Remembering Lars Vogt at the Heimbach Festival

Imagine you had to program a concert — but not just any concert. Your very last concert ever. What music would you choose? Pianist Lars Vogt chose Brahms' Piano Quartet in C minor.

In summer 2022, Vogt was dying of cancer, and he and his loved ones knew he didn't have long. In September that year, his death unleashed profound grief at the Heimbach "Spannungen" ("tensions") music festival, which he had founded some 25 years prior. He had also served as its artistic director, performed as a pianist there and conducted many of the ensembles.

Vogt was in his late 20s when he launched the festival, and he wanted to create a musical experience that contrasted with the typical philharmonic hall operation. He envisioned a place of retreat, a festival with a family feel, where the highest quality chamber music is performed in innovative, thoughtful and intimate ways.

And he achieved this: The festival kicked off in 1998 and soon became a meeting place for Germany's best chamber musicians. Its fame grew quickly and soon extended beyond Germany to Europe and the rest of the world.

Today, the Heimbach music festival is known as the "Bayreuth of chamber music," with audience members traveling from as far as the US and Japan to attend concerts.

A music festival like no other 

Heimbach is a quiet town in the hilly Eifel region of western Germany, right on the border to Belgium and the festival is set in the town's striking hydroelectric plant from the early 20th century. Built in the "Jugendstil," or art nouveau style, it's replete with graceful curves and elegant geometry. It also has incredible acoustics.

Vogt's passing left a profound hole in the festival, but also renewed a sense of purpose among the artists, the loyal audience, the festival helpers and the sponsors: to carry on the unique spirit of the festival that Vogt had poured his soul into.

"There is something very, very special about this festival," says Tanja Tetzlaff, a cellist who has long been involved in the festival and helped organize the 2023 edition, which was dedicated to Vogt. "It's not about showing off or appearances, about fame or standing in the spotlight; it's really just about the music and the friendships and the relationship with the audience. I'm quite optimistic about what comes next because Heimbach is already such an institution in Germany and internationally. That won't change quickly."

Vogt was proud of his festival, especially of how it combined well-known pieces and historic works with musical rarities and contemporary compositions. Vogt shared his opinion in an interview some three years ago:

"I think we've built a certain 'brand,' to use a modern term. But it can be described in a nicer way — we've built trust. When people attend a concert here, they'll see two, maybe three composers on the program that they haven't heard of. And maybe also new music. But they trust the artists and know that whatever they do will make sense, and they're open to it. That's the way it should be: We should be broadening people's perspectives. And I hope it stays this way."

New works in memory of Lars Vogt

The 2023 festival did just that, with its innovative program of contemporary music, classics reimagined and even brand-new works.

Ten contemporary composers wrote new compositions for the festival edition, including the Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth. Her piece was entitled "In Memoriam Lars" and featured Tanja Tetzlaff on violin.

Another unique work was the final piece on the festival's opening concert: a chamber music arrangement of Beethoven's sixth symphony, the "Pastoral" symphony. There was no conductor, no large orchestra — just a string sextet led by first violinist Antje Weithaas. It was grand orchestral repertoire reduced to minimal instrumentation, to its essentials, one could even say, and it certainly let the audience hear the work in a new way.

We hope you enjoyed the works in today's show, which was hosted by Cristina Burack. Thanks to sound engineer Thomas Schmidt and producer Anastassia Boutsko, and thanks to all of you for listening. If you have any feedback, drop us a line at [email protected].

Performances in this episode:

1. Maurice Ravel             
Piano Trio in A minor
Kiveli Dörken, piano
Anna Reszniak, violin
Julian Steckel, cello

2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, KV 421
Antje Weithaas, violin
Florian Donderer, violin 
Barbara Buntrock, viola
Julian Steckel, cello

3. Olga Neuwirth 
"In Memoriam Lars"
Tanja Tetzlaff, Cello

4. Ludwig van Beethoven 
Symphony No. 6 in F major, "Pastoral," op. 68, arranged for string sextet by Michael Gotthard Fischer
Antje Weithaas, violin
Anna Reszniak, violin
Barbara Buntrock, viola
Jan Larsen, viola
Julian Steckel, cello
Tanja Tetzlaff, cello