With internationally established top ensembles from Cologne and North Rhine-Westphalia, six concerts take place annually in the Riphahn Hall at the Kölnische Kunstverein. Under the artistic direction of Tobias Kassung and the Cologne Classical Ensemble, the whole diversity of today's classical chamber music is presented here - spanning various epochs from ancient to contemporary music. New formations that combine classical, jazz and world music are guests here as well as classical string quartets, piano trios, duos and outstanding soloists. Famous and significant chamber music works are just as much on the program as pieces seldom heard or premieres of new music and unusual arrangements.
The music metropolis on the Rhine is home to numerous internationally recognized musicians. With its diversity and quality, the independent Cologne chamber music scene has earned the highest reputation worldwide. The chamber concerts at Kunstverein now give these top ensembles from Cologne and North Rhine-Westphalia a permanent showcase in their hometown. Since 2020, there are six concerts a year, each Saturday evening at 6 p.m., in the Riphahn Hall.
Right in the centre of Cologne, at Neumarkt, the Riphahn Hall with its beautiful, open architecture offers excellent acoustics for top-class chamber music. The combination of contemporary, visual art and chamber music spanning epochs sets a symbol for the unity of art, its diversity and topicality and promises a unique ambience.
Two "hashtags" that will appear regularly in the programme deserve special attention:
#RepertoireNRW: With this hashtag we would like to draw attention to new works that have already been premiered and are now facing the eternal threshold of all new music: will these works find their way into the repertoire of our concert life or will they disappear "in the drawer" - despite their outstanding quality. In the same way, there are many works that are already several decades old, have been played for a while and are now threatening to disappear again. All of these works should have a special connection to NRW. Either in the person of a composer who lives or was born here or a composition commissioned from NRW. In 2022, we will present two works by Thomas Blomenkamp, as well as one work each by Tobias Kassung, Hans Werner Henze and Heinz Horst Frank Pauels.
#Startschuss@Koeln: In 2021, we already gave the "starting signal" for a larger ensemble project with the 8CELLI concert. We plan to continue this every year. Accordingly, one concert in our series is dedicated to a new, extraordinary collaboration between established ensembles or musicians and their new project. In 2022, this will be the renowned FUKIO Saxophone Quartet, which has prepared a programme together with the pianist Inna Firsova and is now celebrating the "starting shot" for it with us on the stage of the Riphahn Hall.
