The renowned concert hall, praised for its acoustics, the beautiful premises of the music school, the adjoining amusement park: Grünwald has been the venue of the regional competition “Jugend musiziert” for many years and on the weekend, January 28th and 29th, the 60th edition of the rendezvous of the young virtuosos go over the stage. “In terms of conditions, Grünwald is ideal,” enthuses Bernhard Huber. For the 59-year-old, who is in charge of organizing the event for the 15th time as head of the “Munich South Region” regional committee, the weekend on the right bank of the Isar is, so to speak, a return.
Planegger, who has been director of the Gilching Music School since March 2022, was previously deputy director in Grünwald for 17 years and knows the inspiring atmosphere there well: “I’m looking forward to the days there. But the contact is actually always there anyway.” In preparing for the anniversary performance, he can rely on the proven organizational team of the Grünwald Music School, from the in-house technicians to the piano teacher and administrative employee Stefan Hofbeck: “He is significantly involved.”
After the restrictions of the pandemic and competitions that were mostly held and judged online, there will be a real live atmosphere again this year. More than 200 children and young people from the districts of Munich (south), Starnberg, Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen and Miesbach will take part. “As is well known, the level at ‘Jugend musiziert’ is very high, the participants invest a lot,” says Huber. He is particularly looking forward to the prizewinners’ concerts in the August Everding Hall, which will take place on Saturday (4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.) and Sunday (6 p.m.). “It is sometimes unbelievable what the participants show. We are pleased that we can offer the young people a forum and stimulate their development with their commitment.”
Huber, himself a trained cellist, points out that almost every great (classical) musician in Germany made his first formative experiences at “Jugend musiziert”. It often happens that he hears someone play BR-Klassik whom he met as a very young virtuoso. With all the quasi-professionalism and all the ambition that goes with “Jugend musiziert” – the regional competition in Grünwald is the second largest in Bavaria – the competitive character is obviously not uncomfortably dominant. “The kids are always nice to each other.” Of course, a lot has changed over the past 60 years. There were also pop categories and ratings for instruments such as baglama, the Turkish lute, but in general the core of the format remained the same – but always dynamic: “It’s an eternally young competition.”