JAHRBUCH DER KRONBERG ACADEMY KRONBERG ACADEMY YEARBOOK

2018 KRONBERG ACADEMY YEARBOOK 2018 CONTENTS

7 Editorial CELLO MASTERCLASSES 8 Artistic Council, Board of Trustees, International & CONCERTS Advisory Board, Donors, Patrons

13 Casals Forum Impressions 108 A true celebration of the cello 124 Artists, musical works and more 130

25 YEARS OF KRONBERG ACADEMY MIT MUSIK – MITEINANDER

Celebrating! 34 Self-confi dence and enthusiasm 138 Here is where music should fi nd its place 37 Artists and musical works 140 Raimund Trenkler Congratulations! 41 Prof. Monika Grütters It has been a wonderful journey 44 CLASSIC FOR KIDS Marta Casals Istomin, Raimund Trenkler Artists, musical works and more 47 For explorers, discoverers and adventurers 146

KRONBERG ACADEMY KRONBERG ACADEMY STUDY PROGRAMMES Other things that happened in 2018 153 Impressions 48 Emanuel Feuermann Conservatory (in German) 156 A musical dream team 66 Friends of Kronberg Academy (in German) 158 Academic year 2018 (in German) 74 Kronberg Academy Foundation 162 Faculty 75 Management and team 164 Students 2018/2019 76 Foundations and associations 166 Alumni 79 Artists, musical works and more 80

168 Partners and sponsors 170 Friends of Kronberg Academy CHAMBER MUSIC 174 Host families

CONNECTS THE WORLD 176 Imprint/Photo credits Impressions 84 178 Kronberg Academy Shop 180 Key dates in 2019/2020 The art of togetherness 100 Lists in German only. Artists, musical works and more 106

5 Kronberg Academy 2018

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF KRONBERG ACADEMY!

22 October 2018 – Together with the State Government of Hesse, the Kronberg Academy Foundation sent out invitations to a big jubilee concert and party at the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden. And everyone came!

It was on that very day 25 years earlier, on 22 October Even the concert programme was a clear expression of 1993, that the history of Kronberg Academy began. That was what Kronberg Academy is, that is to say a collaborative the date of the fi rst concert, the fi rst Cello Festival in Kron- achievement: the soloists not only took the stage alone, but berg. The occasion for this international “Gathering of the also as duos and trios. As in 1993, the concert began with cello family” on that day was the 20th anniversary of the death Johann Sebastian Bach, but this time with his Double Con- of , the great cellist and humanist. His guiding certo for Two Violins, played together by Christian Tetzlaff principle, that art and humanity are inseparable, is the foun- and Vilde Frang. The “Concerto for Three”, originally com- dation on which Kronberg Academy has since grown, and on posed by Alfred Schnittke for , Yuri Bashmet which it wishes to continue to its development. and , was brought to life again during And now, an entire evening long, artists, sponsors, part- the evening with almost the original line-up. The voice of the ners, friends, colleagues and political representatives celebrat- third dedicatee, Mstislav Rostropovich, who was patron of ed a joint birthday. The centre stage was, of course, taken by the fi rst Cello Festival and an important supporter of Kronberg the music, which connects everybody and everything. Joint Academy until his death in 2007, was now played by the patrons of the evening were the Prime Minister of Hessen, young cellist István Várdai. Volker Bouffi er, and Marta Casals Istomin. The orchestra for the evening, the Chamber Orchestra of The idea, concept and character of Kronberg emerged very Europe, provide a very special embodiment of the community clearly from everything that happened during the evening on spirit from which Kronberg lives. This is because the anniver- and around the stage. Some 1,200 guests and a total of 43 sary concert was the moment when this ensemble, which is musicians represented the alliance of world-class musicians inspired by the spirit of chamber music and made up of from all generations, committed sponsors and open-minded, musicians from the European countries, was presented as the enthusiastic audiences that support Kronberg Academy. And new orchestra in residence of Kronberg Academy. It is set to on the stage of the magnifi cent Friedrich-von-Thiersch-Saal, relocate from London to Kronberg, where it will fi nd a per- it was possible to experience how Kronberg Academy works manent workspace and a home in the Casals Forum that is “on the inside”, namely through ensemble playing and co- currently under construction. Playing without a conductor, it operation between generations of artists. On this occasion, closed the concert with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Jupiter these were the soloists Gidon Kremer and Yuri Bashmet as Symphony, and then performed “Ode to Joy” from Ludwig members of the Artistic Council, Christian Tetzlaff represent- van Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, which has become the an- ing the teaching staff, and Vilde Frang and István Várdai as them of Europe, as an encore – fi nishing with a determined alumni who studied at Kronberg Academy. The concert was and joyful vision of the future, of the next 25 years. a joint gift to Kronberg Academy from the fi ve artists.

