Press Release, April 8, 2025

Europe’s Sounds of the Future

Tickets go on sale for the international youth orchestra festival Young Euro Classic on April 10

After celebrating its 25th anniversary, Young Euro Classic returns for an eventful 26th edition. Seventeen evening concerts, five ensemble concerts and a day full of diverse offerings for the youngest music fans await the audience between August 1 and 17, 2025 at the Konzerthaus Berlin. This year’s focus is on Europe as part of a musically rich world. This richness is also reflected in the festival-within-the-festival, “FUTURE NOW – Tomorrow’s Traditions Today”, during which ensembles from Indonesia, India, The Gambia, Bolivia and the Sápmi region in northern Fennoscandia interpret the classical music traditions of their cultures. NEXT GENERATION, the programme for the youngest visitors, offers workshops and concerts on August 9, giving children and teenagers multiple insights into the world of music.

“Young Euro Classic’s evening concerts are a beacon for the vibrant and musically rich traditions of Europe,” as Artistic Directors Alban Gerhardt and Mathias Hinke characterize the festival. “The festival-within-the-festival especially offers insights into musical traditions of different cultures, inventively reinterpreted by the featured ensembles.”

Young Euro Classic opens with the National Youth Orchestra of Romania (Aug. 1) and two women in leadership roles, both of them in their Festival debuts – Katharina Wincor conducts and Ioana Cristina Goicea is the violin soloist. With the British conductor Catherine Larsen-Maguire at its helm, the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland returns to the Konzerthaus after a hiatus of almost 20 years (Aug. 6). The audience can also look forward to the Orchestre Français des Jeunes with its new chief conductor Kristiina Poska (Aug. 16) and the National Youth Orchestra of Slovakia under the baton of the French conductor Sophie Dervaux (Aug. 14). Both conductors also make their Young Euro Classic debuts.  

Two orchestras build musical bridges between Europe and West Asia: the Yerevan Youth Symphony Orchestra (Aug. 2) showcases Armenian virtuosity in its Festival debut, while the Tbilisi Youth Orchestra from Georgia (Aug. 9) collaborates with the youngest soloist of this season: the pianist Tsotne Zedginidze, born in 2009.

Since the festival’s founding, the “Euro” in Young Euro Classic’s name has stood for a Europe in which various cultural influences have found and continue to find a home. The importance of this idea is illustrated most impressively by the Afghan Youth Orchestra in Exile, also in its festival debut (Aug. 17). After the only music school in Afghanistan was closed and looted by the Taliban in 2021 and all music-making within the country was forbidden, the musicians fled to Portugal – the only country that would offer them asylum. As the “voice of a country that has no music” (thus the 15-year-old trumpet player and orchestra member Zohra Ahmadi), they now try to defend the future of their musical traditions from their exile.

The JM Jazz World Orchestra (Aug. 7) also makes its Young Euro Classic debut. Every year, the ensemble searches for the best rising jazz talents under the age of 26, bringing them together under the leadership of Luis Bonilla and the mentorship of world-famous jazz luminaries. Jazz fans will also enjoy the performance by the brilliant Bundesjazzorchester, which dedicates itself this year to legendary melodies by artists persecuted by the Nazi regime (Aug. 10). 

This summer also brings the return of several audience favourites: the parade of the best national youth orchestras that have demonstrated their outstanding qualities at Young Euro Classic repeatedly in the past is led by the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España under the baton of Nuno Coelho (Aug. 3). The conductor Dirk Kaftan makes his festival debut this summer with the Bundesjugendorchester, as does the singer Rachel Frenkel (Aug. 11). Their concert programme highlights the “instrument of the year”, the human voice, in works by Bernstein and Mahler. An extraordinary work is presented by the Nationaal Jeugdorkest from the Netherlands: HandsFree is played entirely without instruments (Aug. 12). The Norwegian youth orchestra Ungdomssymfonikerne appears with the virtuoso solo violinist Liza Ferschtman (Aug. 13).

