The InterHarmony International Music Festival is a summer

Music Festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The Festival is an annual intensive summer performance festival, which includes a concert series of international solo musicians and young performers, and an institute for students of solo,

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, and

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

playing. The festival hosts three sessions in two locations:

Acqui Terme Acqui Terme (; pms, Àich ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is about south-southwest of Alessandria. It is one of the principal winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'A ...

, in the Province of

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, and

Sulzbach-Rosenberg Sulzbach-Rosenberg ( bar, label=Northern Bavarian, Suizboch-Rosnberg) is a municipality in the Amberg-Sulzbach district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated approximately 14 km northwest of Amberg, and 50 km east of Nuremberg. The town c ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

History

The InterHarmony International Music Festival was conceived in 1997, when cellist Misha Quint, the Music Director and Founder, started his first International Music Festival in Blonay, Switzerland. This festival, the Intensive Cello Studies Abroad, was held at the Hindemith Foundation in Chalet de lacroix. Quint then opened the Soesterberg International Music Festival in Soesterberg,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1998. His festival in the

was a success and lasted for nine years. In the midst of the location in Soesterberg in 2000, the name, "InterHarmony", was born. InterHarmonyInternationalMusicFestivalGermany2012

InterHarmonyInternationalMusicFestivalGermany2012

The Festival in 2000 in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

was the first to bear this name. Other locations later took it up. Some locations, such as Soesterberg and Sulzbach-Rosenberg also retained the location name within the city as a subsidiary of InterHarmony. The Sulzbach-Rosenberg location of InterHarmony opened in 2005 and was an immediate success with local audiences. The Hinterzarten,

locale in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

lasted from 2008 – 2011. There were two locations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

The Berkshires The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

from 2007- 2008, and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

in 2009. InterHarmony remains one of the only festivals of its kind to move around the world. Many students and artists-in-residence end up traveling to all the locations, and in the case of 2012, spending nearly six weeks at the festivals. The Festival has gained renown in

and brings international culture and artistry to its locations. For example, The U.S. Consul General spoke at the final concert where Misha Quint performed in 2008, and a Young Artist Showcase was given in the offices of the German Consulate in New York City in 2012. In 2010, Caitlin Hulcup, a soloist from the

Vienna Staatsoper The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Si ...

, and Christa Mayer from the

Bayreuther Festspiele The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived a ...

, performed with the InterHarmony Festival Orchestra and the Forchheimer Kammerorchester, a

Symphony Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

InterHarmony Concert Series in New York City

In 2015 InterHarmony International Music Festival opened the InterHarmony Concert Series with three concerts at the Weill Recital Hall at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

in New York City each year. The series showcases artist performers and advanced young artists who have previously performed at InterHarmony International Music Festivals in Europe.

InterHarmony Outstanding Guest Artist series

In 2015 InterHarmony International Music Festival opened the InterHarmony Outstanding Guest Artist Series in its sessions in Italy and Germany. Famous musicians are invited to perform and give a master class to young artists. In 2015 the guest artists were violinist

Vadim Repin Vadim Viktorovich Repin (russian: Вадим Викторович Репин, ; born 31 August 1971) is a Russian and Belgian violinist who lives in Vienna.

and pianist

Bruno Canino Bruno Canino (born 30 December 1935) is an Italian classical pianist, harpsichordist and composer. Early life Bruno Canino was born in Naples, Italy in 1935, where he studied piano with Vincenzo Vitale. He continued his musical education in ...

in Italy, and pianist

Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ''G ...

gave a lecture in

, Germany. The 2017 guest artists were

Nikolaj Znaider Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider (born 5 July 1975 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish violinist and conductor. Biography Szeps-Znaider was born in Copenhagen to Polish-Jewish parents. His father had originally emigrated from Poland to Israel, and his moth ...

Vadim Repin Vadim Viktorovich Repin (russian: Вадим Викторович Репин, ; born 31 August 1971) is a Russian and Belgian violinist who lives in Vienna.

