PROGRAM

CLASSICAL MUSIC HAS ALWAYS BEEN EVOLVING – SO WHY SHOULDN'T IT NOW?

The programme of the 4-day festival is highly varied: In addition to the immortal masterpieces from the classical repertoire, we present a wide range of modern pieces and works by less known and marginalized composers, as well as uniquely composed pieces for the occasion.

Every year, we also curate concerts that break down the boundaries between classical music and other genres such as jazz, electronics, and folk. All of this to show that classical music can be many things – far more than you might expect, and far beyond what initially meets the eye.

Get your full festival pass now. Single tickets out 1st April.

Wednesday

June 18

In the Beginning There Was Light

19:00 – 21:00

TICKETS

Franz Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1

Anna Agafia (violin), Jonathan Swensen (cello), Gustav Piekut (piano)

Germaine Tailleferre: Violin Sonata No. 1

Ludvig Gudim (violin), David Munk-Nielsen (piano)

Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 1

Anna Agafia (violin), Yura Lee (viola), Andreas Brantelid (cello), David Munk-Nielsen (piano)

What to expect:

We open this year’s festival with music that radiates brightness and captures the feeling of excitement and anticipation before embarking on a new adventure.

The first half begins with Franz Schubert’s Trio No. 1—an adventurous and heroic work full of storytelling spirit. This is followed by a shorter piece by the French composer Germaine Tailleferre, offering a refreshing contrast, like a musical palate cleanser. The journey then continues into the second half, where we are invited into the endlessly beautiful and dreamlike world of Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1.

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Minimalistic Awareness

21:45 – 23:00

TICKETS

György Ligeti: Sonata for Solo Cello

Jonathan Swensen (cello)

Arvo Pärt: Fratres

Michael Germer (violin), Gustav Piekut (piano)

John Adams: Hallelujah Junction

David Munk-Nielsen (piano), Gustav Piekut (piano)

What to expect:

Repetitive, pulsating motifs and a state of meditative awareness. This program explores the quiet power that lies within something seemingly simple.

The focus is on solo works, where each instrument is laid bare, as well as a piece for two pianos that expands the soundscape while remaining rooted in minimalistic clarity.

The concert will be a shorter, concentrated experience without an intermission.

Get your full festival pass now. Single tickets out 1st April.

Thursday

June 19

An American in Copenhagen

19:00 – 21:00

TICKETS

Josefine Lindstrand: Sånger från bergen (text by Edith Södergran)

Anna S. Þorvaldsdóttir: Heyr mig min sál, Heyr þú oss himnum á

ÆTLA Vocal ensemble

Lil Lacy: RESONANS (world premiere)

Friends Philharmonic. Nicholas Swensen (conductor)

Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring

Friends Philharmonic. Nicholas Swensen (conductor)

Charles Ives: A Set of Pieces for Theatre Orchestra

Friends Philharmonic. Nicholas Swensen (conductor)

Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings

Friends Philharmonic. Nicholas Swensen (conductor)

What to expect:

This program holds a special place in this year’s festival. We are thrilled to introduce Lil Lacy (US/DK) as our new composer-in-residence. The evening revolves around themes of community and hope. Together with our amazing chamber orchestra, Friends Philharmonic, we are guaranteed an unforgettable evening.

The title of the concert reflects a meeting between worlds: a series of works by American composers such as Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, and Samuel Barber will visit us here in Copenhagen, in dialogue with our composer-in-residence Lil Lacy, whose roots span both America and Denmark.

As a prelude to the evening, the vocal ensemble ÆTLA will open the concert with two solo works, setting the tone for a night of reflection and connection.

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Acoustic Improvisation

21:45 – 23:00

TICKETS

Cornelia Nilsson Trio

Award-winning Swedish drummer Cornelia Nilsson (b. 1992) is making waves on the Scandinavian jazz scene. Since 2016, she has performed around Europe with musicians like Ben Besiakov, Tim Hagans, Seamus Blake, Mathias Landæus, Anders ’AC’ Christensen, Tomas Franck, Gilbert Holmström, and many others.

She subbed in piano legend Kenny Barron’s trio in 2019, and in May of 2022, she played with bass icon Ron Carter.

WHERE DO YOU GO? -- an impressive and moving debut from the Swedish drummer and composer, presents her in two trio settings - one featuring the brilliant American pianist Aaron Parks and the other, Hungarian tenor titan Gabor Bolla. Superb Swedish bassist Daniel Franck joins Nilsson throughout the entire album.

For this occasion we will hear Nilsson in close interaction with the innovative pianist Søren Kjærgaard and the equilibristic bassist Nils Bo Davidsen.

What to expect:

The trio explores space and beauty combined with volcanic energy in an acoustic setting and shares a sense of immediate recognition and natural musical understanding.

Let go and let the music lead the way through a set filled with original compositions and sketches but first and foremost: improvisation.

The concert will be a shorter, concentrated experience without an intermission.

Get your full festival pass now. Single tickets out 1st April.