A special highlight among the international youth orchestras is the concert of the European Union Youth Orchestra, embodying European harmony in keeping with this year’s festival focus (Aug. 5). An original journey through four centuries of music history is on the programme when Hugo Ticciati leads his O/Modernt New Generation Symphony Orchestra (Aug. 15). The Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra dedicates itself to Shostakovich’s monumental Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad” under the baton of Michael Sanderling (Aug. 8).

The fact that music and dance are inextricably linked is demonstrated by the annual appearance of the Bundesjugendballett or National Youth Ballet, known to elicit rapturous ovations from its many Berlin fans (Aug. 4). 

Festival within the Festival: “FUTURE NOW – Tomorrow’s Traditions Today”

With “FUTURE NOW – Tomorrow’s Traditions Today”, Young Euro Classic once again features a festival within the festival. On festival weekends at 5 pm at the Konzerthaus’ Werner-Otto-Saal, young ensembles offer insights into the musical traditions of their cultures, which they interpret in innovative ways.

The first of these is Dos Pares de la OEIN (Two Pairs of the Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos) from Bolivia (Aug 2). The duo Ale, Ale! from the Sápmi region in the North of Fennoscandia combines the modern sound of electric guitars and synthesizers with indigenous joik chanting (Aug. 3). The Indonesian ensemble Simpay Paranatas from West Java introduces the Sundanese musical tradition – with a modern twist (Aug. 10). The concert by the Karthik Mani India Ensemble on Aug. 16 is dedicated to the fascinating art of the Southern Indian vocal percussion Konnakol, conveying a unique perspective on Carnatic music. Finally, The Gambiana Trio builds a bridge between tradition and modernism with West African sounds and innovative compositions (Aug. 17). 

European Composition Award and NEXT GENERATION

Every year, the European Composition Award honours composers and their contemporary works and is awarded by the Mayor of Berlin. Once again, an audience jury selects the winner of this renowned prize for the best world or German premiere presented in the festival.

Raising enthusiasm for music among the youngest concertgoers, the junior programme NEXT GENERATION has been offering playful ways to discover music since 2019. The Children’s Day for children aged 3 and up on Saturday, Aug. 9 is preceded by a one-week composition workshop in cooperation with QuerKlang. Here, participants from the age of 8 onwards can experiment with music and compose their own works. The workshop culminates in a brief performance at the Konzerthaus Berlin before the evening concert on August 9. Programme details and tickets will be available from May onwards via yecl.de/nextgeneration. 

Acknowledgements

Without the support and trust of the festival’s major and long-standing partners, Young Euro Classic could not take place. The presenter thanks the Federal Government, the State of Berlin, the Hauptstadtkulturfonds, the KfW as well as the Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken, the GVL, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Ströer corporation, the Burmester company, the festival’s media partners, its numerous donors and supporters and the wonderful Young Euro Classic audience. The festival within the festival “FUTURE NOW – Tomorrow’s Traditions Today” is supported by the Lotto Foundation Berlin. 

For making NEXT GENERATION possible, the Festival thanks the Federal Ministry of Families, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.

Tomorrow’s musicians today!
Young Euro Classic. The Festival of the World’s Best Youth Orchestras
August 1-17, 2025 at the Konzerthaus Berlin
The detailed Festival programme is available from April 10 at:
www.young-euro-classic.de/en/

Please note: all evening concerts begin at 7 pm in 2025!

Ticket price categories 36 € / 27 € / 16 € (plus advance ticketing fees).
Tickets can be purchased via the Young Euro Classic website, the Ticket Hotline
(+49 / (0)30 / 8410 8909, Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm) and at all regular ticket sales points.
Festival within the Festival “FUTURE NOW”: all individual tickets 18 €
Festival Pass for all five “FUTURE NOW” concerts: 70 €
Festival Pass for a selection of three “FUTURE NOW” concerts: 45 €

Download the press release as pdf here.