Music and Freedom: The SOUND SPACES concert series at the Musikinstrumenten-Museum
Press release from 04/28/2026
“Music and Freedom” is the theme of the Music Instrument Museum’s SOUND SPACES concert series in 2026. It begins on 31 May with a concert by the Capella de la Torre ensemble.
“Music and Freedom” is the theme of the SOUND SPACES concert series organised by the Musical Instrument Museum, State Institute for Music Research, in 2026. The series begins on 31 May with a concert by the Capella de la Torre ensemble.
In their programme “Ciaconna and the Freedom of Variation”, Capella de la Torre, conducted by Katharina Bäuml, brings sounds of the past into the present and, conversely, places contemporary music within a historical context. The practice of diminution and improvisation is just as integral to the music of the 15th to 17th centuries as certain melodic and rhythmic ‘standards’. The musical scope of the concert on 31 May therefore ranges from compositions of the Renaissance and early Baroque to improvisations from the realm of jazz.
Spanish music from the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, as well as historical Arabic music, will be presented by the ensembles AMI Berlin and Tres Morillas on 28 June at “From Oud to Lute” ̶ “From the Oud to the Lute”. In the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, many cultures converged on the Iberian Peninsula: Arab influences met Jewish and Christian ones, alongside Basque, Visigothic and Celtic traditions. Alongside the fierce and protracted conflicts surrounding the Reconquista, this is a story of mutual inspiration. The concert focuses on the diverse musical heritage of the period.
As part of his Science Talk “Playing with the Text”, Jo Wilhelm Siebert will speak on 3 September about the freedom of musical interpretation. Using numerous examples from music history, he illustrates the boundless nature of interpretative freedom and, with the aid of recordings, highlights the unique perspective on what is possible that is characteristic of musicians when they perform. At the State Institute for Music Research, Dr Jo Wilhelm Siebert’s work focuses, among other things, on the music history, theory and aesthetics of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Sight-reading is the focus of the concert on 11 October featuring Leila Schayegh on violin and Martin Zimmermann on piano. They will bring no fewer than 45 manuscripts and printed scores to the concert, which they have previously checked only visually for completeness but have never played before. The audience is free to shape the programme themselves and thus spoilt for choice, as it is only once there that the listeners decide which works will be played. A spontaneous, one-off programme emerges, offering both interesting facts and entertainment regarding the selected pieces and their source material. The focus is on the impressive art of playing ‘a prima vista’ – performing a score for the first time sight-reading.
On the theme of music and resistance, lecturers and students from the Rostock University of Music and Drama will be guests at the Musical Instrument Museum on 15 November. Under the title “I Can’t Keep Quiet”, they will perform works from the first half of the 20th century as well as more recent compositions associated with the themes of resistance and freedom. The event invites visitors to experience and reflect on the social dimensions of music in the context of resistance through sound.
Dates and ticket prices:
Sunday, 31 May 2026, 2 pm
Ciaconna and the Freedom of Variation
Capella de la Torre
Tickets: €24 / concessions €18
Sunday, 28 June 2026, 2 pm
From Oud to Lute
The Journey of the Strings – from Baghdad via Andalusia to Berlin
AMI Berlin Ensemble & Tres Morillas
Tickets: €18 / concessions €10
Thursday, 3 September 2026, 6 pm
Playing with Text
: The Struggle of Musical Interpretation with One’s Own Freedom
Science Talk with Jo Wilhelm Siebert Free
admission
Sunday, 11 October 2026, 2 pm
A Prima Vista
Leila Schayegh, violin
Martin Zimmermann, piano
Tickets: €18 / concessions €10
Sunday, 15 November 2026, 2 pm
“I Can’t Keep Quiet”
Music and Resistance
Performances by lecturers and students from the Rostock University of Music
and Drama Moderator: Gabriele Groll
Tickets: €10 / concessions €5
The Sunday events each begin at 2 pm with a short introduction to the topic. The concert itself starts at 2.30 pm and lasts approximately one hour. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to meet the artists in the museum café.
Tickets can be booked by telephone on +49 (0)30 254 81-178 or by email at kasse@mimpk.de. Further information can be found on our website at www.simpk.de.
The venue is the Musical Instrument Museum of the State Institute for Music Research, Ben-Gurion-Straße 1, 10785 Berlin.