We are pleased to present to you the 36th edition of this unique festival – which takes place 13–16 May 2021 – during which the flauto dolce (recorder) takes centre stage, and we invite you to enjoy a few unforgettable days in Stockstadt.

We are continuously working on the COVID protection concept for Stockstadt and will keep you updated on all the latest news. Our concert hall is very spacious and we have developed a special seating plan so that you can feel completely safe and visit and enjoy our events without any worry.

In 2021, this tradition-rich event will once again be playing host to seven concerts, the master class and music trade fair. We would also like to invite you to join us once again on Thursday afternoon and play with Stockstadt’s large recorder orchestra in a pre-festival warm up at the Altrheinhalle concert venue.

As usual, the music festival starts on Friday with the master class – and we are very happy to be joined this year by several lecturers who shall be instructing soloists as well as the audience. In 2020, grande dame Michala Petri invites you to a thrilling presentation open to all. This will be followed by the music trade fair, the most prestigious fair in the field of recorders and Early Music. The trade exhibition, which is just as prolific as last year’s, enjoys international renown.

We are expecting plenty of renowned recorder makers from Europe and overseas, publishers, music store representatives and producers. We can’t wait to see the exhibition hall decked out in vivid colours. You now also have the chance to test instruments in a separate room, enjoy a few minutes of calm and focus on the instrument’s tonal qualities. We are happy to tell you more about this facility on the day.

In our series of seven concerts, you are cordially invited to revel in a multifaceted experience which showcases Early Music and unusual recorder sounds.

The opening concert of the 2021 Recorder Festival represents a carte blanche for grande dame Michala Petri – we are looking forward to baroque, romantic, modern and contemporary works as well as a number of interesting types of recorder which underscore the diversity of styles.

Together with her long-term musical partner on guitar, Lars Hannibal, Michala Petri will be putting together a repertoire of some of her very favourite works especially for the Stockstadt Recorder Festival.

Cologne’s recorder quartet Flautando Köln will be performing the Friday evening concert with a new line-up (Susanna Borsch, Susanne Hochscheid, Kerstin de Witt & Ursula Thelen) and the percussionist Peter Kuhnsch. They will be playing their wonderful programme titled ‘Heimat’, or home. It’s all about celebrating a feeling of home that knows no borders, be they spatial or temporal. From Johann Sebastian Bach and Erik Satie to Turkish and Danish folk melodies.

I am excited and extremely pleased to continue the series with international prize winners from the field of early music such as the recorder and have invited outstanding talents to Stockstadt: the German recorder player Tabea Debus and her ensemble tr!jo. On Saturday at 11 a.m., we can expect works by Bach and Telemann, but also the latest compositions, which Tabea Debus has commissioned and is now presenting in the Altrheinhalle.

The celebrated Ensemble Tripla Concordia is coming to the Recorder Festival for the first time, and will be bringing Dutch recorder legend Walter van Hauwe – the mentor of at least three generations of highly professional recorder players – with them on their journey to Stockstadt. At 4 pm on Sunday, you can enjoy the ensemble’s new Bach trio sonata project – a journey of discovery.

Let yourself be transported back to the early 18th century and the city of Naples, to the sensuous sounds of the Madrid-based La Ritirata ensemble (founded just over 10 years ago by cellist and ensemble leader Josetxu Obregón) and to a fantastic musical world full of excitement, surprises and sheer beauty. The audience will also get to hear the recorder player Tamar Lalo and the master violinist Hiro Kurosaki play works by Scarlatti, Leo, Mancini, among others.

Diversity, joyful experimentation, the exploration of new boundaries – this is the elixir of life for the four lads, Fabian, Jonathan, Lukas and David. Four brothers, four personalities, four x four instruments and a ton of talent: on Sunday morning, the Hanke Brothers will present their new Elements programme with a blend of pop and classical music. Look forward to the vibrant, captivating performance of this young ensemble.

A colourful programme of original music for one to five recorders awaits you during this year’s farewell concert. The musical journey of Maurice Steger – who will be performing alongside Laura Schmid, Céline Pasche, Claudius Kamp and Max Volbers – leads from Venice to Hamburg via London and Paris. In addition to the conventional recorder, the musicians will have with them a Baroque bassoon, a Baroque harp and a harpsichord, swapping between instruments at lightning speed. Don’t miss out on this final event of the 2021 Recorder Festival, an exciting, sensual sound experience!

I am extremely pleased to present some of the most interesting contemporary recorder players and ensembles and am excited to partake in the Stockstadt Recorder Festival alongside you; this wonderful event at which we all come together to celebrate, to exchange experiences and be inspired by the unique ambience, by sounds, beautiful instruments and valuable contacts.

Warm greetings to you all – see you in May.

Maurice Steger