Shlomo Mintz Shlomo Mintz (Hebrew: שלמה מינץ) (born 30 October 1957) is an Israeli violin virtuoso, violinist and conductor. He regularly appears with orchestras and conductors on the international scene and is heard in recitals and chamber music conc ...

, Christa Mayer, and Boris Kuschnir. In 2018, guest artists were the conductors Gerard Korsten,

Christian Vasquez Christian Oliver B. Vazquez (born February 8, 1977) is a Filipino actor, model and a former housemate of ABS-CBN's ''Pinoy Big Brother: Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition''. During his stint at Pinoy Big Brother, he was one of the comedian ...

, and Nicoletta Conti, pianist

, and violinists

Sergey Khachatryan Sergey Khachatryan (also spelled Sergei Khachatryan; hy, Սերգեյ Խաչատրյան) (born 5 April 1985 in Yerevan) is an Armenian violinist. Since 1993 he has lived in Germany where he gave his first orchestral concert at the age of nine in ...

, Boris Kuschnir, and mezzo-soprano Christa Mayer. The 2019 guest artists included

Dmitry Sitkovetsky Dmitry Yulianovich Sitkovetsky (russian: Дмитрий Юлианович Ситковецкий; born September 27, 1954) is a Soviet-Russian born classical violinist, conductor and arranger, most notably of an arrangement for strings of J. S. ...

, Saleem Ashkar,

, Guy Braunstein,

Alexei Volodin Alexei Volodin (russian: Алексей Володин; born 1977) is a Russian pianist. Volodin began taking piano lessons in St. Petersburg at the age of nine. A year later he moved to Moscow, where he studied first with Irina Chaklina and ...

, Boris Kuschnir, Lubov Stuchevskaya,

, Christa Mayer, and

Christian Vásquez Christian Vásquez (born 1984, Caracas, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist. Vásquez began to study violin at age 9, after being accepted to the ''El Sistema'' program in Venezuela, and he played in the ''Sinfónica Infantil de S ...

Artist Performers

Each session of InterHarmony has at least forty guest artists. Previous guest artist faculty have included the following performers: * Guy Braunstein,

Violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, Conductor *

, Conductor *Saleem Ashkar,

Pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Vadim Repin Vadim Viktorovich Repin (russian: Вадим Викторович Репин, ; born 31 August 1971) is a Russian and Belgian violinist who lives in Vienna.

Julian Rachlin Julian Rachlin (born 8 December 1974) is a Lithuanian-born violinist, violist and conductor. Background and early life Born in Vilnius, he emigrated in 1978 with his musician parents to Austria. In 1983, he entered the Konservatorium Wien and st ...

Jean-Bernard Pommier Jean-Bernard Pommier (born 17 August 1944 in Beziers), is a French pianist and conductor. Early life and education Jean-Bernard Pommier began playing the piano at the age of four and gave his first public concert at the age of seven. He had ...

Bella Davidovich Bella Mikhaylovna Davidovich (Бэлла Миха́йловна Давидо́вич; born July 16, 1928) is a Soviet-born American pianist. Biography Davidovich was born in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, into a Jewish family of musicians and began studyi ...

Sidney Harth Sidney Harth (5 October 1925 in Cleveland – 15 February 2011 in Pittsburgh) was an American violinist and conductor. Education Harth was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music and studied with Joseph Knitze ...

and Conductor * Caitlin Hulcup,

Mezzo-Soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

Oleh Krysa Oleh may refer to: * Oleh, Delta * Common Ukrainian male name, see also Oleg * A Jew immigrating to Israel (plural of oleh is olim Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the dias ...

* Boris Kuschnir,

* Christa Mayer,

* Misha Quint,

Cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

Philippe Quint Philippe Quint (born March 26, 1974) is an American classical violinist. Biography Quint was born on March 26, 1974, in Leningrad. He studied at Moscow's Special Music School for the Gifted with Russian violinist Andrei Korsakov and made his orch ...

References

External links

Official WebsiteInterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, ItalyInterHarmony International Music Festival in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany
{{authority control Music schools in Germany Music festivals staged internationally Classical music festivals in Germany Classical music festivals in Italy Chamber music festivals Music festivals established in 1997