„In einer Welt des Friedens und der Liebe wäre Musik die universelle Sprache“, behauptete der musikliebende Dichter Henry David Thoreau. Die oftmals streitbaren Persönlichkeiten berühmter Komponisten sprechen freilich eine andere Sprache: Wagner bezichtigt Brahms des Katzenmordes, während Verdi seine „Aida“ nur komponiert, um Wagner eins auszuwischen. Beethoven rät Rossini gönnerhaft, nur komische Opern zu komponieren, für alles andere hingegen fehle ihm das Talent.
Und es kommt noch schlimmer: Der Renaissance-Musiker Carlo Gesualdo wird aus Eifersucht sogar zum Doppelmörder. Hector Berlioz plant einen Dreifachmord mit anschließendem Selbstmord, bis ihn die Ouvertüre zu „King Lear“ auf andere Gedanken bringt.
Die Welt kann sich zumindest daran erfreuen, dass die Eifersüchteleien der Musik-Heroen für beste Unterhaltung sorgen.

Highest virtuosity and poetic depth: Anna Vinnitskaya can not only ignite spectacular fireworks, but also paint great paintings. Her technical brilliance is never a virtuoso end in itself, but always a means of expression. Since winning 1st prize at the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels in 2007, Anna Vinnitskaya has made a major international chart and plays with the most important orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic under Kirill Petrenko.

An exquisite ensemble led by violinist and ARD competition winner Sarah Christian and cello virtuoso Maximilian Hornung will be guests at Schloss Elmau. The programme includes two important works of large string chamber music, Korngold's Sextet, a youthful work by the Vienna-born and highly acclaimed young composer. The second part will feature Tchaikovsky's “Souvenir de Florence”, a cheerful work characterised by wonderful melodic inventions, which Tchaikovsky composed in 1890 during a stay of several months in Florence.

The young saxophonist Asya Fateyeva is this year's portrait artist at the famous Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. In preparation for this, the musicians will play their first concert at Schloss Elmau. With the special instrumentation of saxophone, hurdy-gurdy, cello and vibraphone, they will trace the touching poetry of medieval songs from the 12th and 13th centuries, when the first great form of art song developed. The main theme of these songs is love in all its facets. The almost thousand-year-old songs form the basis for Asya Fateyeva and her quartet, which they interpret and arrange from today's perspective.

Top experts explain the threat situation and Europe's options for action.

Big band jazz made in Bavaria. Like no other big band, the Jazzrausch Bigband stands for an energetic fusion of electronic music and jazz. With the new programme “Europa” – to coincide with the European Football Championship – the Jazzrausch Bigband focuses on the twists and turns and points of contact that arise in Europe: linguistic diversity, folk songs and traditional elements flow together with pulsating techno beats.
This year, the band is celebrating its tenth anniversary and will be presenting a total of ten different programmes at Schloss Elmau as Ensemble in Residence 2024. Next concert date: Tuesday, 30 July

The first-class ensemble for this concert is made up of four of Germany's most successful soloists. In this concert, the musicians dedicate themselves to the Piano Quartet op. 25 by Johannes Brahms, which, with its Rondo alla zingarese, became one of the most famous chamber music works in music literature. They will also perform the Adagio e rondo concertante D.487 by Franz Schubert.

Fantastic worlds of sound in a virtuoso flow, melodic richness, drama and great emotions: Finnish jazz pianist Iiro Rantala is taking his new album “Veneziana” on tour and, together with the versatile and highly creative vision string string quartet, creating a rousing city portrait of a different kind – programme music that only Iiro Rantala can write. Behind every musical twist lies a new surprise: Long live Venice!

Valery Tscheplanowa presents her book “Das Pferd im Brunnen”.

Curtis Stigers, award-winning singer, songwriter and saxophonist with millions of albums sold and an impressive 30-year career, is coming to Schloss Elmau for the first time. On his tour, the singer with a warm, velvety voice looks back on his international hits such as “I Wonder Why” and “Never Saw A Miracle” in his own relaxed, jazzy, bluesy style, which has earned him a firm place in the international music scene.

