| Rheingau Musik Festival | |
|---|---|
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 Eberbach Abbey before opening concert, 2024 | |
| Genre | mostly classical music |
| Begins | end of June |
| Ends | end of August |
| Frequency | annual |
| Locations | Rheingau, many locations |
| Inaugurated | 1987; 38 years ago (1987) |
| Participants | 159 events in 2013 |
| People | |
| Member | European Festivals Association |
| Website | www |
TheRheingau Musik Festival (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such asEberbach Abbey andSchloss Johannisberg, in the wine-growingRheingau region betweenWiesbaden andLorch.
The festival was the initiative ofMichael Herrmann, who has served as its artistic director and chief executive officer. Like theSchleswig-Holstein Musik Festival founded in 1986, the Rheingau festival was intended to add life to a region rich in musical heritage. Thegothic church ofKiedrich houses the oldest playable organ in Germany, and has its own "dialect" ofGregorian chant that dates back to 1333. In more recent times, the Rheingau has inspired composers such asJohannes Brahms, who composed hisSymphony No. 3 in Wiesbaden and frequently stayed inRüdesheim, andRichard Wagner, who worked onDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg inBiebrich.
To test the festival idea, two concerts took place in Eberbach Abbey in the summer of 1987. In November 1987 theRheingau Musik Festival e. V. was founded by Michael Herrmann,Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg,Walter Fink,Hans Otto Jung, Michael Bolenius, Hans-Clemens Lucht, Ulrich Rosin andClaus Wisser.[1][2] The association organized the festival from the first season in 1988 which included 19 concerts until 1992. It has continued to support the festival since.[1] The RMF receives significant financial help from sponsors who choose to fund their own concerts.
TheRheingau Musik Festival is under the patronage of theminister-president of Hesse.[3] Michael Herrmann was awarded theGoethe-Plakette of Hesse in 2002.[4]
The RMF has grown to be one of Germany's important festivals presenting around 140 events every summer with international orchestras, ensembles and soloists.[3] It is a member of theEuropean Festivals Association. For the 2023 season, 164 concerts at 29 locations were announced.[5]
On 17 June 2012, the25th anniversary of the festival was celebrated at theKurhaus, Wiesbaden.[6][7]
The concerts of the first season took place atKloster Eberbach, in the hall and church of Schloss Johannisberg, atSt. Martin in Lorch (part of theRhine GorgeWorld Heritage Site), at theRheingauer Dom inGeisenheim, and in Wiesbaden at theMarktkirche and theKurhaus.[8]
Important locations have also includedSchloss Vollrads, theAbbey St. Hildegard in Eibingen, the churchesSt. Valentin in Kiedrich, theromanesque Basilika St. Aegidius ofMittelheim andSt. Georg und Katharina inWiesbaden-Frauenstein, theParkhotel of the spaSchlangenbad, theLutherkirche inWiesbaden and theAlte Oper inFrankfurt am Main. Concerts have been staged in churches such asSt. Jakobus, Rüdesheim, castles and former presshouses (Kelterhalle). An annualSommerfest is held at Schloss Johannisberg while other open-air concerts have taken place in wineries and vineyards, on river boats, in the cloisters of Eberbach, the courts of Vollrads and theKurpark Wiesbaden.[8]
Most events are dedicated to classical music, but cabaret, jazz, readings, musical cruises, children's concerts, wine tastings or culinary events with music add to a diverse program.
