Martin Maria Krüger has been President of the German Music Council since 2003. He is the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the German Music Council and Chairman of the Musikfonds e.V. since 2016. On the occasion of “70 years of the German Music Council”, Krüger gives an exciting insight into the diverse work of the German Music Council. The DMR e.V. is the largest music association in the world with over 100 specialist musical associations. The DMR gGmbH is responsible for numerous national funding projects, including the national competition Jugend musiziert.

1. Genoël von Lilienstern: Couture (2014)
for two sinthesizer soloists and orchestra
Benjamin Kobler, Lars Jönson, SWR Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov

2. Yiran Zhao: behind the apples (2018)
for six voices
New Vocal Soloists Stuttgart

3. Jonah Haven: starnge nest (2020)
for bass clarinet, piano and violoncello
Trio Catch

4. Jonah Haven: gasser (2020)
for eight musicians
Ensemble Proton Bern, Gregor A. Mayrhofer

5. Genoël von Lilienstern: Top (2012/13)
for ensemble
Ensemble Interface

Music:
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Overture "The Hebrides or The Fingal's Cave" op. 26
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Dayner Tafur-Díaz (conductor)

As a recorder player, harpsichordist and ensemble leader, Max Volbers is one of the most versatile young musicians in the field of early music. He is winning hearts with his recorder - and not just in the early music scene. In 2021, he won the German Music Competition, and his debut CD "Whispers of Tradition" from the German Music Competition prizewinner series on the GENUIN label was awarded the OPUS KLASSIK in the "Young Artist of the Year" category. We talk to him about his success, the importance of competitions and why he is involved in the German Music Council's Future Workshop.

Music:
Ole Sinell: "With the Rollator over Red" 
Federal Jazz Orchestra
Niels Klein (conductor)
 
Bernice Petkers / Francy Boland: "Lullaby of the Leaves"
Federal Jazz Orchestra
Jiggs Whigham (conductor)
 
Jerome Kern / Darmon Meader: "The Song Is You"
Federal Jazz Orchestra
Jiggs Whigham (conductor)

All links to the song here!

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Camera and cut by Sven Int-Veen

Styling: Luzia Knauf

Hair and make-up: Anne-Lena Cox

Photos: Kaspar Achenbach

Song production: oh.no.ty

Mix and master: Beats by A

The concert experience and accessibility - how well is the German music scene prepared for this? What experiences do people with disabilities have at festivals, in clubs and at concerts? The reason for this podcast episode is an online focus recently published by the German Music Information Center, an institution of the German Music Council. On miz.org you can find the new offer on the topic of "Inclusion in musical life" with reports, interviews and facts from a wide variety of perspectives. Music journalist Thilo Braun spoke to people involved in the scene for us, including Ron Paustian from the "Inklusion muss laut sein" initiative and music educator Prof. Dr. Irmgard Merkt.

The Critical Orchestra® brings together members of renowned orchestras on a voluntary basis to provide young conductors with a unique teaching environment: It is the musicians themselves who give the conductors their feedback and suggestions during rehearsals.

Antje Valentin has been Secretary General of the German Music Council since March 1, 2024. What are her first impressions after 100 days being in office? What issues are particularly important to her and the German Music Council at the moment? And what does this work actually mean in concrete terms: being Secretary General and thus being the mouthpiece for 15 million people making music in Germany? She spoke to Regina Voss about these and other questions.

Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony was performed for the first time on 7 May 1824. The National Youth Orchestra and the World Youth Choir celebrated the 200th anniversary of this masterpiece in a very special way in summer 2024: For the first time, they went on tour together with around 90 instrumentalists and just as many singers from 42 nations. The young talents not only brought Beethoven's 9th Symphony with them, but also a brand new choral concerto: the ‘Choral Concerto: Nine’ by world-famous composer Tan Dun. In this work, Tan Dun explores Beethoven and Schiller's ‘Ode to Joy’. Music journalist Tabea Dupree spoke to him about his inspiration and the musical bridge he builds between past and present.

Moderation: Tabea Dupree
Voiceover: Rudolf Guckelsberger
Music:
Ludwig van Beethoven: 4th movement from Symphony No. 9 in D minor op. 125 (excerpt)
Tan Dun: Choral Concerto: Nine (excerpt)
Commissioned by the German Music Council, the BTHVN 2020 Jubilee Society, the Royal Philharmonic Society London, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Deutsche Welle

German National Youth Orchestra
World Youth Choir
Conductor: Tan Dun
(Live recording by Deutsche Welle from 7 September 2024 from the Bonn Opera)

The National Youth Choir is the third youth ensemble sponsored by the German Music Council, after the National Youth Orchestra and the National Jazz Orchestra. Shortly before the Federal Youth Choir's concert at chor.com in Hannover in September 2024, Raliza Nikolov met with Artistic Director Anne Kohler and singer Anton Förster and spoke to them about the development, the special features and the future of the Federal Youth Choir. In 2021, the National Youth Choir gave its inaugural concert in the Philharmonie Berlin, where does the choir stand now and what are the future plans for this top young ensemble?

Moderation: Raliza Nikolov
Guests: Prof. Anne Kohler, Anton Förster
Music from the debut CD waldeslust (Carus-Verlag, www.carus-verlag.com/musiknoten-und-aufnahmen/waldeslust-8353900.html)

Excerpts from:
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Hunting Song MWV F 22 (1844)
Elisabeth Fußeder, waldschwärze

In the new podcast episode, Managing Director Stefan Piendl talks about the multifaceted work of the Deutscher Musikrat gGmbH. He sheds light on the challenges of recent years, including Corona, outlines structural developments and current focal points in project work. 

Moderation: Claudia Rometsch
Music excerpts from: Brahms Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 

Sport and music make encounters possible. Be it in training, camps, rehearsals or games: Both areas not only teach practical skills, but also promote communication, a shared understanding of values and social and emotional skills. Sport and music show how people can come together regardless of their background or perspective and create something great together.
A current example of the combination of sport and music is the Euro 24 Tour of the Bundesjazzorchester. This year, the orchestra brought jazz to soccer fans across the country, opening up new ways of combining music and sporting enthusiasm. In the latest podcast episode, current members of the BuJazzO talk about their impressions, and Tom Gaebel, former member of the orchestra and now soloist on the tour, also has his say.