Our MIND-blowing project
Each of the nine duos from France, Slovenia, and Germany will give two public performances of their project, one in autumn and one in winter 2026. Here you can learn more about projects, dates, venues and artists.
Nachtgestalten /
Creatures of the night
Antonia Schuchardt, soprano
Leonie Bulenda, piano
Caspar Bankert, puppet player
Join us on a journey where we meet mythical creatures and witness magical stories. We travel through an enchanted forest where we meet witches, ghosts and mermaids. Men will fall victim to the charm of the Lorelei. A castle, a crimescene. Death appears - friend or enemy? The life of a king ends as the cup falls into the sea. The water is smooth as glass. In dull light you can spot a distant ship. Two silhouettes are sailing towards the horizon…
27. 09. 2026 - Epiphaniaskirche Mannheim Freudenheim
date to be announced - Studio Elbe415 Dresden
Follow us on social media and website:
@antoniaschuchardtsoprano
@leonie.bulenda
Blue, the music of a colour
Claire Latosinsky, sopran
Manon Minvielle-Debat, piano
18th October - Le regard du cygne, Paris
date to be announced - Hopital Paul Brousse
Our recital was conceived after reading Michel Pastoureau’s book *Blue: A History of a Colour*, which traces the evolution of the perception of this colour in Europe since antiquity. We learnt, amongst other things, that the sky and the sea were not always blue, that this colour was cherished in the coats of arms of the monarchy before becoming the colour of the French Revolution, and that its melancholic nature appears in German Romantic literature, finding its way into the blue note of our favourite jazz bands.
Fascinated by this history, we wondered how it fitted into the song-and-piano repertoire, and found connections and clues in the music of Joni Mitchell, Gabriel Fauré, Hugo Wolf, Francis Poulenc, Franz Schubert, Ethyl Smyth, Viktor Ullman... enough to create a musical moment that we hope will be rich in (at least one) colour!
Feeling of quiet danger /
Občutek tihe nevarnosti /
L'ombre du rêve
Manca Kumar, soprano
Joachim Besse, piano
Click poster to see our teaser
What happens when night falls and the dream takes over reality?
This recital explores the universal themes of night and dreams through lied and mélodie, conceived as a coherent psychological and emotional journey. The programme unfolds as an inner narration, where each musical block brings forward distinct states and affects, guiding the listener through an immersive experience. It draws on a wide range of emotions and
31. 7. 2026 - Vila Vipolže
date to be announced - Ljubljana City Hall
images associated with night and the dream world: desire, fantasy, fear, excitement, contemplation, solitude, as well as elements of orientalism that run through this repertoire. Recurring motifs such as the moon, reflections, mist, and water shape the programme’s atmosphere and reinforce its unity.
Time itself becomes fluid: some pieces feel suspended, others seem rooted in the past or anchored in the present.At the centre of this journey, illusion, fantasy and denial confront awareness, while the listener is invited tofollow a mental and emotional trajectory that remains open and freely interpretable. The recital is structured in four psychological blocks, each embodying a distinct state: love and fantasy, disillusion, immersion into the dream, and an open, unresolved ending. The order of the pieces creates a continuous and organic flow, where internal contrasts - desire and disappointment, fantasy and reality - resonate and evolve.
Rooted in early 20th-century aesthetics, the programme places French mélodie at its core, while including songs in Russian, English, Polish, German, and Finnish. Alongside well-known composers, it highlights lesser-known voices and includes several women composers. Rather than imposing a single narrative, the programme suggests multiple possible readings: a love story thathas ended, the absence of someone, or a purely imagined inner world. This openness, combined with a strong sense of continuity, shapes the recital as a personal and immersive cycle.
A musical journey
with poetry of the
"Schwäbische
Dichterschule"
Elias Meder, tenor
David Müller, piano
This song recital explores the poetry of the Schwäbische Dichterschule, bringing together musical settings of texts by Ludwig Uhland, Eduard Mörike, and Justinus Kerner. Rather than presenting individual songs in isolation, the program is shaped as a continuous narrative, in which each piece contributes to a broader emotional and poetic journey.
Moving through themes of nature, love, longing, and reflection, the recital traces an inner storyline that unfolds across the evening. In this way, poetry and music merge into a cohesive experience, revealing the richness of 19th-century German song while inviting the audience into an intimate world of sound and text.
date to be announced - Offenburg Monastery, Bürgerzentrum Lichtenwald
date and venue to be announced
Follow us on Instagram:
@eliasmeder
@daflomue
Moderne Legende / Modern Legends
Thalia Hellfritsch, mezzo-soprano
Maximilian Straßer, piano
dates and venues to be announced
Their program Moderne Legenden (translation: Modern Legends) is dedicated to telling some of humanity’s most iconic fairytales, songs, poems and myths- stories that have turned into legends. Goethe’s Erlkönig makes an appearance, as well as Mörike’s mischievous Nixe Binsefuß, but this concert’s interpretation of the modern legend goes deeper. La vie en rose by Edith Piaf has turned into an anthem for love and longing and can be seen as a musical legend just as Fly me to the moon. These pieces and more aim to illustrate humankind’s interpretation of love, longing, fear and wit over the centuries in a genre-bending evening.
