Lots of people at the music picnic at Proschwitz Castle

Musical enjoyment with wine, sparkling wine and treats from the picnic basket: the Moritzburg Festival attracted around 600 people to the park at Proschwitz Castle for its traditional musical morning pint. In a sunny and relaxed atmosphere, the 36 participants of this year's Moritzburg Academy - young musicians from 20 countries - served up chamber music in a wide variety of formations to the guests for a good three hours. For example, a movement from Beethoven's 1st Symphony was played in a version for ten woodwinds and double bass.

Focus on 20th-century classics

The majority of the program, however, concerned "classics" of the 20th century such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Erwin Schulhoff, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski, Alberto Ginastera and Heitor Villa-Lobos. A work by the Czech-Jewish composer Gideon Klein was also performed. He was interned in a subcamp of the German extermination camp Auschwitz and was shot by SS guards just a few hours before the camp was liberated in January 1945 at the age of 25.

Jan Vogler, Artistic Director of the Moritzburg Festival, explained the focus of the program as follows: For the young musicians, works of the 20th century are a matter of course, with which they can shine even more than with Beethoven or Mozart. This is because there are rhythmic challenges in this music and already elements of jazz and rock that are fun to interpret. However, the young people who make up the festival orchestra every year as part of the Moritzburg Academy can also be experienced "classically" in the coming days.

Festival Academy is seen as a springboard for a career in classical music

The Moritzburg Academy is seen as a springboard for a career in classical music. This year, the Festival Academy is celebrating its 20th birthday. The young men and women received a full scholarship and traveled from four continents. They have only been rehearsing a program of chamber music and orchestral literature for a few days under the guidance of experienced artists. Next Saturday, the festival orchestra will give a concert in Dresden's Kulturpalast under the direction of its Spanish chief conductor Josep Caballé Domenech.

This year, the Moritzburg Festival invites you on a musical journey through Europe. The 20 concerts are entitled with European city names and offer a discovery tour in which 23 musicians from all over the world will put the audience in the mood for European places and regions. Next Tuesday, for example, there will be a concert in Rome with works by Italian masters, followed by St. Petersburg on Wednesday and Oslo and Copenhagen on Friday. The festival lasts until August 24.

Marlboro Festival in the USA was the inspiration for Moritzburg

Jan Vogler founded the Moritzburg Festival for Chamber Music in 1993 with his brother Kai and his cello colleague Peter Bruns. The idyllic location just outside Dresden soon became a magnet for chamber musicians from all over the world. The founders were inspired by the Marlboro Festival in the USA. The participants there also present the results of their work in concerts after a rehearsal phase.