Right: Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, István Várdai

34 25 Jahre Kronberg Academy

35 Kronberg Academy 2018

MARTA CASALS ISTOMIN

“I am delighted that we have had 25 years of intense creativity in Kronberg! The past 25 years have brought us so much and we have tried to encompass all the areas of music, and we have practically done so. As a result, the ever increasing scope of activity developed in these years is nothing short of miraculous: From the Cello Festival to Chamber Music Connects the World to the study programmes, all these activities have, over the years, brought dozens of great artists and thousands of young musicians to gather here. This has allowed senior musicians to nurture the younger ones and pass on musical values from generation to generation, values that have marked their lives forever. This exchange, as well as this interchange between the past and the future, has brought a lot of joy and a lot of foreseeing possibilities to all who engaged in it. These interactions, and the pursuit of all these ideas, have changed their lives forever. All those interactions in the pursuit of music have made Kronberg Academy one of the most important musical centers in the world today.”

Vilde Frang, Christian Tetzlaff

36 Chamber Music Connects the World

Top: Luosha Fang, Timothy Ridout, Jonathan Roozeman, Santiago Cañón Valencia Left: Stephen Waarts, Sir András Schiff

The art of togetherness Is the concept that chamber music connects the world an ambitious goal, wishful thinking or a fi rm belief? One might say it is the result of decades of experience, if Kronberg were the world, because the chamber music project Chamber Music Connects the World has now taken place here for the tenth time.

101 Kronberg Academy 2018

UNIQUE BY SÀO SOULEZ LARIVIÈRE, PARTICIPANT OF CHAMBER MUSIC CONNECTS THE WORLD

Chamber Music Connects the World is simply unique Chamber Music Connects the World – since the year 2000, in what it aims to bring to the musicians, to the local the Crespo Foundation has made it possible for this bold, community, and in this respect, to the world. Nestled high-risk and always extremely uplifting chamber music ex- in the beautiful setting of Kronberg, it offers an periment to take place every two years. exceptional environment for musicians to thrive and In Kronberg Academy’s jubilee year, violinists Gidon to share music. I am so grateful for the unparalleled Kremer and Christian Tetzlaff, cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist experience I have had, notably learning from and Sir András Schiff were the famous Seniors who took ten days playing alongside such formidable artists. Thank you of their time to work together with selected Juniors: following for a truly memorable week! a demanding application process, a total of 21 young violin- ists, viola players, cellists and pianists from 16 countries were invited to face the challenge.

Making risk an opportunity A TREASURE BOX So wherein, precisely, lies the challenge for all those in- BY CHRISTINE LEE, PARTICIPANT OF CHAMBER MUSIC CONNECTS THE WORLD volved? To answer, it lies in delivering a stage-ready, collective performance together with unknown – or at least unfamiliar – ensemble partners within just a few days, producing a perfor- The musical inspiration that I experienced at mance which satisfi es the highest demands and presenting it in Chamber Music Connects the World still resonates deeply concert. within me. It was a great honour and joy to work with Being completely in the dark as to how and whether artists who I have looked up to since I was a little girl. everything will work and fi t together feels extremely risky for The memories of every rehearsal and all the concerts all the participants, who all have a name (to lose?) in the are like a treasure box that I often revisit, especially concert world. But if one is open to the unforeseeable, this is because I had my fi rst experience of performing on precisely where the biggest opportunity lies: to draw new all gut strings! It was a challenging, but eye-opening, inspiration from the unexpected, to need to provide new learning experience. Since I believe that the young answers to new questions, to be given surprising stimuli, to musicians I met at Chamber Music Connects the World gain new perspectives, to rediscover worlds, to move forwards. will lead the next generation of classical music, I am thrilled to be part of this passionate group! Establishing Thank you! valuable connections

