On 6 February, the first First Friday Concert 2026 took place at the Darmstadt Kunsthalle. In an artistic atmosphere and surrounded by works by Cypriot artist Harm Gerdes, students from the guitar classes of Prof. Dr Tilman Hoppstock and Prof. Jesse Flowers delighted the numerous listeners. Rosa Franziska Maier, Aleksa Šarčević, Yixuan Wen, Danijel Dondjivić and Tiange Wang performed works from three centuries.
The compositions ranged from baroque (Johann Jacob Froberger, Sylvius Leopold Weiss) to classical and romantic (Johann K. Mertz, Giulio Regondi) to 20th century works by Joaquin Rodrigo and Leo Brouwer. The musicians demonstrated their great skill and virtuosity in the stylistically very varied pieces, which were sometimes lyrical and dreamy, sometimes melancholy and then again dance-like and effervescent. The crowning finale of the concert was the guitar duo with Aleksa Šarčević and Danijel Dondjivić. Both played at a high level and were particularly impressive with their wonderful interplay.
The First Friday concerts in the Kunsthalle Darmstadt have been taking place since 2025. The aim is to sustainably anchor the diversity of artistic work at Akademie für Tonkunst in the city's cultural landscape, deepen cooperation with cultural partners and offer students a variety of publicly effective performance opportunities. The aim is also to strengthen the connection between art and music.
A total of six First Friday concerts will take place in 2026. The next one will take place on 6 March 2026.
All other dates:
6 March 2026: Music for solo viola and duets for voice and violin
5 June 2026: Flute & clarinet music (classes by Mareile Erten & Michael Schmidt)
2 October 2026: Guitar duo Aleksa Šarčević & Danijel Dondjivić
6 November 2026: Violin music (class of Rüdiger Lotter)
4 December 2026: Clarinet music (class of Michael Schmidt)
Photos: © Burak Şengün
