· 2017/18 · www.ecma-music.com www.ecma-music.com EUROPEAN CHAMBER MUSIC ACADEMY Prades 2017 Großraming 2017 Oslo 2017 contents 04 Evolution of ECma 06 Preface 10 Erasmus+ Manchester 2017 12 ECma – Educational programme 14 Partnerships 16 Partners Ghent 2017 25 Cooperating partners 26 STaTEmEnTs about ECma i 28 Ensembles 31 Alumni 32 Guest Ensembles London 2017 33 Awards and achievements 47 ECma meetings, 2016/17 48 STaTEmEnTs about ECma ii 50 Tutors 55 Cd releases 56 Social media Grafenegg 2017 60 Events 62 The association as of January 2018 EuropEan ChambEr musiC aCadEmy 3 EVOLUTION OF ECMA european Association european network 2016 2001 scope 2004 – ecMA registered 2018 9 members Preparations for as a non-profit association 15 cooperating partners travelling courses under Austrian law 29 alumni ensembles 150 awards Accademia europea First ecMA-next step del Quartetto in Fiesole ecMA session erasmus+ strategic partnership ecMA originates from the 2003 2007 2017 Accademia europea del Quartetto in Fiesole (Piero Farulli, norbert Brainin, Milan Škampa, and Hatto Beyerle) 4 EuropEan ChambEr musiC aCadEmy EuropEan ChambEr musiC aCadEmy 5 PREFACE ver the years, the European Chamber music academy has become more and more European. it has been recognised o as the highest level of international training, new partners (institutions and universities of music) have been added, there has been more cooperation, and new ensembles (often consisting of young artists from different countries) have become a part of it. We can thus say that it has been a successful adventure so far. but being european is also a great responsibility. Chamber music’s in- ternationally recognised point of reference is European chamber music. and there indeed is a common basis, a common tradition here. but at the same time, multiple languages and multiple cultures are involved. Composers think in their own languages and with reference to their own cultures, and the thoughts and intentions behind written music are almost always tied thereto. For this reason, if we want to be Europeans, we need to be federalists, in music as elsewhere: we cannot refer to a cultural unicum, but much rather need to learn about and recognise the differences that exist. it may seem all too simple as an idea, but it is in precisely these differen- ces that we find the real opportunity of being together. hence the itinerant approach of the EC ma sessions; hence the presence of great teachers from different backgrounds; and hence EC ma’s spirit, which is not about teaching the one and only interpretation but about offering reflections on the music in order to discover its ability to unite amidst all differences. if ECma, working with this approach, can help shape a generation of artists able not only to play music at the highest level but also to convey the thoughts behind the music, convey its aesthetic, philoso phical, and social values, then it will have achieved its goal. make music, think music, search for reasons and emotions in music, and move those who are listening. be together. Grow together. That’s all it is. Which is no small thing! Mathias Deichmann 6 EuropEan ChambEr musiC aCadEmy PREFACE PREFACE dear young musicians, ust as there exists no ensemble that “is” once and for all, ECma, dear friends, dear colleagues, too, needs to be understood as a permanent process of growth. J by constantly rethinking and developing the very idea of chamber music, we aim to secure the future of its practice at the highest level. The you have here before you ECma’s report on its past year. ECma is not an in- great masterpieces of the enormously rich repertoire can surely be counted stitution that lives from the success of its ensembles. When ECma ensembles among the peak achievements of human civilization, and this in and of itself achieve success –about which you can also read in this report – then it is makes playing chamber music on an outstanding level an uplifting experi- owed above all to the great amount of work that these ensembles have ence for players and audiences alike! besides which: could not thinking, invested, as well as to their members’ genuine curiosity. in our profession, feeling, speaking, and expressing music together in autonomous groups genuine curiosity is a fundamental prerequisite for success. and to seek out serve very well as a model for society in general? ECma is to seek out the key that unlocks the infinite, fantastic realm of art. no human culture would be imaginable without art, especially not without ECma will continue to explore the multitude of European and non-European music and time, without time and space, and without the infinite repetition cultural backgrounds, making use of the huge potential of diverse traditions of the finite. This unfathomability, which all music has in common, lies in and innovative ideas. and since we understand our work to be a combination the act of creation that begins with