Over the course of their collaboration, Hellfritsch and Straßer got to experience many times just how deeply some people are moved by music- especially when they recognize the piece or associate something with it. That’s why the duo started to adapt their programs and incorporate songs outside of the usual classical genre of artsong. For example, in the context of concerts in retirement homes, they played German Schlager and incorporated it into their classical repertoire. Surprisingly, they noticed the audience’s energy change for the rest of the program as well. When engaged with a familiar piece and captivated emotionally, they developed a whole new interest to pieces they normally maybe wouldn’t have responded to as much. This could also be a great way of promoting marginalized composers. Especially female composers have been struggling to gain the same notoriety as their male counterparts in history. Sadly many beautiful pieces are barely known due to this.
Straßer and Hellfritsch strive to expose more audiences to unknown music in concert by giving them safety in form of well placed familiar pieces or known composers as well.
The storytelling aspect of Moderne Legenden can be seen as one more path to connecting with an audience. Well-known tales and motifs acting as common denominators between different demographics can work towards making Lied more accessible for all.
The cycle of life
Leonarda Kavedžić, soprano
Nastja Vidrih, piano
The theme of our project is “The cycle of life.” Growth, transience, beauty, and fleeting moments are woven into one complex whole. Life is unpredictable, full of ups and downs—of sadness and joy, and of moments that shape us. It begins with the honesty and simplicity of childhood emotions and gradually unfolds into the more complex and subtle feelings we only come to understand with time. Our program follows this journey—from playfulness and imagination to nostalgia and reflection.
The purpose of this project is to reflect this journey through music and to invite the audience into a shared emotional experience—one that encourages recognition, introspection, and connection. Our program follows this path from playfulness and imagination to nostalgia and reflection, not only as a narrative, but as a mirror of our own inner worlds.
To open the program, we chose Leonard Bernstein’s cycle I Hate Music! Children, in their simplicity, often express truths that adults forget. With this work, we aim to bring a childlike spirit to the stage—to remind both ourselves and the audience that the world becomes more beautiful when we see it with curiosity and honesty. We recognize this spirit in ourselves; this cycle allows us to be playful, to sometimes “hate music,” yet at the same time love it deeply.
In the next stage, we turn to Richard Strauss and his Vier Lieder, Op. 27—a cycle that opens a more mature, inward, and deeply romantic emotional landscape. Composed as a wedding gift for Pauline de Ahna, these songs are filled with intimacy and sincerity. In our program, they represent a shift from youthful immediacy to a more nuanced understanding of love—not as something fleeting, but as a force that evolves toward depth and peace.
From this point, the journey turns inward with Lojze Lebič’s Štiri Kosovelove pesmi, set to the poetry of Srečko Kosovel. If Strauss presents love as a point of arrival, Lebič opens a more questioning and introspective space. Kosovel’s poetry reveals fragments of thought and a heightened awareness of life’s fragility, while the musical language becomes more restrained and subtle. Voice and piano enter a delicate, sometimes tense dialogue, reflecting a stage of life shaped by reflection and uncertainty.
The program concludes with selected songs by Samuel Barber—Church Bell at Night, The Heavenly Banquet, St. Ita’s Vision, and The Sea-Snatch. Here, the perspective shifts toward looking back: life is no longer lived in immediacy, but remembered and contemplated. Through vivid and symbolic images, Barber’s music brings a sense of acceptance and quiet celebration. As a closing gesture, these songs gather the emotional threads of the program and offer a final reflection—embracing life in all its richness, complexity, and transience.
date to be announced - Glasbena šola Trbovlje
date to be announced - Kazina jazz klub Ljubljana
Herzensschwestern / Âmes soeurs
Clara Schumann, Pauline Viardot
& friends
Lara Hüsges, soprano
Gretel Jazeron, piano
We invite you to a music salon where two great 19th-century artists – Pauline Viardot and Clara Schumann – come to life in a surprisingly contemporary way. Surrounding them are their friends: Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Fanny Hensel, Felix Mendelssohn, Joséphine Lang, Emilie Mayer, Fryderyk Chopin and Franz Liszt. Songs alternate with spoken texts, excerpts from letters and short dramatic scenes. The audience sits close to the musicians, right at the heart of the action, just as they once did in the salons of Viardot and Schumann.
