Trust your ears
What happens when you switch off your sense of sight? When your eyes are covered and only your ears remain awake? The concert " Trust Your Ears ," performed as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival 2025 , dared to conduct precisely this experiment and offered a unique concert evening on July 8th. For our "In Between" section of Lübeck ZWISCHENZEILEN I attended the concert in the cowshed of the Pronstorf manor house. Yes, this is a look back at an event you can no longer experience in this form. However, the newly started festival season still offers plenty of musical surprises. It's quite possible that you'll need to try something completely new for your musical collection.
Wearing socks at the conductor's podium
The idea for this evening of music came from Omer Meir Wellber , one of the leading conductors of opera and orchestral repertoire, known for his subtle sound shaping and his openness to unusual concert formats. Fortunately, his suggestion was met with open ears and hearts by the director, Dr. Christian Kuhnt, and the general manager, Frank Siebert .
And so, as soon as we entered the hall, it became clear to us guests: something was different here. Eye masks emblazoned with the evening's motto, "Trust your ears," lay on the chairs. Wearing only socks, the conductor asked us to put on the masks and take a moment to adjust to the unusual situation. Meanwhile, the musicians of the Vienna Volksoper's string ensemble quietly took their places. Some crept in their socks to their positions on the stage or somewhere in the vast space of the cowshed. Every step was to be silent. It wasn't just about making music – it was also about avoiding everything else as much as possible: no clicking of heels, no noise that might distract from the sound. And so, even the creaking of the floorboards or a crackling in the wooden beams of the cowshed suddenly became an event. For where the eye sees nothing, the ear begins to search at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival 2025.
moving sounds
The musicians, who are at home on one of Europe's most prestigious stages, revealed a completely different side of their artistry: intimate, agile, almost chamber-like – and yet full of expressive power. With great sensitivity, they moved not only musically, but also physically through the space. Their interplay was precise yet vibrant, always serving the whole. One sensed their vast experience – but also their curiosity for experimentation, for connecting with the audience, and for playing with perception at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival 2025.
The works themselves, ranging from Mozart (Eine kleine Nachtmusik) to Ralph Vaughan Williams (Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis) and Dvořák's Serenade in E major, were performed in a fluid, unpredictable order. Even the intermission was not scheduled in advance. Everything unfolded according to the dramatic flow of the moment.
Also included was a contemporary work: "Near and Far" by the Georgian composer Josef Bardanashvili , a commissioned piece for the SHMF that seamlessly integrated into this sonically and spatially open structure. The title – "Near and Far" – aptly reflected the listening experience: music that seemed to disappear into the space, approach again, withdraw, and return. The performance concluded with a standing ovation.
Listening audience
What made this concert so special was also the audience's attitude. Those who were there listened with palpable curiosity and openness, with an almost childlike joy in listening—in the overtones and the pauses, in asking: Where does this sound come from?
"Trust Your Ears" was, for me, a cleverly staged sound experiment – a blend of near and far, movement and stillness, control and surrender. Those who attended left with heightened senses. If you're intrigued, take a look at the program for the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival 2025 and discover your own sonic treasure.
BY THE WAY: our Lübeck ZWISCHENTÖNE team also reports on the SHMF 2025 in the current podcast edition.
