Germany's Kronberg Academy Opens The Casals Forum

The Kronberg Academy, in Kronberg, Germany, has built its own home in the Casals Forum. The new venue includes a concert hall with first-class acoustics and equipment, plus an adjoining study and administration center. The Casals Forum was named in the spirit of Pablo Casals (1876-1973), the Spanish cellist, composer, and conductor who is considered to be one of the pre-eminent cellists of the first half of the 20th century.

The conception of the new building was focused on creating an environment in which music and its performers can grow to their highest potential. "Highest artistic mastery thrives in an atmosphere that is stimulatingly familiar, at the same time contemplative and sometimes unconventional," writes the Kronberg Academy.

In addition to his musical artistry, Pablo Casals was passionate about peace and protecting nature. To honor that, the Casals Forum was built according to high ecological standards and is the first concert hall building to be operated in a climate-neutral manner.

As a new venue in the Rhine-Main region, the Casals Forum will be a place for people to come together through music. To celebrate the opening, the 2022 Kronberg Festival will host concerts with world-renowned artists from September 24 to October 3, 2022. Tickets for the 2022 Kronberg Festival can be found here. 

Performing artists include Christoph Eschenbach, Isabelle Faust, Amanda Forsyth, Kirill Gerstein, Vadim Gluzman, Håvard Gimse, Martin Helmchen, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Frans Helmerson, Gary Hoffman, Alina Ibragimova, Steven Isserlis, Janine Jansen, Anastasia Kobekina, Gidon Kremer, Jens Peter Maintz, Mischa Maisky, Truls Mørk, Jérôme Pernoo, Fazıl Say, Sir András Schiff, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Abel Selaocoe, Kian Soltani, Antoine Tamestit, Christian Tetzlaff, Jörg Widmann, Tabea Zimmermann, and Pinchas Zukerman.

These artists will perform both as soloists and in chamber ensembles — and will introduce talented young musicians in joint concerts.

The Kronberg Academy is also proud to open the Carl Bechstein Saal, the smaller concert hall for solo recitals and chamber music.

Additionally, students from across the world will participate in the public Cello Masterclasses taking place in conjunction with the Festival. The experience will be complemented by exhibitions, talks, and the international violin-making exhibition VioViva.

The ensembles that will play at the festival include Chamber Orchestra of Europe, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Kremerata Baltica, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Ensemble Resonanz, Bridges-Kammerorchester, and many more.