The two performers play with these different levels: at times they are Pauline and Clara, at others two contemporary musicians reflecting on the compatibility of art, family, finances, travel and social expectations. The format is particularly suited to residential and private salons, small concert halls and chamber music festivals. With 40 minutes of music plus additional texts and letters, the total duration is approximately 60–75 minutes without an interval. Depending on the venue and audience, the language of the narration is German or French.
Lara Hüsges and Gretel Jazeron are a young German-French Lied duo. They met in Berlin in January 2025 and hit it off immediately, both personally and musically. Their shared motivation is to deliberately focus on female composers alongside established ones and bring them into the spotlight.
Click poster to see our teaser
Click poster to see our presentation
12. 9. 2026, 17.00 - Rue de Farges 3, Lyon
13. 9. 2026, 17.00 - Rue de Farges 3, Lyon
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Stories of Life
Ana Benedik, mezzosoprano
Karlo Posnjak, piano
dates and venues to be announced
Our project explores the boundary between imagination and reality through the interpretative power of narrative-driven music. Inspired by the idea that every life unfolds as a unique story, the program draws on works that embody clear narrative arcs—featuring exposition, conflict, and resolution—and invites reflection on the deeper meanings these stories convey.
Fairy tales and poetic narratives have long served as a means of expressing human concerns, transforming inner experiences into symbolic forms that encourage empathy, critical thought, and self-awareness. Though often associated with childhood, such stories possess enduring relevance: each carries a message that may be understood differently by every individual, much like life itself.
The artistic inspiration for this project originates from the song Lorelei in the musical setting by Clara Schumann. Its expressive depth and dramatic vocal writing led to a broader exploration of the Lied repertoire, which similarly emphasizes atmosphere, emotional intensity, and narrative clarity.
The selected repertoire reflects a progression in dramatic intensity—from themes of innocence and emergence, through illusion and emotional conflict, to existential questioning and inner fragmentation. This journey symbolically traces the human condition: a movement from light into darkness, from birth toward mortality. It raises fundamental questions about the nature of existence—whether we are guided by truth or illusion, divided between good and evil, and whether death represents release or final loss.
Each story, like each life, offers its own meaning—inviting both performer and audience to reflect on their own path within the broader human experience.
Through this project, we aim to deepen our artistic collaboration and further explore this repertoire. Our goal is to become fully unified in performance, so that with everything we are and everything we can offer, we are able to communicate these stories authentically to the audience. We seek to reach listeners on a deeper level and offer them something meaningful—whether it be comfort, motivation, or reflection.This, ultimately, is the purpose of music: to evoke sincere emotion.
The echoes of the seasons / Odzven letnih časov
Janja Teržan, mezzosoprano,
Nikola Varžić, piano
16. August 2026 - Dvorec Novo Celje
date to be announced - Rdeča dvorana ljubljanskega magistrata
During their studies Nikola Varžić and Janja Teržan played and sang a lot of different kinds of repertoire. From renaissance, baroque and all the way to the contemporary music. They started to really pay attention to musical and harmonical changes in their repertoire and the overall sounds of the music they were studying. In the process of studying, they focused on each particular song and tried to find parallels between them musically and throughout the verbal highlights. They focused on the tone of each word and how it connects with musical intonation and pace, as well as the harmony of each chord written in the art songs. They tried to link each harmony to emotion and tried to identify each harmonical change.
For their project they chose to explore the sounds of the seasons. As they were wondering about them, it became a guiding principle and inspiration for them. For example, they heard the sounds of spring playfulness in Pavčič´s ˝Ciciban, cicifuj˝, the peace of the setting summer sun in Debussy´s ˝Beau soir˝, the messiness of hair from the autumn breeze in Wolf´s ˝In dem Schatten meiner Locken˝ or the peace of a cold winter night in Faure´s ˝Aprés un rêve˝.
They invisioned the project as divided into four sets. Each od the sets would represent one of the seasons and all of the sets would be bonded together by visual playfulness of the lights. In the project Echoes of the seasons, they would explore the feelings and the sounds each season brings them through art songs in different languages.
The project will not only be a classic lied concert, but an artistic experience as Janja and Nikola have also invited renowned photographer Kaja Pitrovšek (Nasprot sonca photography) to participate. With the symbiosis of her artistic photography works and their music, which will intertwine in the glow of well thought through and carefully selected lighting patterns, the visitor will experience a holistic artistic experience. The events prepared by the artists will resound in the beautiful surroundings of the baroque manor of Novo Celje as part of summer art festival and in the Red Hall of the Ljubljana City Hall in the fall.