With our season finale, Season 2 of Tonhain Kollektiv has come to a close: RESIST! – The Sound of Defiance.
Over the past months, we have presented music by composers who have used their art to stand against war, oppression, and injustice. Together, we encountered works by composers from more than four centuries – from 1589 to the present day – that speak of courage, resistance, and the defence of human dignity.
The season brought us music from Germany, the USA, England, South Korea, Iran, Poland, the Soviet Union, Peru, Italy, Bohemia, Hungary, and France. We heard music written under censorship, as a protest against war, or created by composers who were persecuted, imprisoned, or killed for their convictions.
Particularly enriching were our interdisciplinary Interludes, which have established themselves as a central part of the season: from our collaboration with the philosopher and author Florian Goldberg, an evening dedicated to Isang Yun in the context of war and the Iranian protest movement, to our October Interlude about Luigi Nono and his Hay que caminar, as well as Spectacle, which brought together fashion and the suffragette movement in collaboration with fashion designer Jenny Lai. These formats opened new spaces between music, thought, and social practice, and have left a lasting impact on us.
With six concerts, three Interludes, 33 artists, and 37 performed works, RESIST! was our most ambitious season to date, and every event was sold out.
We would like to thank you warmly: our audience, our supporters and donors, our hosts, and all those who accompanied us with trust, enthusiasm, and commitment.
Now we look ahead.
On 25 September 2026, we will inaugurate our third season:
CROSSINGS – Migration through Music
In CROSSINGS, we explore the many forms of migration: the movement of musical ideas across cultures, the journeys of composers and musicians, migrations in nature, as well as questions of displacement, diaspora, and cultural diversity.
The programme includes, among others, Debussy’s Images, Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea, Dvořák’s “American” String Quartet, Mahler’s Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, Golijov’s Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, Gabriela Ortiz’ Altar de Muertos, as well as György Kurtág’s Kafka-Fragmente with new philosophical reflections by Florian Goldberg.
We look forward to embarking on this new journey together with you.
