Manuel Barrueco (USA/Cuba)

Koblenz Guitar Festival & Academy takes place for the first time at the Sayner Hütte

The Koblenz Guitar Festival & Academy is not changing its strings this year, but rather its location – specifically, the banks of the Rhine: The concerts of the 33rd edition of the renowned music festival will take place for the first time this year at the Sayner Hütte, which according to festival director Georg Schmitz offers concert venues highly suitable for this music: “The Krupp Hall is particularly acoustically appropriate for solo recitals, while the Casting Hall is ideal for orchestral concerts.” Until now, the events took place in the Rhein-Mosel-Halle; the master classes, which were previously held at the Koblenz Castle, are now moving to the State Music Academy at Schloss Engers.
As an “absolute fan of the Sayner Hütte,” Schmitz, who teaches as a professor at the Hochschule für Musik in Mainz, had long had his eye on the Bendorf industrial monument with its fascinating architecture and easily found an ally in managing director Dr. Björn Rodday. He emphasizes: “The Sayner Hütte unites history and present and offers an ideal framework as a vibrant resonance space for artistic questions for the Koblenz Guitar Festival. Amid the historical industrial backdrop, music can open new perspectives, promote dialogue between tradition and innovation, and intensify cultural experiences.” The nearby State Music Academy in Engers also offers excellent opportunities for teaching, as well as for catering and accommodation for participants and instructors, Schmitz is pleased to note: “One is now very close to the pulse.”
And that pulse is likely to quicken among friends of guitar music between June 1 and 9, as everything that has rank and name in the international scene will meet at the Sayner Hütte. Performers from Germany and numerous European countries, as well as overseas, will be featured. They will perform solo and in various chamber music ensembles. The festival also welcomes, among others, the orchestra and choir of the Hochschule für Musik Mainz, the Oxalis Quartet, the Joscho Stephan Trio, the Koblenz Guitar Festival Chamber Orchestra, and the French flutist Patrick Gallois.
The program includes not only the concert offerings but also exciting seminars, workshops, and master classes, as well as the annual competition at Schloss Engers, conversation concerts, and the awarding of the festival prize for lifetime achievement to guitarist David Russell. During the festival, instrument makers will present their portfolios of plucked instruments and invite participants to try them out. Additional attractions include sound art installations by students of the Sound Art Composition department at the Hochschule für Musik Mainz throughout the monument area of the Sayner Hütte, as well as daily concerts in the chapel of the Heinrich House in Engers. The relocation of the series and the new venues have generated great enthusiasm worldwide: “There are already registrations from Japan and Australia.”
The audience can already purchase tickets for all events at www.koblenzguitarfestival.de and find detailed information about the individual concert programs. All performing artists are also introduced there.