Donaueschinger Musiktage 2026 under Lydia Rilling

The Donaueschinger Musiktage 2026, directed by Lydia Rilling, features a wide range of performances and artistic proposals. This year's edition moves away from the theme of the human voice, which was central to the 2025 event, and instead focuses on instrumental music and polyphony.

Multimedia performances and experimental instruments

Several multimedia performances are planned, blending visual arts, poetry, theater, and sound in the same space. American composer Steven Kazuo Takasugi draws inspiration from the Percy Grainger Museum in Melbourne, where unusual instruments and objects are collected. He installs three metal sculptures-instruments by Jebah Baum on stage, where a trio of percussionists (Speak Percussion) perform using resonant objects and small percussion instruments.

Industrial decay and digital transformation

Thousands of instrumental samples from the museum are played through the speakers of the SWR Experimentalstudio, creating a dialogue between physical gestures and their digital counterparts. The performance includes video by Seán Ó Dálaigh, which evokes the image of a dying factory, highlighting the decline of human labor due to automation.

Memory and destruction in Simon Steen-Andersen's work

The audiovisual performance UR ! by Simon Steen-Andersen explores memory and destruction. At its core is the Ursonate by Kurt Schwitters, a key work of the Lettrist movement, which frees speech from its semantic function and focuses on phonemes, rhythms, and articulatory play. The performance features the extraordinary flute playing of Michael Schmid from the Ictus ensemble.

Audience participation in Last Show

In Last Show by German composer Brigitta Muntendorf, the audience is invited to participate through a smartphone and live voting system. After each musical intervention by the Ensemble Modern, directed by Xizi Wang, the audience answers questions, testing their ability to concentrate and resist external distractions.

Sound from the movement of matter

At Museum Art.Plus, Belgian sound artist Gwendoline Robin explores the musicality of elementary materials such as clay, glass, and wood. Her performance Coexistence #2 translates the physical properties of these materials into sound, offering a sensitive exploration of fragility and the interactions between elements.

Kinetic sound installation at the Orangerie

At the Orangerie, We stood where the air took form is a 32-channel sound installation where speakers vibrate to create low-frequency changes in air pressure. These variations move latex inflatables and tentacle-like structures, creating a visual and sound effect that evokes a strange and hypnotic atmosphere.

Fire as a sound source

At the Castle Park, Yann Leguay continues his exploration of energy sources and their sound potentialities in Filtered by Fire. The combustion of wood and the movement of air create a sound matter linked to the physical phenomenon of fire. The public is invited to wander around three crackling hearths, experiencing the elementary forces that shape sound.

Post-mortem creation by Éliane Radigue

A post-mortem creation by Éliane Radigue, who passed away in February, is performed by the ONCEIM orchestra. OCCAM XXV zêta features the organ and wind instruments, creating a single sound wave with minimal fluctuations. The acoustics of the church enhance the contemplative polyphony.

Reverberation and acoustic perception

Marina Rosenfeld’s XY explores the phenomena of reverberation and acoustic perception of spaces. The work allows for the "full-play" of the organ and six instruments of the ONCEIM, creating an incandescent and jubilant polyphony.

String ensemble and neural networks

In Dream Machine, the Hamburg string ensemble Resonanz is arranged symmetrically on stage. Irish composer Ann Cleare considers the 18 strings as a vast neural network, with each instrument acting as both an autonomous cell and part of a larger organism.

Polyphony of contrasts and tensions

Rebecca Saunders’ Thirst features a polyphony of contrasts and tensions. The two double basses are at the center of the piece, with the composer seeking the plasticity of lines and the diversity of timbres.

Orchestra evenings and SWR Symphonieorchester

The festival opens and closes with orchestra evenings featuring the SWR Symphonieorchester. These performances are broadcast live and in video on the SWR website, with side screens offering a closer look at the conductor's and instrumentalists' gestures.

Unfleshed bells and poetic resonance

Hannah Kendall’s The Unfleshed Bells of the Inaudible features extended playing techniques and poetry by Edouard Glissant. The piece explores the tension between the poetic and the instrumental, using breath and reed detached from the instrument.

Chaos as an expressive force

Stefan Prins’ Madness Machine uses chaos as an expressive force. The work denounces the madness of a world whose evolution seems to escape mastery, with moments of collective improvisation and strange sound effects.

Instability in Tomorrow's Next Bliss

Igor C Silva’s Tomorrow's Next Bliss explores the tension between fixed and improvised elements. The piece challenges the conductor and soloist, achieving a perfect balance between electronics and the orchestra.

System on the verge of collapse

Natasha Barrett’s The Disenchanted Tranquility of the Kingdom questions the apparent stability of a system on the verge of collapse. The score features lush sounds and solo instruments that lead the dramaturgy, with electronics carving out space within the orchestral palette.

SWR under François-Xavier Roth

The SWR under the direction of François-Xavier Roth features composers with strong ties to France. Noriko Baba’s Bestiarium Musicae VI draws from medieval bestiaries, translating tactile and visual impressions into musical materials.

Dreamcore and unstable metric

Mauro Lanza’s We’ve Actually Been in This Place Before evokes a sense of déjà vu through dreamcore aesthetics. The piece uses loops and repetitions, with an unstable metric that enhances the sense of recognition without clear memory.

Central African musical traditions

Fabien Lévy’s Hindwhu Extinction pays homage to the musical traditions of the Mbaka, Bedzan, and Aka communities threatened by the climate crisis. The piece features a small reed flute in polyphony with the orchestra, creating a strong emotional presence.

Immersive piece for orchestra and electronics

Clara Iannotta’s Into a World That Is Pure Blue (Where You Are Transformed Utterly and Forever) (Amen) is an immersive piece for orchestra and electronics. The long title is borrowed from the poet Dorothy Molloy, and the work features a spectral approach with numerous accessories held by the instrumentalists.

Orchestra Prize awarded to Mauro Lanza

Mauro Lanza wins this year’s Orchestra Prize, awarded by a jury that included orchestra musicians. His work continues to push the boundaries of contemporary music, blending dreamcore aesthetics with unstable metrics and expressive virtuosity.