In May 2026, southern Germany will be transformed into a stage for the classical music stars of tomorrow: at the ARD International Music Competition Festival, outstanding prizewinners will show what young chamber music can do today.

They will make a stop at the Bergson Kunstkraftwerk. The program kicks off with Ludwig van Beethoven's famous "Gassenhauer" Trio op. 11, a nickname that sounds like a Viennese backyard - and that's exactly where it comes from. Beethoven incorporated a melody into the trio that was a catchy tune throughout the streets of Vienna at the time. It was a hit from an opera by Joseph Weigl that everyone whistled. Beethoven took this popular theme and transformed it into a virtuoso, humorous work for piano, viola and cello.

Ethel Smyth's songs op. 4 are passionate and political. Smyth was not only a composer, but also one of the most prominent campaigners for women's suffrage in Great Britain. She conducted one of her works with a toothbrush from a prison window. Sounds perverse, but it is true. Her songs for baritone and piano combine late-romantic sonority with great emotional directness.

Franz Schubert's "Grenzen der Menschheit" takes us right into the existential questions of life. The poem by Goethe is powerful, and Schubert responds with dramatic soundscapes, surprising twists and turns and an almost orchestral piano accompaniment.

The concert concludes with Alexander Zemlinsky's Trio in D minor op. 3, a work by a young composer who would later become one of the defining figures of Viennese modernism. Written when he was just in his early twenties, it impresses with its passionate drama, dark colors and chamber music sophistication. The unusual instrumentation of clarinet, cello and piano creates a dazzling mixture of sounds - sometimes velvety, sometimes agitated, sometimes with an almost operatic gesture.

Experience these four works, which represent musical worlds of their own, played by the best musicians of the young generation.

Instrumentation:

Elad Navon, clarinet (2025: 1st prize, audience prize)

Samueol Park, vocals (2024: 1st prize)

Ionel Ungureanu, viola (2023: 3rd prize)

Liya Wang, piano (2025: 1st prize, audience prize)

Alexander Warenberg, violoncello (2024: 3rd prize)

Ludwig van Beethoven: Gassenhauer Trio for piano, viola and violoncello op. 11

Ethel Smyth: Songs op. 4 for baritone and piano

Franz Schubert: Grenzen der Menschheit for baritone and piano

Alexander Zemlinsky: Trio for clarinet, violoncello and piano in D minor op. 3

Admission: 15:30

Start: 16:00

End: 17:15

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