Kronberg im Taunus, 18 August 2026 – What gives us the courage to follow our convictions? And what power can music unleash when taking a stand matters? Under the motto “Courage! – A Festival About Courage, Humanity and the Power of Music”, the Kronberg Festival invites audiences to Kronberg from 22 September to 4 October 2026. Around 30 concerts featuring internationally renowned artists, outstanding ensembles and young soloists from Kronberg Academy will bring the many facets of courage to life through music.
“Courage!” – Bringing the Spirit of Pablo Casals into the Present
The festival takes its guiding inspiration from Pablo Casals, whose 150th birthday is celebrated in 2026. The great cellist and humanist combined artistic integrity with social responsibility and remained true to his convictions even when doing so came at a personal cost. “Pablo Casals was one of the defining artists of the century – but what continues to move us most deeply today is the example he set as a human being. He placed his convictions above his own career. This understanding of being a human being first and an artist second is part of Kronberg Academy’s DNA. ‘Courage!’ brings this spirit into the present, with artists such as Gabriela Montero, András Schiff and Gidon Kremer, for whom remaining silent is not an option.” – Raimund Trenkler, Founder and Artistic Director of Kronberg Academy
Rather than presenting courage as a one-dimensional political message, the festival explores it through a wide range of artistic and biographical perspectives: resistance to oppression, the courage to make a fresh start, the breaking of conventions, the search for new forms of expression – and the decision by artists to make their voices heard.
Opening Night with Gabriela Montero and the Pablo Casals Award
The opening concert on 22 September will bring this idea into sharp focus. Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero, who has publicly championed democracy, human rights and freedom in her home country for many years, will receive the Pablo Casals Award for a Better World, presented at the initiative of Flossbach von Storch SE. Actress Maria Furtwängler will deliver the laudatory address.
Together with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (hr-Sinfonieorchester), conducted by François Leleux, Montero will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24. Kurt Weill’s Symphony No. 2, composed in exile, will add another dimension to the evening’s themes of new beginnings and artistic independence.
Later that same evening, Edgar Moreau will perform Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra – music in which irony and defiance intertwine under the conditions of political repression.
Hope and the Future: Oksana Lyniv and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Two concerts on 23 September featuring Oksana Lyniv and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine will form a special focus of the festival. Bringing together young musicians from a country marked by war, the orchestra itself embodies resilience, faith in the future and the unifying power of making music together.
Johannes Moser will perform Lalo’s Cello Concerto, alongside Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony. In the second concert, Thomas Hampson will sing Mahler’s songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. The programme will also feature the world premiere of an elegy by Ukrainian composer Yuri Laniuk.
Artistic Courage: From Biber and Bach to World Premieres
Courage also runs like a thread through the festival’s musical programming: in works by composers who preserved their artistic voices despite exile, dictatorship or social pressure; in music that radically broke with convention; and in new compositions that venture into unexplored territory today.
“Courage is not merely a statement at this festival – it can be heard in the music itself: in the work of composers who preserved their voices despite exile and repression, in compositions that broke with convention, and in world premieres that explore new paths. This journey stretches from Biber and Bach through Shostakovich and Gulda to the present day – and has taken shape in collaboration with our artists.”– Prof. Dr. Friedemann Eichhorn, Artistic Director of Kronberg Academy
Several new works have been created in connection with the festival’s theme. Iranian composer Sarvenaz Safari will open a cello recital with “C wie …” (“C for …”), an evening also dedicated to Emanuel Feuermann, Jacqueline du Pré and Mstislav Rostropovich. Christian Jost’s “Seasons”, a new work for cello and string orchestra, will receive its world premiere. Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica will juxtapose Mozart and Shostakovich with another world premiere.
The festival will also deliberately cross the boundaries between musical genres. The hr-Bigband will join forces with Bruno Philippe for Friedrich Gulda’s unconventional Cello Concerto, while CelloFellows Bryan Cheng and Leonard Disselhorst will move between jazz, tango, folk and their own compositions.
Stegreif – The Improvising Symphony Orchestra will transform Beethoven’s “Eroica” into a concert experience combining improvisation, recomposition and movement – without sheet music, a conductor or fixed seating arrangements.
Great Artistic Personalities and Special Encounters
Other festival guests include Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Steven Isserlis, Janine Jansen, Anna Prohaska, Nicolas Altstaedt, Avi Avital, Fazıl Say and Sir András Schiff.
On 1 October, András Schiff will present a double concert with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, featuring works by Mendelssohn and Schumann. The second concert will place cellist Miklós Perényi centre stage – a reunion of longstanding musical companions.
Pablo Casals himself will be brought to life through music on 25 September with the concert “Für Casals” (“For Casals”). Gary Hoffman and young soloists from Kronberg Academy will perform works by Bloch, Mendelssohn, Casals, Cassadó and Brahms.
