Villa Musica

Villa Musica: Over Three Decades of Experience in Chamber Music

Villa Musica is a state foundation of the German Bundesland Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), founded in 1986 in order to provide special education for highly gifted young musicians from all over Europe in the field of chamber music. The foundation is also one of Germany’s biggest classical concert institutions organizing some 150 chamber music concerts all over the country.

The State Secretary for Culture is normally is normally being installed as the president of Villa Musica. The artistic director, Prof. Alexander Hülshoff, is also the deputy director of the foundation.

Most of the concerts are derived from the so called “Academy projects”, which are typical for Villa Musica’s idea of chamber music making. Regularly, internationally renowned professors come to Villa Musica, in order to perform chamber music with highly qualified students.

In developing its idea of an advanced program for chamber music, Villa Musica has been able to rely on the experience of some of the world’s best Classical soloists, as for example Pinchas Zukerman, Menahem Pressler, Boris Garlitsky, Marie-Luise Neunecker, Antje Weithaas or Steven Isserlis, who all were guest professors during this season. German as well as foreign students are invited to the master classes without any costs for participation, travelling or living.

Villa Musica is also one of Germany’s most renowned concert organizers, regularly inviting chamber music groups from all over the world to Rhineland-Palatinate. Villa Musica concerts can be heard in more than 50 places in Rhineland-Palatinate, and also in Berlin, Brussels, and several other cities in Europe.

Two major festivals are part of the program: the spring festival Musik in Burgen und Schlössern (Music in Castles and Palaces) and the summer festival RheinVokal with special emphasis on the history of vocal music in Europe. The foundation is regularly cooperating with the Southwest Broadcasting Station of Germany (SWR).