For the 30th time, the Classical Music Marathon once again took its rightful place at this year’s Rheingau Music Festival. As it does every year, the event gives young, up-and-coming musicians the opportunity to showcase their talents to the international music and festival world. Many of the young musicians who made their debuts here have since become international stars. The Rheingau, with its castles and palaces, churches, monasteries, and wineries, is not only considered the home of exquisite wines but, thanks to the festival, also a springboard for great musical careers.
Pianist Josefa Schmidt and bassoonist Emanuel Blumin-Sint kicked off the program with Robert Schuhmann’s “Fantasiestücke, Op. 73.” When Robert Schuhmann put his “Fantasiestücke” to paper in just a few days in February 1849, Germany was on the eve of a bloody revolution that erupted into uprisings and street battles. The more threatening reality seemed to him, the more Schuhmann withdrew from the world. Carl Maria von Weber’s “Andante e Rondo ungarese, Op. 35” is also not an original work for bassoon and piano, but rather for viola and orchestra. Weber later “reworked” it for the bassoon. In combination with the piano, the Hungarian timbre unfolds. The initial impression of the bassoon and piano duo seemed unusual and idiosyncratic at first, but it turned out to be a true listening pleasure.
The program continued with Amiri Harewood and Dimitri Shostakovich’s No. 6 in B minor from 224 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87. Followed by Robert Schumann’s “Ghost Variations.” The audience waits for the pianist to appear on stage. He keeps them in suspense. Then he walks out very slowly, sits down at the piano, and it takes a while before he begins to play…
After winning the Young Classical Artist Trust and the Concert Artist Guild International Auditions in 2024, he was also named Classic FM Rising Star in 2025.
Michael Schwarzenbacher, Akkordeon/Foto: RMF, Ansgar Klostermann
The duo “Klangtreff” provided a truly unique musical experience. Cellist Marlene Förstel and accordionist Michael Schwarzenbacher impressively blend the two instruments. They performed “Introduzione,” “Serenata,” and “Tarantella” from Igor Stravinsky’s *Suite Italienne*, followed by Piazzolla’s “Le Grand Tango.”
Amiri Harewood takes the stage a second time for Maurice Ravel’s “Deux Mélodies hébraïques.” This time, he performed in a duo with double bassist Will Duerden. Duerden took the stage as a soloist for the second part. He impressively coaxed a fascinating range of sounds from his instrument—from deep, resonant tones to surprisingly high and deeply moving sounds. He is a sought-after soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician.
The vocal music for this classical marathon was performed by Stuttgart’s “calens vokalensemble” with its broad tonal spectrum. They captivated the audience with John Rutter’s “Choral Fanfare” and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s psalm setting “My God, why have you forsaken me?” and and Pierre Villette’s “Our Father,” along with Herbert Howells’ “Long Long Ago” and the American folk song “Oh Shenandoah.” The latter sensitively highlights the fact that the roots of classical music lie in folk music.
Johanna Wenninger-Muhr