Dear Friends of the Festival,
On August 16, the last concert of Young Euro Classic 2026 ended. Two enthralling Festival weeks full of music, encounters and special moments are behind us, and we are grateful for everything we experienced together.
The Festival – whether evening concerts, FUTURE NOW Musical Diaries or the NEXT GENERATION Children’s Day – showed once again how music connects and inspires.
And in case you are like us and looking forward to the next season already, please save the dates from July 23 to August 8, 2027!
In the meantime, we recommend three concerts during the fall.
Yours,
The Young Euro Classic Team |
From Opening Night to the Finale
After 25 concerts with a total of 22,800 visitors, the 27th season of Young Euro Classic has ended. Innumerable wonderful encounters on our stage and with the audience felt particularly valuable this year.
Already during Opening Night and the subsequent Audience Party with musicians of the Bundesjugendorchester and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, this open-mindedness and enthusiasm were palpable – musical quality on a high level and an infinite joy in shared music-making.
“It is a very special place of encounters, of exchange, of learning at any age, of shared experiences.“
Dr. Ingobert Waltenberger, OnlineMerker, Aug. 1, 2026
The season finale was equally festive: with Italian flair, the AYSO – Accademia Youth Symphony Orchestra from Italy gave the final performance, receiving standing ovations from the audience before sending it off into the warm summer evening.
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Joint Expression in Music
It’s not the list of countries that remains in our memories, but the special moments in which music became a shared language.
One of those moments came when musicians from Luxembourg joined the Vietnamese duo Lách Tách as part of FUTURE NOW Musical Diaries, performing music they had invented and rehearsed for this occasion. Or during the German-Indian encounter between Jakob Manz with his trio and Karthik Mani and his ensemble, all delving deep into the musical language of their colleagues. When the Orchestra of the Americas and the Penderecki Youth Orchestra collaborated, works from Penderecki to Revueltas made for an enthralling celebration of rhythms, with percussion from all over Latin America – and sometimes it was a quiet, but no less impressive image, for example when the members of the Slovenian Youth Orchestra sat in on the Ulster Youth Orchestra’s performance attentively. To us, these moments are an essential part of the Festival – just as much as the music on the main stage. |
Touching moments
The Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa offered some particularly emotional scenes. During the choral encores, the entire orchestra sang two Portuguese anti-war songs. On stage and in the audience, eyes shone – a moment that will resonate for a long time.
The Boys’ Choir of the Estonian National Opera made Festival history: for the first time, a chorus gave an entire concert evening, with an exclusively Estonian programme culminating in the iconic arrangement of the Eurovision hit (and now YEC hit!) “Espresso macchiato”.
These and countless other moments made the 27th edition of Young Euro Classic a season that was not only heard, but heartfelt!
We thank all the young musicians who gifted us their courage and their curiosity, our partners, and the audience for its enthusiasm and openness!
We carry these experiences forward into the next year with gratitude, and look forward to a reunion in 2027!
In case you missed or want to relive these performances:
Individual concerts of the 27th season are available on the radio and internet:
The concert of the Bundesjugendorchester on July 31 is available on ARTE and Deutschlandfunk Kultur
The concert of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America on August 4, 2026 is available here: NYO-USA-DeutschlandfunkKultur
The concert of the Estonian National Opera Boys' Choir on August 15, 2026 was recorded by Deutschlandfunk Kultur and will be broadcast nationwide on Friday, August 28, 2026, at 8 pm. |
The winner of the 2026 European Composition Award
This year, the European Composition Award went to César Rafael from Portugal for his work “Saudades, só portugueses”, which had its world premiere at Young Euro Classic by the Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa on August 7.
“Thanks to sonic inventiveness and a high density of strong contrasts and elements of surprise, the piece remained entertaining and never lost the tension, while the consequent treatment of the musical material and the masterly treatment of the orchestra left no doubt about the focus,” the jury wrote in its statement.
Thus, César Rafael won the European Composition Award, presented by the Mayor of Berlin and with a cash award of 5,000 Euros. The decision of the jury was announced by the Secretary of State for Education and Families, Falko Liecke, during the final concert of Young Euro Classic.
Congratulations, César Rafael! |
Young Euro Classic recommends
Curtis in Berlin: Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque and Brahms’ Piano Quartet
Friday, 9 October 2026, 7.00 pm – Französische Friedrichstadtkirche
Rising stars Audrey Goodner, Elliot Sloss, and Jessie Gong are joined by Curtis Institute of Music viola faculty member Ed Gazouleas in Berlin.
The programme features Maurice Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s passionate Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G minor, and Johannes Brahms’s impressive Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor – three works brimming with virtuosity, tonal diversity, and emotional intensity. The concert celebrates the joy of making music together and the next generation of Curtis artists.
Use the promotional code ‘Brahms’ to receive a 20% discount when booking concert tickets online at www.ticketmaster.de or by telephone on 030 – 8410 8909.
Ticket prize: 19€ plus advance booking fee. |
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The Musikfest Berlin 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the Berliner Festspiele and presents a diverse programme of concerts and semi-staged opera performances, including The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess featuring the Cape Town Opera Chorus and György Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre with the Helsinki Chamber Choir. Experience world-class orchestras, outstanding soloists, and ensembles from around the globe, and let yourself be carried away by their energy! |
Photographs: Tom Schweers, Kai Bienert & Margo Reed Studio |
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