Helmut Lachenmann 90th birthday
To mark his 90th birthday on 27 November 2025, Ensemble Modern is dedicating several concerts to composer Helmut Lachenmann in Berlin (3 September), Cologne (19 November), Frankfurt am Main (26 November) and Hamburg (29 November). The programme centrepiece is ›Concertini‹, a large-scale work closely associated with the ensemble and a prime example of the decades-long collaboration between Lachenmann and Ensemble Modern. Unsuk Chin’s ›Graffiti‹ provides a tonal counterpoint. In the 2024/25 season, Ensemble Modern joins forces with the IEMA Ensemble to form a cross-generational collective under the musical direction of Sylvain Cambreling. On 2 December, Helmut Lachenmann will also be the focus of a Happy New Ears concert at the Frankfurt Opera, where his ›Mouvement (– vor der Erstarrung)‹ will be performed.
The music of the most important living German composer of the Darmstadt and Donaueschingen avant-garde unfolded in this case with easy calm, demonstrating all the things these instruments can do.Frankfurter Neue Presse, Markus Kuhn
Earnestness, joy and passion – a beautiful gift from the Frankfurt group to one of the very greatest!Kölnische Rundschau, Raoul Mörchen
The Frankfurters do what they have always done, ever since they recorded ›Mouvement (– vor der Erstarrung)‹ 40 years ago: breathing life into the score, a life full of energy and passion.nmz - neue musikzeitung, Christoph Becher
