Artists from Vorarlberg and all over the world
New artistic director Matthias Honeck presents concept for :alpenarte from October 13 to 15
The :alpenarte music festival in Schwarzenberg (Bregenzerwald) will continue to offer artistic excellence and bring top regional as well as international talent before the curtain. In addition, the new artistic director Matthias Honeck and his sister Anna Maria are focusing on new formats and a comprehensive concert experience: visual arts, crafts or culinary arts are also to be integrated into the event concept. The goal is the :alpenarte as a place of encounter for each:n. The next edition will be held from 13 to 15 October.
After five years, Drazen Domjanic has handed over the management of the young classical music festival :alpenarte to new hands. The new management duo consists of Matthias and Anna Maria Honeck, who grew up in the Vorarlberg community of Altach. Matthias serves as the artistic director. He is first principal of the 2nd violins with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra as well as artistic director of the Vienna String Soloists. His sister Anna Maria is responsible for artistic management at :alpenarte. She works at the Wiener Konzerthaus as a consultant to the artistic director. Both were educated at the former Vorarlberg State Conservatory (today: Stella Vorarlberg).
The musical talent was laid in the cradle of both of them: Their father Manfred Honeck is an internationally successful conductor. “We were able to gain a lot of musical impressions on numerous trips abroad as children. The network in the international music scene is of great importance,” Matthias tells.
Cross-genre meeting place
As in previous years, the focus remains on young musicians. In addition, the Honecks are expanding their view to other areas of art. These include fine arts, crafts or culinary arts. “It’s about a wide variety of artist:s interacting not only with each other, but also with the audience,” Matthias says. An inspiring discourse on several levels should emerge.
The quality standard remains high: “In the other arts, the roots in Vorarlberg play a major role. The musicians come from all over the world and perform on international stages. Examples include violist Hwayoon Lee, a scholarship recipient of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, and pianist Lukas Sternath, 1st prize winner of the ARD Music Competition 2022. Also appearing in Schwarzenberg will be Yamen Saadi (youngest first concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic) and the Swedish a cappella sextet AORA.
Focus on music education
The “new” :alpenarte is deliberately aimed at people of all ages, with or without previous musical experience. Before the concert days, interactive school concerts will take place in the Angelika Kauffmann Hall in Schwarzenberg, and school visits will also take the :alpenarte artists:inside to the Rhine Valley. “It is important to me to pass on the high artistic level of the concerts to the audience of the next generation – through competent music mediators. This year, around 1,000 schoolchildren between the ages of 6 and 18 will have the opportunity to discover the diversity of music together at the beginning of the festival week,” explains Matthias. The outreach program is to be further expanded in the coming years.
The detailed :alpenarte program will be published at the end of August/beginning of September.