Talking Darmstadt
News, reviews & reflection on Darmstadt Summer Course 2025 – made by participants in the "Words on Music" course
The group will provide you with background information, strong and soft opinions, regular studio guests and musical gems for the next two weeks – on a daily basis!
Check out their Soundcloud (/talkingdarmstadt) or follow IMD on Instagram (@imd_darmstadt) to stay tuned.
Episode 10 / 1 August
FINAL PODCAST OF DARMSTADT FERIENKURSE 2025!!! This podcast features Iga, Roberto and Yona plus a lengthy conversation about the 2018 Defragmentation Program with Katja Heldt and George Lewis AND there is also a fun segment (recorded by James) about Darmstadt Takeaways! Thank you, Lina, for the fantastic sound engineering. We hope you enjoy this last podcast of Darmstadt Ferienkurse 2025 and hope to see you in two years time!
Episode 9 / 31 July
In today’s episode: Lily sheds a few tears, James shares his interview with composer Steven Kazuo Takasugi, and Illia gets in a good stretch — all guided by our host, Yona. We also feature Olha’s interview with Basel-based journalists from Post Music Post, as well as Jasper’s conversations gathering people’s wishes for Darmstadt 2027. Stay tuned for more: Olha also speaks to Helena Luca from the IMD Library & Archive, and we wrap up with a roundtable discussion on the musical pieces that stuck with us. More Darmstadt Discoveries are presented. Thanks to sound engineer Lina Sterzenbach!
Episode 8 / 30 July
It is the second week of the Ferienkurse, and we are slowly losing KONTAKTE with reality… In today’s episode of Talking Darmstadt, Gasira, Samuel and Iga reflect on the performance of Stockhausen’s classic and consider the relationship between sound and space. Composers Mark Andre, Arne Gieshoff, Kari Watson and Luxa M. Schüttler share their insights on this topic. Many thanks to Lina Sterzenbach for making us sound good!
Episode 7 / 29 July
In today’s podcast, Irina, Roberto and Yona are discussing and reflecting on last night’s concert, Mountain and Maiden. They are joined by Sarah Nemtsov and Padmanabhan (also known as beatnyk) to discuss about the composer’s artistic intention as well as how the film is understood from Padmanabhan’s perspective. This podcast was engineered by Lina Sterzenbach.
Episode 6 / 28 July
New week, new episode, new recording engineer: Relaxed from the days off, Zhuoni Li (aka Lily), James Hamilton Lowrie, Olha Myronenko-Mikheishyna and Jasper Seibert present a packed episode discussing the weekend’s concerts and concert design. Interviews with the composer Simon Steen-Andersen, the clarinetist Vittoria Ecclesia and the colleagues from the front desk give further insights into the festival. The episode was engineered by Lina Sterzenbach.
Episode 5 / 25 July
In the fifth episode of Talking Darmstadt, Gasira, Iga, Samuel and Jonathan discuss this week’s highlights, including Open Space events, visiting performers at rehearsals, and the concert Ourselves In The Other performed by International Contemporary Ensemble. You can also hear Corie Rose Soumah reflecting on her Darmstadt premiere, and Elaine Mitchener discussing the importance of discourse around music. Thanks to Marta Hinderer, our studio engineer for making us audible. Till the next week!
Episode 4 / 24 July
In today’s episode Irina, Jonathan and Roberto Beseler Maxwell talk about Brigitta Muntendorf’s piece “Orbit” including short interviews from audience members and insights from the composer herself. In the second half the significance of programme notes and contextualization of contemporary music is discussed. Friedemann Dupelius and Karl Ludwig of the editors’ team of the Ferienkurse give insights into their work and highlight the importance of programme notes nowadays. Thanks to Marta Hinderer for the crisp sound!
Episode 3 / 23 July
In this podcast episode we continue reflecting on our experiences at the Ferienkurse. New music criticism in Darmstadt, a discussion of the latest concerts, issues of accessibility, an interview with members of Quatuor Bozzini and just a good mood appear in Talking Darmstadt Episode 3. This podcast is produced by Ferienkurs participants Zhuoni Li (aka Lily), Olha Myronenko-Mikheishyna, James Hamilton Lowrie and Jasper Seibert and is engineered by Marta Hinderer.
Episode 2 / 22 July
Welcome back to Talking Darmstadt, your (un)official guide to the Summer Course 2025. In this episode, Iga Batog, Jonathan Grimes, Samuel Leung and Gasira Timir reflect on Monday’s concerts. You will also hear an interview with composer Simon Bahr and members of No Hay Banda, who share their insights into Sarah Davachi’s Three Unisons for Four Voices. This podcast is produced by participants of the Words On Music course and studio engineer Marta Hinderer.
Episode 1 / 21 July
Our first episode Talking Darmstadt 2025 is produced and presented entirely by Summer Course participants: James Hamilton Lowrie, Jasper Seibert, Zhuoni Li (aka Lily), Yona Su, Olha Myronenko-Mikheishyna, Irina Sevastianova, Roberto Beseler Maxwell
We are sharing our thoughts on what these podcasts should be and can become, initial impressions on the first few days of concerts, and a roundup of our (food leaning) Darmstadt discoveries!