TheRheingau Musik Festival is traditionally opened in Eberbach Abbey by a concert of thehr-Sinfonieorchester, broadcast live. The first concert was on 23 June 1988 a performance of two works byC. P. E. Bach, hisMagnificat and the oratorioDie Israeliten in der Wüste.Frieder Bernius conducted the Kammerchor Stuttgart and the Barockorchester Stuttgart, with soloistsNancy Argenta,Lena Lootens,Mechthild Georg,Howard Crook andStephen Roberts. A cycle of the symphonies ofGustav Mahler, conducted byPaavo Järvi, continued in 2011 with theFifth Symphony, programmed with Alban Berg'sSieben frühe Lieder, sung byElena Garanca.[9][10] In 2013, Mahler'sSixth Symphony was preceded by Wagner'sWesendonck Lieder, sung by Anne Sofie von Otter.[11] In 2016,Christoph Eschenbach conducted Schubert'sUnfinished Symphony and Bruckner'sSixth Symphony[12] The 2019 festival was opened by Dvořák'sStabat Mater, with theMDR Rundfunkchor and the hr Sinfonieorchester conducted byAndrés Orozco-Estrada.[13]
The 2020 festival had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] The 2021 festival was opened on 26 June, traditionally by the hr-Sinfonieorchester, and as the last program with Orozco-Estrada.[14] Due to restrictions, the 650 listeners were placed like a checker board, 2 seats taken, and 2 seats empty; the program was played without intermission.[15][16]Augustin Hadelich was the soloist in theViolin Concerto by Jean Sibelius, which was followed by Mendelssohn'sReformation Symphony.[14][17] The concert was at the same time a charity concert of PresidentFrank-Walter Steinmeier who spoke at the beginning with a focus on the support and encouragement of music students to follow their calling even in critical times.[14][15] After the concert, he invited to a reception at various areas of the property, addressing each group there.[16]
The opening concert in 2023 was focused on French music with theTe Deum by Berlioz, conducted byAlain Altinoglu,[5] who conducted Gounod'sSt. Cecilia Mass with theMDR Rundfunkchor in a live-streamed concert in 2025.[18]
Every year, composers' anniversaries are celebrated. In 2009, six concerts were given each to music by Handel, includingIsrael in Egypt with theMonteverdi Choir underJohn Eliot Gardiner; by Haydn, includingThe Creation conducted byEnoch zu Guttenberg; and by Mendelssohn, includingElijah with theCollegium Vocale Gent underPhilippe Herreweghe. In 2010,Robert Schumann andFrédéric Chopin were celebrated in 16 concerts, such asDas Paradies und die Peri and piano music by Chopin withDaniel Barenboim. Seven concerts were devoted to Mahler andHugo Wolf, such asSpanisches Liederbuch. Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber performed Mahler'sSieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit (Seven Songs of Latter Days) and songs fromDas Lied von der Erde. In 2011 they performed the composer'sLieder eines fahrenden Gesellen,Des Knaben Wunderhorn andKindertotenlieder.[19]
2014 remembers three anniversaries of birth, 450 of Shakespeare, 300 ofC.P.E. Bach and 150 ofRichard Strauss. Bach's oratorioDie Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu was performed byHermann Max conducting theRheinische Kantorei andDas Kleine Konzert, with soloistsVeronika Winter,Markus Schäfer andMatthias Vieweg.[20]
Every year, some concerts are grouped around a theme; in 2010,Fernweh, in eight concerts, including one of theensemble amarcord, in 2011 the opposite:Heimweh. The theme of 2014 wasLiebespaare (Lovers).
The theme of 2016,Starke Frauen (Strong women), was expressed in a concert of Mad Songs of the time ofEnglish restoration, performed byDorothee Mields and theLautten Compagney, combining folk songs and art songs mostly byHenry Purcell.[21]
In 2023, the festival announced themes including works byGustav Mahler, Bach'sGoldberg Variations and Stravinsky'sLe Sacre du Printemps, both these works in several interpretations.[5]
Soloists still in their teens are presented at the regular seriesTreffpunkt Jugend (meeting point youth). They play in two Marathon concerts chamber music and concertos with orchestra.
