On 22 October Manfred Trojahn celebrates his 70th birthday. Although is too early for an assessment of his life and work, Gerhard R. Koch traces some of the directions and milestones in the composer’s work.

„In mia vita da vuolp“ for soprano and saxophone and a new ensemble piece with clarinet for Donaueschingen

At the Salzburg Easter Festival, „Thérèse“ by Philipp Maintz to a libretto by Otto Katzameier receives its premiere. A multi-layered plot and its reflection in the music awaits the audience.

Songs for voice and piano are a constant thread running through Manfred Trojahn’s output. In an interview he reveals his thoughts about setting poetry to music: „to change, without damaging“.

The clarinet as representative of the human voice, chorus and symphony orchestra as sounding spaces: with these resources Miroslav Srnka is on the search for truth in our digital world.

„How to respond to Clara Schumann?“ That is the question for fellow composer Charlotte Seither, 146 years younger than Schumann. There’s no question of looking backwards for her.

In the few months since its first performance at the BBC Proms in London, Dieter Ammann’s “Piano Concerto (Gran Toccata)” has already been performed several times – in Taipei, Boston and Helsinki – each time to astonished and enthusiastic audiences. The pianist Andreas Haefliger is soloist and initiator of the concerto. With stupendous virtuosity, he is central to the series of performances of the work. Following the American and Finnish premieres, conductor Susanna Mälkki now conducts the German premiere on 9, 10 and 12 January 2020 with the Munich Philharmonic. (photo: Dieter Ammann and Andreas Haefliger after the world premiere in August in the Royal Albert Hall, London; photo: Chris Christodoulou)