and within the composer – and that we of several major missions (as an educational programme, as an artistic think- musicians, whenever we deal with music, must reinvoke. doing so requires tank, as a network, and in terms of our societal impact), we are happy that that we be modest and attentive to our own selves as we bow down deeply the integration of ECma alumni as our second generation of tutors is already before the greatness of all true art. well on its way! We who seek to lead you toward this art strive to use music’s linguisticality to The Erasmus+ strategic partnership project ECma next step has strongly build a bridge, awakening within you an authentic and meaningful understan- intensified the academic bonds between the ECma partners. The most ding of that which can only become real through you. We have no “teachers” important outcome of its various working goals will be the first European in the sense of so many other summer courses or similar programs. our in- Joint master programme for established chamber music ensembles, to tent is always to discover music anew through you and with you, with our be launched in autumn 2019. experience in dealing with music’s grammar and its melody as a language being meant to provide you with support – a challenging undertaking! it must ECma has been successful at deepening the collaborative ties between the be clear, here, that this objective cannot be reached in just a few phases of core partners as well as initiating a process of opening up to a wider circle for work. and for this reason, we seek a voluntary commitment from you to take cooperative arrangements. Working together with more and more festivals, part in as many of the ECma sessions as possible. concert halls, and organisations in the world of classical music helps us bridge the gap between the music market and what is perceived as the realm ECma is not a typical academy. all of us strive with you and through you to of training and education. approach the great mystery of music, its inexplicable magic as well as all the philosophy with which it is connected. may we keep on learning while cherishing the specialities and peculiarities entailed by our differences, at the same time joining our forces in the most in this spirit, i wish everyone with an affinity for our work and for our effective way possible as ECma embarks upon its 15th year. intellectual goals a happy and successful new year of 2018. it is my strong conviction that ECma, as a truly European project, simply has to make a difference in these challenging times of change! Hatto Beyerle Johannes Meissl 8 EuropEan ChambEr musiC aCadEmy EuropEan ChambEr musiC aCadEmy 9 ERASMUS+ ERASMUS+ ecMA – next steP is An erAsMus+ Project orgAnisAtion: strAtegic PArtnersHiP ProgrAMMe The steering committee is located in oslo and coordinated with the ECma office in Vienna. The programme includes two working groups focussed on teaching and in cHAMBer Music. learning and on the Joint master programme, respectively. The project will be evaluated by an external evaluator, and both students and teachers will participate in the programme until its conclusion on 1 september 2018. BAckground: Chamber music training is increasingly becoming a crucial component of ith chamber music’s heightened significance both in the labour market per formance degree curricula in higher music education institutions all over the and on European concert stages, educators and musicians are now world because of the shift from permanent forms of employment with fixed W facing new challenges and opportunities to develop and innovate so as contracts to employment situations where musicians work freelance and combine to make possible chamber music activities at the highest level. one of the main different professional activities in the form of portfolio careers. opportunities in the goals of this three-year strategic programme is to ensure the utmost quality of traditional areas of employment such as orchestras and opera houses are growing chamber music training and proactively meet the challenges and opportunities that scarcer, while chamber music is experiencing a heightened degree of significance the increasing demand for chamber music entails. This strategic programme thus on the international concert stage. aims to modernise higher education in the classical music field by strengthening its chamber music component. in the 21st century, chamber music is also increasingly being viewed as a vital pedagogical tool for the training of broadly applicable skills important for the ECma next step is a partnership programme that will aim to develop new content musician in the 21st century. in chamber music, things like teamwork, peer- for the ECma training programme in terms of curriculum, mobility, and recognition, learning, and reflective practicing are essential basic principles, and mastering as well as to further develop existing chamber music expertise.