festival
Kristina Hammer is the new head of the Salzburg Festival
Kristina Hammer becomes the new President of the Salzburg Festival. Photo: Barbara Gindl / APA / dpa
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Art must serve social cohesion. This is what Kristina Hammer wants to do in Salzburg.
The brand expert Kristina Hammer, who comes from Germany, will take over the management of the Salzburg Festival.
The Board of Trustees of the Classical and Theater Festival announced on Wednesday that the former Mercedes manager had been selected as the festival’s president. In January, Hammer will succeed Helga Rabl-Stadler, who has held this important position in the international cultural scene since 1995.
Born in Baden-Württemberg, Hammer worked for Ford, among others, and between 2007 and 2010 was responsible for global marketing communications for the German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz. She is currently advising companies on the positioning of their brands. She has been a regular guest at the festival since childhood, when she was allowed to watch conductor Herbert Karajan rehearse, said Hammer, who lives in Switzerland, during a press conference.
It is her goal to expand the dialogue between the festival, the audience and the public, said Hammer, who is also involved in the Friends of the Zurich Opera House. Art can strengthen social cohesion on the basis of humanitarian principles. “I think that will play a very, very important role in the future,” she said. In addition, the festival stages are to be expanded and refurbished for around 260 million euros under Hammer’s leadership.
With the appointment of Hammer, the management of the festival in the city of Mozart is only partially renewed. The artistic director Markus Hinterhäuser and the commercial director Lukas Crepaz remain in their posts.