The centerpieces of the festival!
The "Musikfeste auf dem Lande" (Music Festivals in the Countryside) are a country outing, a family excursion and musical enjoyment all in one. The programme for the five weekends at the most beautiful estates in northern Germany has now been published. On Saturdays between 1 and 6 p.m. and on Sundays between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. there will be three concerts each with two one-hour breaks. On Saturday evenings, there will be a concert lasting about 90 minutes from 8 pm onwards.
Saturday evening: atmospheric concerts in front of a picturesque backdrop - for 23 euros!
The Saturday evening concerts are a special recommendation. Here, visitors not only enjoy rousing formations of different genres as well as the picturesque ambience of the manor houses - at a price of 23 euros, they also have the chance to listen to the music in the seat of their choice thanks to free seating.
On 1 July, the band 3 on the Bund from Limerick will take the audience to the Emerald Isle with exuberant Irish folk music. On 15 July, the ensemble Five Sax will present unusual facets of the saxophone with refined arrangements at Gut Stocksee. And Gut Emkendorf offers a Gypsy Night with the Dutch star quartet Eva sur Seine on 22 July. On Saturday evening in Pronstorf on 29 July, the eight-piece band Hepta Polka will create a colourful kaleidoscope of European folk music with a variety of instruments. And at Gut Wotersen, Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra guarantee a "Very British Party Atmosphere" on 12 August.
The day blocks: between picnics and summer music
At the "Music Festivals in the Countryside", both up-and-coming young talents in various formations and established international artists create the musical programme. For example, the Danish accordion trio TriOssia, finalists of the "Young Classic Artist Trust 2022" will perform at Gut Hasselburg, and the programme "#Wunderkammer!" by violinist Dorothea Schupelius and pianist Jelizaveta Vasiljevabegeben invites you on a discovery tour through music history.
In Stocksee, the Joolaee Trio will perform a captivating mix of European classical sounds, Persian and Turkish folk music and jazz. In addition, SHMF portrait artist 2023 Daniel Hope can be experienced together with Ukrainian pianist Alexey Botvinov. At Gut Emkendorf, visitors will enjoy virtuoso brass adventures by the 2022 German Music Competition award-winning quintet Bright Brass as well as a musical journey to Spain with the Viennese world music trio Cobario.
At the music festival at Gut Pronstorf, which will be accompanied entirely "op platt" by NDR presenter Lina Bande, two scholarship holders of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben will be on stage: cellist Cosima Federle and pianist Gabriel Yeo. And violinist Daniel Hope will share the podium with the SIGNUM saxophone quartet. At the last music festival at Gut Wotersen, the sponsorship prize of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe will be awarded. In addition, five participants of the "Hope Academy" will perform in different constellations.
The music festivals take place not only on and in front of the concert stage, but also outside on the grounds, where the breaks can be spent in the midst of the idyllic estate and countryside. Walking acts such as saxophone-playing chickens, a real goose band and living garden gnomes as well as rose bushes and meerkats on stilts wander around and enchant the visitors. During the concert breaks, there will also be a rich gastronomic offer, including a ready-packed picnic box with regional specialities, which can be booked online or by telephone when purchasing tickets.
The children's music workshop
During the day on all Musikfest weekends, parents are invited to bring their children to the Kindermusikwerkstatt. In the mobile music school, a spacious tent, the children will be looked after by trained music teachers and introduced to music in a playful way. They can try out the glockenspiel, the triangle or the bell drum to their heart's content or simply make their own instruments. A special highlight: the children rehearse for a short performance which is performed on the concert stage in front of their parents.
The children's music festivals at Wotersen Castle
At the children music festivals at Wotersen Castle, young SHMF visitors from the age of four experience concerts, hands-on activities and a varied supporting programme together with the whole family. In the first concert, KiKA presenter Juri Tetzlaff and the PROFIVE wind soloists will present the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, a true classic of world literature. Afterwards, the Austrian band Louie's Cage Percussion will ignite a virtuoso sound firework with their programme "Boomtastic", playing their way through the epochs of music history with percussion instruments from all over the world, ukulele, synthesiser, accordion and vocals.