Experience culture. Poetry Slam in Hamburg

Inspiring Japan

With its new presentation of the East Asia Collection, the MK&G is celebrating the unbroken inspirational power of Japanese design. Now on display for the first time are paintings from the Edo period (1615–1868), Buddhist calligraphy and colour woodblock prints from the private collection of Walter Gebhard, acquired by the museum in 2021. The exhibition unfolds over two storeys: In the first part, the pictures enter into a dialogue with ceramics, lacquerware, bamboo baskets, metalwork and sword ornaments from the existing collection.

International Mendelssohn Festival Hamburg 2026

»In the Rausch der Farben« conceives of sound as color, as light, as shifting perception. Johann Sebastian Bach’s First Cello Suite serves as a prism at the beginning, from which a multitude of shades unfold. Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy translate this idea into a musical language that focuses on atmosphere and fleeting impressions. After the intermission, the »reimagined« Ciaconna offers a fresh perspective on the Baroque legacy, before Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s String Quintet, Op. 87, weaves together the dimensions of clarity, color, and movement into a multi-layered soundscape.

PERFORMERS

Talich Quartet string quartet

Jan Talich violin

Roman Patočka violin

Radim Sedmidubský viola

Michal Kaňka violoncello

Jiyoon Lee violin

Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic viola

Hartmut Rohde viola

Niklas Schmidt violoncello

Jens Bomhardt double bass

Patrick Gallois flute

Michel Lethiec clarinet

Asya Fateyeva saxophone

Álmos László Tallós harp

Martín Zamorano piano

PROGRAM

Johann Sebastian Bach
Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 for Solo Violoncello

Maurice Ravel
Introduction et Allegro für Flöte, Klarinette, Harfe und Streichquartett

Claude Debussy
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune

- Interval -

Johann Sebastian Bach
Chaconne »

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Streichquintett B-Dur op. 87

International Mendelssohn Festival Hamburg 2026

»Triumph of the Keys« highlights the piano as a versatile center of expression. Mendelssohn’s Fantasy, Op. 28, combines free form with internal coherence, while his Songs Without Words and Paderewski’s Melody open up a lyrical, song-like dimension. Bartók’s Burlesques introduce a sharper, rhythmically pointed musical language that broadens the expressive spectrum. Ravel’s La Valse condenses these developments into a dazzling whirlwind between elegance and the abyss. In Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto—in a chamber music arrangement—the evening finally culminates in music of monumental clarity and radiant energy.

PERFORMERS

Jiyoon Lee violin

Matthias Lingenfelder violin

Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic viola

Niklas Schmidt violoncello

Jens Bomhardt double bass

Shion Ota piano

Annika Treutler piano

PROGRAM

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Fantasia fis-Moll op. 28 »Sonate écossaise«

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Lied ohne Worte fis-Moll op. 67/2

Ignaz Jan Paderewski
Melodie Nr. 2 Ges-Dur op. 16

Béla Bartók
Drei Burlesken Sz 47

Maurice Ravel
La valse

- Interval -

Ludwig van Beethoven
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73

International Mendelssohn Festival Hamburg 2026

»Im Aufbruch« traces musical paths between movement, openness, and a new musical language. Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words unfold a multitude of characters—from dialogic intimacy to shimmering drive. Weber’s Violin Sonata combines classical form with lively expressiveness, before Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66, reaches a heightened urgency and emotional breadth. In the second part, the horizon broadens: Dvořák’s Largo opens up a space of memory and longing, Schumann’s folk-inspired pieces deliberately seek closeness to simplicity, while Nadia Boulanger introduces a new, concentrated musical language. Beethoven’s »Gassenhauer Trio« concludes the evening with a movement that reconciles lightness and structure.

PERFORMERS

Mark Gothóni violin

Niklas Schmidt violoncello

Arto Noras violoncello

Michel Lethiec clarinet

Juhani Lagerspetz piano

PROGRAM

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Lied ohne Worte in A-flat major, Op. 38/6 »Duetto«

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Songs Without Words in A major, Op. 62/6 »Spring Song«

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Lied ohne Worte g-Moll op. 19b/6 »Venetianisches Gondellied«

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Lied ohne Worte C-Dur op. 67/4 »Spinnerlied«

Carl Maria von Weber
Sonate für Violine und Klavier C-Dur op. 10/6

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66

- Interval -

Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 »From the New World«

Robert Schumann
Five Pieces in Folk Style for Violoncello and Piano, Op. 102

Nadia Boulanger
Trois Pièces for Violoncello and Piano

Ludwig van Beethoven
Finale

International Mendelssohn Festival Hamburg 2026

A programmatic opening: »Aufforderung zum Tanz« unfolds Romanticism as a movement—navigating the space between social gesture, inner feeling, and sonic imagination. Carl Maria von Weber’s famous Rondo opens the evening as a musical ritual that combines elegance and virtuosity while also bearing narrative traits. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s late string quartets, Op. 81, reveal a reflective musical language that oscillates between formal awareness and expression, while the »Lieder ohne Worte« turn their gaze inward, giving rise to musical poetry without text. Robert Schumann’s Studies in Canonical Form lead into a realm of intensification where artistry and imagination intertwine. Weber’s Clarinet Quintet brings the program full circle: a work that unites vocal warmth, tonal sophistication, and virtuosic lightness.

PERFORMERS

Talich Quartet string quartet

Jan Talich violin

Roman Patočka violin

Radim Sedmidubský viola

Michal Kaňka violoncello

Sophia Jaffé violin

Maria Kliegel violoncello

Julian Bliss clarinet

Annika Treutler piano

Hubert Rutkowski piano

PROGRAM

Carl Maria von Weber
Aufforderung zum Tanze op. 65

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Vier Stücke für Streichquartett Es-Dur op. 81

Robert Schumann
Studies for the Pedal Piano

- Interval -

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Lieder ohne Worte op. 53

Carl Maria von Weber
Klarinettenquintett B-Dur op. 34

International Mendelssohn Festival Hamburg 2026

»Feverish Restlessness« paints a panorama of musical tension—a state suspended between inner agitation, fragile balance, and eruptive energy. Robert Schumann’s Violin Sonata exemplifies music that thrives on impulse and derives its form from movement. In Jörg Widmann’s Fieberphantasie, this energy reaches a contemporary climax: a sonic space between ecstasy and fragility. In contrast are works that unfold virtuosity as a refined surface—for example, in the music of Cécile Chaminade and in the brilliant pieces by Carl Maria von Weber and André Messager. In the second part, the dramaturgy intensifies: Schumann’s Piano Quartet condenses these states of tension into a form of great cohesion and inner intensity.

PERFORMERS

Sophia Jaffé violin

Matthias Lingenfelder violin

Jiyoon Lee violin

Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic viola

Hartmut Rohde viola

Niklas Schmidt violoncello

Julian Bliss clarinet

Asya Fateyeva saxophone

Stepan Simonian piano

Annika Treutler piano

Juhani Lagerspetz piano

PROGRAM

Robert Schumann
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105

Jörg Widmann
Fieberphantasie für Klavier, Streichquartett und Klarinette

Cécile Chaminade
Concertino pour Flûte op. 107

Carl Maria von Weber
Andante con moto

André Messager
Solo de Concours

- Interval -

Carl Maria von Weber
Sonate für Violine und Klavier G-Dur op. 10/2

Carl Maria von Weber
Adagio und Rondo Violoncello und Klavier F-Dur J 115

Robert Schumann
Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47