Classical Music Trends in Germany, Switzerland and Austria

w/ Sonia Simmenauer (Simmenauer), Peter Paul Kainrath (KlangForum Vienna), Ole Baekhoj (Boulez Saal Berlin), Hans-Georg Hofmann (Sinfonie Orchester Basel) and moderated by Eric Denut (consultant for Maestro Arts/Universal Music Publishing & former Delegate for Music at the French Ministry of Culture)

As part of (From) Home Export Days, a new series of online events, Le Bureau Export presents "Classical Music Trends in Germany, Switzerland and Austria" - a focus on the German-speaking European countries.

This talk with our guests will tackle the threats and opportunities linked to the current covid-19 situation, as well as changes in mindsets and cultural habits in the countries we are living in and exporting at.

• Sonia Simmenauer, Impressario at Simmenauer (Germany)

Simone Simmenauer was born in the USA and grew up in Paris. From 1982 to 2009 she lived in Hamburg, where she founded Impresariat Simmenauer in 1989 with the goal of creating an agency exclusively for string quartets. The Alban Berg Quartet, the Cleveland Quartet, the Guarneri Quartet and the Tokyo String Quartet are among the artists Simmenauer represented through their final days on stage. In 2009, Impresariat Simmenauer moved its offices to Berlin, and today represents a dozen internationally respected string quar¬tets, among them the Arditti Quartet, the Artemis Quartet, the Hagen Quartet, the Belcea Quartet, the Quatuor Ebene, the Cuarteto Casals, the Jerusalem Quartet. While the string quartet remains a large part of her work, Simmenauer signs also responsible for some very fine soloists such as violinists Isabelle Faust and Vadim Gluzman, violist Kim Kashkashian, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, pianist Piotr Anderszewski, Louis Lortie, Alexander Melnikov and more.

Sonia Simmenauer wrote a widely received book about the life within a string quartet (Muss es Sein/ 2008) and has been named Professor at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg (2009) for a new field called: "Music Transmission".

• Peter Paul Kainrath, Managing Director at KlangForum (Austria)

Peter Paul Kainrath studied piano in Bolzano, Vienna and Moscow. He was the artistic director of the contemporary music festival KLANGSPUREN in Austria and the deputy director of the International Foundation MANIFESTA based in Amsterdam. He is founder and artistic director of TRANSART FESTIVAL in Italy, artistic director of the Fondazione Ferruccio Busoni – Gustav Mahler Stiftung and Deputy Chair of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC). As the president of the small TV production company Mediaart production coop he is responsible for several art and music documentaries. Since 2020, Peter Paul Kainrath is the CEO of KLANGFORUM WIEN.

• Ole Baekhoj, Director at Pierre Boulez Saal (Germany)

Ole Bækhøj studied double bass in Aarhus and Amsterdam and business administration in Copenhagen. Following his studies, he performed as a freelance bass player with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra.

In 2001, he was appointed General Manager of the Gabrieli Consort & Players, a position he held until 2008. From 2008 to 2012, he served as Artistic and Executive Director of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. He then worked as Chief Executive of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra for three years. In October 2015, Ole Bækhøj was named the first director of the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, which was founded by Daniel Barenboim and designed by Frank Gehry.

• Hans-Georg Hofmann, Artistic Director at Sinfonie Orchester (Switzerland)

Hans-Georg Hofman grew up at Halle an der Saale in former-East Germany. He studied Music and Arts and graduaded in 2001 with a PhD from Bern University.

From 2001 to 2013, he worked for Basler Kammerorchester (Basel's chamber music orchestra). Since 2013, he has worked for Basler Sinfonie Orchester (Basel's symphonic orchestra) and is now Artistic Director.

From 2009 to 2014, Hofman had been the programmer of festival "Schweizgenössisch" at Berlin Radialsystem.

Le Bureau Export

Since 1993, Le Bureau Export has worked to develop popular and classical music made in France on an international scale. Thanks to financial resources from both professional and institutional partners, Le Bureau Export has built a worldwide network aimed at facilitating exchanges between French and foreign music professionals.Le Bureau Export is a member of EMEE-European Music Exporters Exchange.