The four Seniors brought a total of 13 works with them, by composers from Joseph Haydn to Giya Kancheli. Team sizes ranged from the trio to an 18-man string ensemble. No en- string quartet “The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the semble confi guration was permitted more than once, the idea Cross” with the movements of Dmitri Shostakovich’s last always being that everyone should play with everyone else. string quartet. The result again this year was that meaningful connections of friendship and collegiality were established on all sides. Sweeping “fellow travellers” away The Juniors even experienced performing as an orchestral community in two large ensemble confi gurations: in Alban Labouring intensively on these 13 musical works was like Berg’s “Lyric Suite” led by Christian Tetzlaff, and in the pro- embarking on an expedition into 13 unexplored worlds. And ject entitled “Last Words”, in which Gidon Kremer and the listeners were again taken along on each of these voyages of composer Victor Kissine had combined Joseph Haydn’s discovery (almost) from the very beginning since, after a short

102 Chamber Music Connects the World

Top: Christian Tetzlaff, Kaoru Oe, Christel Lee, Diana Tishchenko Bottom: Diana Tishchenko, Steven Isserlis, Anna Egholm, Wenhong Luo, Christine Lee

103 Kronberg Academy 2018

Top: Christian Tetzlaff, Kaoru Oe, Christel Lee, Diana Tishchenko, Timothy Ridout, Luosha Fang, Jonathan Roozeman, Santiago Cañón Valencia Bottom: Gidon Kremer, Anne Luisa Kramb, Stephen Waarts 104 Chamber Music Connects the World

GOOD NEW FRIENDS BY ALEXANDER EDELMANN, PARTICIPANT OF CHAMBER MUSIC CONNECTS THE WORLD

It is quite a luxury (even as young and the upcoming generation think could only say “wow” when hearing professionals) to have the time re- about, approach and express music. In someone demonstrate a passage or quired to deeply pore over a musical the best possible sense, I left Chamber when a group fi nally realized their text and refl ect on different inter- Music Connects the World with more interpretation of a passage they’d been pretive possibilities with friends and questions than answers and often rehearsing. musical colleagues. At Chamber Music think of anecdotes and ideas that I True to the name of the event, I’ve Connects the World, I experienced not learned from my new friends there. since met and played with CMCWers only some of the highest-level play- It was such an inspirational pro- all over the world and I am happy to ing and best concerts of my life, but ject, and several times a day, after call many of them good friends! I gained greater insight into how seeing the extraordinarily high level some of the great interpreters of this of both the Juniors and Seniors, one

grace period, all rehearsals were open to the public. Thirteen stories asked to be imbued, interpreted and ultimately to be told. A great many musical thoughts were had, shaped and conveyed in the process. The music was the bridge to one an- other, the key to common understanding and the language with which, fi nally, a joint statement was made. Over 120 hours of pure rehearsal time came out of the project. Each individual rehearsal, of which there were 65 in total, became an in-depth lesson for all who were in the room. The number of listeners following this process, and playing their own part in it as audience members and “recipients”, grew from day to day. As onlookers, they saw and heard the many different ways in which musical ideas can be shared – whether through words, gestures or looks. And gradually, they, too, became intimately familiar with the music. CHAMBER MUSIC CONNECTS THE WORLD

Measuring success Since 2000, the biennial chamber music project Chamber Music Connects the World has brought 20-25 highly gifted In seven sell-out concerts, each individual musical master- young musicians together with 4-5 world-famous artists so piece was, once again, brought truly to life. And in the end, that they can make music together. Ensembles are made up of one could say that everything went well. But of course, there is one Senior and several Juniors in each such that, by the end, each young artist has taken part in three or four ensembles infi nitely more to it than that: yet again, music connected, and has worked as an ensemble partner with at least three of moved and made people happy – the musicians and those the Seniors. Ten to eleven days together – public rehearsals they played for alike. followed by joint concerts – enable an intense human and The Juniors, Seniors and all the audience members expe- musical exchange of experience to take place, lead to connec- rienced Chamber Music Connects the World once more as a cen- tions and contacts that have a lasting impact on the young tral project in the 25-year history of Kronberg Academy. people’s development as musicians and on their future careers, Guided and inspired by their four great musical role models, and give rise to nothing less than top-quality chamber music performances. the 21 young musicians from all corners of the globe learned and proved that chamber music is a great art of togetherness, Chamber Music Connects the World is sponsored by and that openness, desire for mutual understanding and respect the Crespo Foundation lead to the best and most fascinating results.

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