Contemporary chamber music, elements of pop and club music, experimental sounds, European traditions, influences from outside Europe, experiencing outstanding musicians from close-up, often performing in surprisingly unusual positions in the room - all this is united in KlangHaus live performances.
The drummer Jürgen Grözinger, originally from Ulm, who has been the artistic director right from the beginning, already came up with the idea of an intense interplay between contemporary architecture and music as well as programmes addressing a rather varied audience in 1996.
First called neue musik im stadthaus ulm[1] and changed to KlangHaus in 2020, the concerts were always an invitation to an audience interested in experiencing music.
Since 2014 the festival has been taking place biannually, usually in April, always with the European Music Project (EMP), the KlangHaus ensemble in residence.
The members of the EMP are excellent soloists usually playing in renowned ensembles, complemented with equally exceptional guest musicians.
The next KlangHaus festival takes place from 16 to 19 April 2026!
Great composers like Michael Nyman, David Lang, Klaus Huber, Samir Odeh-Tamimi, Bernd Franke, or Dieter Schnebel already attended KlangHaus performances.
KlangHaus also collaborates with students from Musikschule Ulm, the Minster parish or the Ulmer Spatzenchor.
Everything is possible. In 2024 the audience had the opportunity to listen to an original sonar recording of the Vela pulsar - the rotating neutron star of the supernova that exploded several thousand years ago in the constellation Vela: Gérard Griseys piece Le noir de l'étoile, which is believed to be almost unplayable, performed by six breathtaking percussionists.
An overview of the themes of the past KlangHaus and neue musik im stadthaus festivals are available in our archive.
Support the KlangHaus as a friend of the "Freunde der neuen Musik im Stadthaus Ulm e.V.". (page only available in German) Their credo is: "Contemporary music must be rooted in a city that looks to the future."