Europe - united by music
The best young musicians from across the EU i perform as the European Union Youth Orchestra. At the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin this August, they showed how music can truly unite the continent. The highlights of the festival are now available online.
They come from Belgium and Italy, from Cyprus, Czechia and Spain, from all parts of the European Union. They are among the best up-and-coming musicians in the world and they all share a love of music and a European identity. When the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) performs, it reveals how music can transcend borders and bring Europeans closer across the continent.
Last week, the musicians at the Young Euro Classic Festival performed the final concert, “Europe: Remembrance and Hope”, at the Berlin Konzerthaus. Thirty-seven EUYO musicians from 14 European countries performed standards by Mozart and Beethoven, as well as pieces by the late romantic Russian composer, Nikolai Tcherepnin (1873-1945), and a tango-infused double bass quartet by Peter Grans (*1954) of Finland. The concert was part-funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
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The Young Euro Classic Festival has taken place regularly since the year 2000. This civic initiative was launched to bring together the continent’s youth orchestras once a year and to strengthen a sense of community across Europe. The festival now attracts youth orchestras from around the world.
Given the COVID-19 distancing rules on the stage and in the auditorium, the focus this year was on chamber music rather than the communal singing which took place in 2019. Only a quarter of the seats in the Berlin Konzerthaus were available. It was therefore decided for the first time to release full length videos of the best Young Euro Classic concerts online, so that everybody can see and hear what they missed.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also made rehearsing very difficult for the European Union Youth Orchestra. But they found practical solutions. They set up a new online platform called EUYOdigital, which enables orchestra members to practise in the best possible way. In addition, they organised the European Music Gallery Festival, a series of 23 “physically-distanced” live concerts in 19 EU countries and the UK. Roughly 300 musicians are involved in the project.
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The European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), founded in 1976, is one of the leading youth orchestras in the world. The European Commission serves as its patron, and the EU provides financial support. The member states also contribute smaller amounts. Additional income is raised through sponsorship and earned through concerts and recordings. The orchestra’s mission is to bring together young Europeans through music. A jury travels around Europe each year and selects talented musicians aged between 16 and 26 from each member state. For many of its members, the EUYO is a springboard for a professional career.
The Young Euro Classic Festival introduces itself
European Union Youth Orchestra
You can find out more about the culture programme of Germany's Presidency of the Council of the EU here.