2019 : The Year in (German) Music

While we’re ushering the old year out these days, the conclusions drawn are of significant weight considering that 2019 is the end of an entire decade. The new decade beckons, smiles, threatens. The twenties of the 21st century! In order to make a good transition, we need to know what we’re leaving behind. What’s resonating in our ears, what’s stayed in our hearts, what debates have we been having and what can we simply put in the bin?

In 2019, global problems found their way into the German scene: Climate crisis, displacement from inner cities, Israeli-Palestinian conflict – it seemed as if the club culture was no longer the hedonistic playground it was meant to be. However, the year’s musical trends put a stop to that.

What went down in German jazz last year? Tina Heine looks back on major anniversaries, the German Jazz Union's achievements and standout releases this past year – as well as jazz festivals over the past decade.

One striking feature of Neue Musik is how difficult it is to grasp. Thousands of actors are constantly reinventing Neue Musik in hundreds of places in Germany. This is an attempt at an overview.

The German classical music scene is still preoccupied with #MeToo and what to do about dirty old men. And grappling with badly needed renovations.

How is early music faring in Germany at the close of 2019? Well, it’s poor – but happy. This past year, alongside plenty of mainstream festivals, others, brimming with musical idealism, offered highly original programmes of early music.