Cancelled concerts

Ensemble Modern in Times of Corona

With horror, we are observing how the sudden appearance of a virus plunges the world into fear and trepidation. Certainties we assumed were a given and natural have become shaken and threaten to disappear within the general uncertainty.

Without a safety net, those ensembles supported by their musicians, like Ensemble Modern, are looking straight into the abyss. During the past days, all our concerts of the coming weeks have been cancelled. And it is likely that more cancellations will follow. Income we had budgeted disappears into thin air within a matter of seconds, and because of this “force majeure”, many costs will have to be borne by the ensemble, taking us from a delicate economic balance to existential distress. The German laws on subsidies is not equipped for such crises: the forming of reserve funds, a matter of course for any other company, is not permitted. This means a lack of any kind of safety buffer for hard times like the present. When an institution is continuously forced to come out at zero, it has no room to breathe in emergencies. This is the situation in which Ensemble Modern and many other ensembles supported by their musicians, which are organized in the Verband Freie Ensembles und Orchester (FREO e.V., the Association of Independent Ensembles and Orchestras), find themselves.

Despite all the efforts the ensembles themselves naturally must and will make: we need concrete, unbureaucratic and rapid support from politics NOW. This is not the time for pretty phrases, but for concrete action!

Our financial situation is one thing – it is frightening enough: musicians and staff and their families are faced with uncertain times, and the destruction of their existences is a real threat. The health threat is another, visible only in its consequences, in empty shelves in supermarkets, which are all the more disquieting and scary. We are sure that the authorities are taking appropriate and effective measures to the best of their conscience and ability. We trust in our society’s ability to master and overcome this severe crisis.

During the coming weeks we will try to stay in touch with you – now more than ever! – and via our website and our social media channels, we will try to make sure the music doesn’t stop entirely.

Cancelled concerts

  • 17/19 March 2020, Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Das Jagdgewehr
  • 20/21/22 March 2020, Frankfurt, Volksbühne im Großen Hirschgraben, Der Struwwelpeter
  • 29 March 2020, Weikersheim, Tauberphilharmonie, Les espaces acoutiques
  • 31 March 2020, Philharmonie Berlin, Les espaces acoustiques
  • 5 April 2020, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Les espaces acoustiques
  • 8 April 2020, Dresden, Europäisches Zentrum der Künste Hellerau, riss-Zyklus
  • 18/19 April 2020, Meersburg, vineum Bodensee, Meersburger KonzertGespräche
  • 20 April 2020, Frankfurt am Main, Happy New Ears
  • 24/25 April 2020, Witten, Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik
  • 29 April 2020, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Les espaces acoustiques
  • 1 May 2020, Kölner Philharmonie, Les espaces acoustiques
  • 21 May 2020, Wien, Wiener Festwochen (postponed)
  • 2 June 2020, Prag, Prager Frühling (postponed)
  • 19 June 2020, Amsterdam, Holland Festival
  • 18 July 2020, Darmstadt, Eröffnung der 50. Darmstädter Ferienkurse