concert Crowd; Foto: Freder

Pop from Germany   deutschenglish

German pop music is booming: the latest trends in the pop/rock, hip-hop/soul and global pop/reggae genres, plus further links