The 16th Festival in Hamburg presents classical music with young artists. The focus is on cultural participation and personal experiences, such as the so-called one-on-one concerts, where a musician plays for just one listener.
One example of the unusual formats: In the parish garden of St. Andreas in the Hoheluft district, musician Jurij Kandelja played Bach’s Prelude and Fugue on the accordion. “This is my life,” Kandelja told NDR. “Because my father was my teacher. He played the accordion, and so I was on stage with him my whole life.” The audience was delighted: “It felt a bit like being in the south of France,” said one visitor. “Under the open sky in glorious sunshine: accordion music – it couldn’t be more beautiful.”
This year’s festival motto is “Creating Spaces.” Managing Director Boris Matchin explained to NDR: “In all our work, we try to unleash the artistic potential that lies within people, a bit like Joseph Beuys’ motto ‘Everyone is an artist,’ or to create spaces where this is possible.” The one-on-one concerts are a “very intense encounter with oneself, but also with a musician.” The goal is to make the listener part of the concert – “in the middle of it, not just there.”
Source: www.ndr.de