Some performances are presented over several years, such as thepiano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven byRudolf Buchbinder. From 2003 to 2011,Eliahu Inbal conducted a series of the completesymphonies of Bruckner atEberbach Abbey with theWDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, concluding with the unfinishedNinth Symphony.[22]
Every year on 15 August theAssumption of Mary is celebrated by aMarienvesper (Vespers for the Virgin Mary), in 2010 Monteverdi'sVespro della Beata Vergine was performed to mark the 400th anniversary of the work, with theRIAS Kammerchor and theAkademie für Alte Musik Berlin, conducted byHans-Christoph Rademann. In 2011 the ensemble Concerto Romano, conducted by Alessandro Quarta, performed a combination of works by composers from Rome,Vincenzo Ugolini (Laudate pueri),Paolo Tarditi (c.1580–1661,Lauda Jerusalem),Domenico Massenzio (d.1650, "Ave maris stella"), and in particularLorenzo Ratti (c.1589–1630).[23] In 2013 Monteverdi's Vespers were performed again, this time by theensemble amarcord with additional singers, and theLautten Compagney conducted byWolfgang Katschner.[24]
Organ concerts have been played on the historic instruments of the region by organists such asMarie Claire Alain,Gabriel Dessauer,Edgar Krapp andIgnace Michiels.
In 2010 a new series started, presenting artists before their concerts in a separateRendezvous:Christoph Eschenbach, the percussionistMartin Grubinger andMenahem Pressler. The guests in 2011 wereAndreas Scholl[25] andChristian Gerhaher.[19]
A special feature of the RMF is the annualKomponistenporträt, the presentation of a living composer in talk and music. It was initiated byWalter Fink and has been sponsored by him. From the beginning in 1990 the core of this portrait has been the invitation of a composer for an interview with chamber music. The modern ESWE Atrium[26] was a fitting venue, but since a larger audience got interested the talks were moved to Schloss Johannisberg. In later years more concerts were added, sometimes in different locations, sometimes showing the works of the featured composer in relation to other music, concentrating on large scale works since 2005. Some composers have played or conducted themselves.
Songs by Wolfgang Rihm on texts by Goethe were performed, juxtaposed with Goethe-settings by Schubert, by Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber on 3 August 2014, just before a performance at theSalzburg Festival. They included the second performance ofHarzreise.[27]
Beginning in 2013 a new format presents a composer in residence, first Fazıl Say, who was also awarded theRheingau Musikpreis of 2013. He appeared in aWerkstadtkonzert (workshop concert) after preparing three compositions with seven students of theMusikhochschule Frankfurt. He introduced to the pieces and after each work answered questions from the audience. In two sonatas composed in 2012, with Turkish place names as movement titles, he played the piano, first a cello sonata in four movements, then a clarinet sonata in three movements, both including elements of Turkish music as well as jazz. The program ended with his wind quintet Op. 31.[28]
Jörg Widmann, Composer and Artist in Residence in 2014, appeared four times, as a clarinet soloist in two chamber music concerts playing the clarinet quintets byMozart andBrahms with the Arcanto Quartet and works by Stravinsky, Schumann and Bartók with his sister,Carolin Widmann, andDénes Várjon, in aRendezvous and aWerkstattkonzert with students of theMusikhochschule Frankfurt.[29] In the workshop, he presented four of his chamber music works, playing in two of them,Fieberphantasie for string quartet, clarinet and piano, and a quintet for piano and winds, the scoring of Mozart'squintet K. 452. The other works wereAir for horn solo, and the String Quartet No. 3Jagdquartett.[30]
The composer in residence of 2015 was Lera Auerbach, who performed her works as a pianist in several concerts, including aWerkstattkonzert (workshop concert) of chamber music with students of theFrankfurt Musikhochschule.
In 2017, two pianists were artists in residence,Igor Levit andMichael Wollny, who both played several concerts. Wollny invited for a concert at theKurhaus Wiesbaden the vocalistAndreas Schaerer, the saxophonistÉmile Parisien and the accordionistVincent Peirani.[33]
The festival usually concludes with a choral concert in Eberbach Abbey, including rarely performed works. In 2005Frieder Bernius conducted Penderecki'sPolish Requiem,[34]Helmuth Rilling conductedMessa per Rossini in 2001[35] and works entitledMessiah by bothSven-David Sandström andHandel in 2009.[36]
Artists have includedAnne-Sophie Mutter,Alfred Brendel,Mstislav Rostropovich, theAlban Berg Quartet,Zubin Mehta, andRiccardo Muti.[3]Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau has appeared as a recitator, andGiora Feidman andBobby McFerrin included their audience in their performance. In 2001,Dave Brubeck and his quartet appeared with theJacques Loussier Trio.[37]Chick Corea visited in 2009 and jammed withRoy Haynes, whose band had opened the concert.[38] Other artists of 2009 includedColin Davis,Ludwig Güttler,Martha Argerich,Frank Peter Zimmermann,Anne Sofie von Otter andOlga Scheps.[39]Lorin Maazel conducted theVienna Philharmonic in Bruckner'sSymphony No. 3 and Stravinsky'sLe sacre du printemps.