A Festival Beyond the Concert Hall
“Courage!” will also extend beyond the concerts themselves. In the literary and musical performance “Löwenherz – Erzähl mir von Courage” (“Lionheart – Tell Me About Courage”), actor Michael Rotschopf and cellist Oliver Herbert will combine literature and music in an unusual collage.
Texts and voices by Oscar Wilde, Thomas Mann, Natalia Ginzburg, Walt Whitman, Dawn Avery, Iannis Xenakis, Pau Casals and others will open up further inspiring perspectives on courage, conviction and humanity.
On 2 October, the discussion forum “Casourage” will explore the contemporary relevance of Casals’ legacy. Sir András Schiff, journalist and author Paul Lendvai, and young female artists from Kronberg Academy will discuss artistic freedom, social responsibility and what it means to stand up for one’s convictions today.
Running alongside the festival, the Kronberg Violin Making Biennale will bring together around 30 violin and bow makers, string manufacturers and other specialists at Kronberg’s Stadthalle from 29 September to 2 October.
Instrument presentations, sound demonstrations, open workshops and specialist lectures will offer visitors a first-hand experience of this traditional craft. Over almost two weeks, the Kronberg Festival will thus bring together concerts, discussions, education, new music, craftsmanship and personal encounters.
Cello Masterclasses: Passing Courage on to the Next Generation
Outstanding young cellists from around the world will come to Kronberg for the public Cello Masterclasses. Working with Frans Helmerson, Gary Hoffman, Jens Peter Maintz and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, they will offer audiences a direct insight into the process of developing a musical interpretation.
Workshops will take the idea of “Courage!” further – and are not exclusively intended for masterclass participants. Psychologist and violinist Andreas Burzik will address performance anxiety and stage presence.
In their improvisation workshop “Was wäre ich ohne Noten?” (“What Would I Be Without Sheet Music?”), BartolomeyBittmann will encourage participants to venture beyond their musical comfort zones.
In her “Biathlon Challenge”, Prof. Dr. Jana Leidenfrost will combine insights from psychology and elite sports with the demands of a musician’s life.
Finally, on 30 September, selected participants will present the results of their work in two closing concerts with the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn.
“Courage!” Marks the Beginning of the 2026/27 Season
The festival will also mark the beginning of the new concert season at the Casals Forum. One distinctive feature of Kronberg Academy is the way its programmes are developed: around 80 to 85 per cent are conceived in Kronberg and, for the most part, rehearsed and prepared there as well.
Rather than booking ready-made touring programmes, Kronberg Academy develops many of its concerts in direct dialogue with the participating artists. As founder and Artistic Director Raimund Trenkler puts it: “Here, you will hear programmes that you won’t hear anywhere else.”
The season will include the MittwochsKonzerte, Concerti Brillanti and Masters in Performance series; piano recitals by Marc-André Hamelin, Beatrice Rana and Bertrand Chamayou; the conclusion of Martin Helmchen’s Schubert cycle; and Jazz@Casals.
A new series, Chorwelten (“Choral Worlds”), will launch with international chamber choirs, making full use of the Casals Forum’s exceptional acoustic possibilities.
The FreundschaftsSpiele (“Friendship Games”) will bring together the Jánoška Ensemble, Gidon Kremer and Janine Jansen with friends, musical companions and Kronberg Young Soloists.
Birthday concerts will honour Tabea Zimmermann, Christian Tetzlaff and Antje Weithaas, while the Chamber Music Festival in spring will take Kronberg Academy alumni on a musical journey through Europe.
Detailed press information on the individual series and highlights of the 2026/27 season is enclosed with this press release.
Kronberg Festival 2026 “Courage!”
22 September – 4 October 2026
Casals Forum and other venues in Kronberg im Taunus, Germany
Full programme, tickets and further information: www.kronbergacademy.de
About Kronberg Academy
Kronberg Academy is one of the world’s leading centres for encounters and education for young violinists, violists, cellists and pianists.
Under the auspices of the Kronberg Academy Foundation, young soloists work alongside some of the most influential artistic personalities of our time in Kronberg and can pursue Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees through Kronberg Academy’s study programmes.
Concerts, festivals and international performances regularly offer them opportunities to make music together with their artistic role models.
Kronberg Academy’s guiding philosophy is inspired by Pablo Casals’ humanistic credo: art, humanity and respect for nature are inseparably connected.
This philosophy also finds expression in the Casals Forum, a concert hall with an integrated study centre designed for carbon-neutral operation.
Press Contact
Kronberg Academy Foundation
Beethovenplatz 1
61476 Kronberg im Taunus
Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 6173 78 33 78
www.kronbergacademy.de
Sacha Knoche
Press and Public Relations
Tel. +49 (0) 177 413 7338
s.knoche(at)kronbergacademy.de