Experience the breathtaking masterpiece that has captivated audiences around the world. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer" transports us into the mind of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, whose groundbreaking work on the Manhattan Project resulted in the first atomic bomb.

The Kora is a West African harp instrument with 21 strings, traditionally played by men. Sona Jobarteh has broken this old rule! She plays the kora standing up and demonstrates her complex musical skills on stage as the front woman of her own band. In her compositions she uniquely combines the influences of modern music with traditional African music and thus remains connected to the roots of her homeland..

In the 16th century, the world changed fundamentally. With the discovery of America, the claim of European domination over this “new” world was born. Literary historian Marina Münkler traces this dramatic age of discovery and conflict, describing the media revolution of printing and the Reformation, the birth of modern natural science, but also the peasant wars and witch burnings. A century that was fundamental in every respect – and which, as Marina Münkler shows, has much in common with us.

In 2023, rapper Roger Rekless, singer Eva Ahoulou and pianist Matthias Bublath faced a major challenge: they were commissioned by „Bayerischer Rundfunk“ to transform six songs relating to the year 1923 into the present day in six weeks and perform these songs on stage in a concert. They were accompanied by a „BR“ camera team. The result is the documentary #Challenge1923 (ARD media centre).
Rekless, Ahoulou and Bublath were not only concerned with how to deal with music, but also with topics that were topical 100 years ago and still are today: Everyday racism, discrimination, but also the unifying power of music! This project can now be experienced live at Schloss Elmau in film, in conversation and as a concert.

In 2023, rapper Roger Rekless, singer Eva Ahoulou and pianist Matthias Bublath faced a major challenge: they were commissioned by „Bayerischer Rundfunk“ to transform six songs relating to the year 1923 into the present day in six weeks and perform these songs on stage in a concert. They were accompanied by a „BR“ camera team. The result is the documentary #Challenge1923 (ARD media centre).
Rekless, Ahoulou and Bublath were not only concerned with how to deal with music, but also with topics that were topical 100 years ago and still are today: Everyday racism, discrimination, but also the unifying power of music! This project can now be experienced live at Schloss Elmau in film, in conversation and as a concert.

The film tells the story of a wife suspected of murder. After her husband dies in unexplained circumstances, she finds herself in the middle of the investigation. As is typical of the legal drama genre, numerous secrets are revealed in the search for the truth. The film shines with its unique dramaturgy and acting, especially from lead actress Sandra Hüller.

June 1940: Hitler's Wehrmacht has defeated France. The Gestapo is searching for Heinrich Mann and Franz Werfel, Hannah Arendt, Lion Feuchtwanger and countless others who have found asylum in France since 1933. Meanwhile, the American Varian Fry comes to Marseille to rescue as many of them as possible. Uwe Wittstock tells the story of unbelievable courage and utter despair, of defiant hope and humanity in dark times in a densely scenic and sensitive way.

This story begins with insomnia. And a narrator who wants nothing more than to be freed from it. Back to happiness. To be healed. Following his highly acclaimed debut, Timon Karl Kaleyta's second novel takes up the omnipresent desire for healing to tell of something as topical as it is universally human: What begins as a stay at a spa, which the protagonist hopes will put an end to his sleepless nights, turns into a restless search for happiness. But how do you find happiness today?

He is one of the great pianists of our time: Evgeny Kissin has been performing on stages around the world for over three decades, impressing audiences as a virtuoso and as a serious pianist dedicated exclusively to music. Recently, he has also emerged as a political artist, taking a stand against his native Russia and condemning the attack on Ukraine in the strongest possible terms in a public discussion at Schloss Elmau. On this August evening, he will take his seat at the Elmau grand piano for the first time for a piano recital with works by Beethoven, Chopin and Prokofiev.

The Swiss instrument Hang, an sounding body with a meditative sound, has made the Tyrolean Manu Delago a star – and a video on YouTube that was clicked almost 5 million times. He is responsible for sold-out houses from India to Mexico, from the USA to Germany. World stars like the Icelandic pop icon work closely with him. Now the Tyrolean musician and composer can be experienced for the first time in Schloss Elmau and presents a splendid interplay of experimental pop, detail-loving electronics and rocky chamber music.