In 2011, theThomanerchor sang a concert of mostlymotets, including Bach'sJesu, meine Freude in Eberbach Abbey, part of the choir's tour in its 800th year.Andreas Scholl, born in the Rheingau, made his debut at the festival in three events, an interview, a trip (Rheingaureise) to three churches with different concert programs, and an opera recital with his sisterElisabeth in Eberbach Abbey.[25] TheLautten Compagney performed in concert Handel's operaRinaldo, 300 years after its premiere.[40] The ensembleLe Concert Spirituel, conducted byHervé Niquet, performed music for up to 40 voices byAlessandro Striggio, together with music ofOrazio Benevoli,Francesco Corteccia,Stefano Fabbri andClaudio Monteverdi.[41][42] Other artists of 2011 includedFreddy Cole,Yo-Yo Ma,Mitsuko Uchida,Waltraud Meier,Sabine Meyer,Heinrich Schiff,Frank Peter Zimmermann,Arabella Steinbacher,Daniel Müller-Schott,Xavier de Maistre,Omara Portuondo,Dianne Reeves,Nils Landgren,The King's Singers, theMünchner Philharmoniker withOlli Mustonen andHerbert Blomstedt, and theWindsbacher Knabenchor, among others.[43]
In 2013,Andris Nelsons conducted theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with soloistSol Gabetta in a program including Elgar'sCello Concerto and Dvořák'sEighth Symphony.[44]
In 2014,Maurizio Pollini made his debut at the festival, playing in theKurhaus Wiesbaden Chopin'sPreludes (Op. 28) and Book 1 of Debussy'sPreludes.[45][46]
On 17 June 2012, the 25th season of the festival was celebrated at theKurhaus, Wiesbaden, with speeches byVolker Bouffier,Roland Koch andEnoch zu Guttenberg. A concert was played by thehr-Sinfonieorchester and violinistFrank Peter Zimmermann, conducted byPaavo Järvi.[6][7]
The 25th season of the festival is celebrated by concerts of "Wegbegleiter" ("Companions along the way"), artists who have appeared regularly from the beginning, such as theVirtuosi Saxoniae, conducted byLudwig Güttler, theKammerchor Stuttgart, conducted byFrieder Bernius who had performed the very first concert of the festival, the piano duoAnthony & Joseph Paratore, the boys choirWindsbacher Knabenchor, percussionistBabette Haag, pianistsEwa Kupiec,Gerhard Oppitz,Justus Frantz,Tzimon Barto,Christoph Eschenbach andOleg Maisenberg, actorWalter Renneisen, theGächinger Kantorei andBach-Collegium Stuttgart withHelmuth Rilling, and Enoch zu Guttenberg with his ensembles.[47][48]
Other themes of the anniversary season were "Festmusiken" (Festive Music), "Geigenreigen" (Violin Circle) and "Orgeldimensionen" (Organ Dimensions).[47] TheMarienvesper was a sequence of works byAlessandro Melani, performed byDas kleine Konzert and theRheinische Kantorei, conducted byHermann Max, with soloistsVeronika Winter,Franz Vitzthum,Hans Jörg Mammel andMarkus Flaig, among others. The music was juxtaposed to Monteverdi'sIl combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, withJames Gilchrist.[49]
In 1994 the festival initiated theRheingau Musik Preis that has been awarded annually for musical achievements, to[50]
Many concerts have been conducted in collaboration with broadcasting stations, namelyHessischer Rundfunk. Selected events were recorded, including:[58]
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