Friday

June 20

Existential Quartets & Explosive Quintets

19:00 – 21:00

TICKETS

Gabriella Smith: Carrot Revolution for String Quartet

Anna Agafia (violin), Ludvig Gudim (violin), Yura Lee (viola), Jonathan Swensen (cello)

Alberto Ginastera: Piano Quintet, op. 29

Ludvig Gudim (violin), Adam Koch (violin), Yura Lee (viola), Jonathan Swensen (cello), Valdemar Wenzel Most (piano)

Antonín Dvořák: Piano Quintet No. 2

Yura Lee (violin), Adam Koch (violin), Nicholas Swensen (viola), Andreas Brantelid (cello), Gustav Piekut (piano)

What to expect:

An evening of contrasts and intensity. From Gabriella Smith’s wild and colorful Carrot Revolution, bursting with rhythmic vitality, to Ginastera’s piano quintet, where energy and lyrical moments collide.

Ending the concert with Dvořák melodic, dreamy and luscious piano quintet – this concert will have the full emotional range!

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Now we are here – in a moment, we’ll be gone

21:45 – 23:00

TICKETS

Sofia Gubaidulina: De Profundis

Bjarke Mogensen (accordeon)

Mikkel B. Grevsen: A reflection on the time we all live in—a time none of us have chosen, and none of us can escape (world premiere)

Mikkel B. Grevsen (trumpet, mellophone, synthesizer, electronics), Bjarke Mogensen (accordeon), Sophie Haagen (mezzo soprano)

What to expect:

With this concert, we explore the fusion of two contrasting wind instruments — the trumpet and the accordion — focusing on delicate movements and sonic details that gradually unfold into larger patterns, forming complete musical gestures with a tantalizing, fragmented undertone.

The concert also features mezzo-soprano Sophie Haagen in four arias. The libretto will consist of clear lines that evolve and dissolve, marked by sorrowful outbursts and open harmonies.

The work is a hymn to human nature, to nature itself, and to the structures imposed on the human mind. The music is conceived as an immediate and honest reflection of the time we all inhabit — a time none of us have chosen, and none of us can escape.

At its core, it is, hopefully, something beautiful to drift into — and surrender to.

Get your full festival pass now. Single tickets out 1st April.

Saturday

June 21

Klods-Hans / En Familiekoncert

11:00 – 12:00

TICKETS

Klods-Hans / Familiekoncert

Mathias Hammer, festival musicians

What to expect:

Oplev den elskede fortælling Klods Hans af H.C. Andersen, bragt til live af Mathias Hammer. Eventyret flettes sammen med små perler fra den klassiske musiks verden. En koncert, der kombinerer fortælling og musikformidling for både børn og eventyrlystne voksne.

Anbefalet alder: børn fra 3–12 år. Koncerten foregår på DANSK.

Get your full festival pass now. Single tickets out 1st April.

Purely Classical

15:00 – 16:15

TICKETS

Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 ('Death and the Maiden')

Yura Lee (violin), Adam Koch (violin), Nicholas Swensen (viola), Andreas Brantelid (cello)

Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Piano Trio Op. 1

Michael Germer (violin), Andreas Brantelid (cello), Valdemar Wenzel Most (piano)

What to expect:

This concert offers a broad perspective on the classical tradition. We begin with the iconic chamber music setup: four string players together as a string quartet. Here they will perform a quartet by Schubert — his heart-breaking-twist-your-gut dramatic string quartet with the telling nickname ‘Death and the Maiden’.

The journey then moves forward to late-Romanticism with Erich Wolfgang Korngold, whose youthful Piano Trio already hints at the colorful harmonies and cinematic touches that would later define his musical language.

The concert will be a shorter, concentrated experience without an intermission.

Get your full festival pass now. Single tickets out 1st April.

Final Concert

19:00 – 21:00

TICKETS

Grazyna Bacewitz: Quartet for 4 Violins

Ludvig Gudim (violin), Adam Koch (violin), Anna Agafia (violin), Michael Germer (violin)

Amadeus Mozart: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, K. 493

Anna Agafia (violin), Yura Lee (viola), Andreas Brantelid (cello), David Munk-Nielsen (piano)

Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme (arr. for string quintet by Andreas Brantelid)

Andreas Brantelid (cello), TBA

George Enescu: String Octet

Yura Lee (violin), Ludvig Gudim (violin), Adam Koch (violin), Michael Germer (violin), Nicholas Swensen (viola), Marie Louise Jensen (viola), Jonathan Swensen (cello), Andreas Brantelid (cello)

What to expect:

A concert full of surprises and contrasts. The evening opens with Grazyna Bacewicz’s playful and virtuosic Quartet for 4 Violins — an unusual and humorous twist on the chamber music tradition, where four violins share the stage without their lower-stringed companions.

Next, Mozart’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major offers elegance and lyricism in four movements. After the intermission, Tchaikovskys delicate and charming variations on a Rococo theme -- a theme that he himself composed, although inspired by the graceful style of the 18th century.

The festival ends with George Enescu’s String Octet, written when the composer was just 19 years old — a true youthful masterpiece. A festival classic, bursting with energy and passion, where eight string players creates a musical experience that is both monumental and exhilarating.

After this concert – we would like to invite everyone to join us at our Afterparty!

After last year's success, it's definitely something we had to bring back this year. See you ;-)