"What Chamber Music Can Teach Us About Living Together" with Kronberg's Raimund Trenkler

The Founder and Executive Director of the Kronberg Academy talks with us about the lessons society can learn from chamber music

The Kronberg Academy, in Germany, recently hosted its Chamber Music Connects the World festival. The biennial project places 30 outstanding young musicians into chamber ensembles with some of the world's best artists for ten intense days of high-quality music-making.

During the festival, a new campaign was born, entitled "We Should All Be Chamber Musicians." In a time when the world is divided, the Academy advocated that we, as a society, can learn important lessons of unity from chamber music.

Raimund Trenkler, Founder and Executive Director of the Kronberg Academy, shared his thoughts on the subject below:

"In tune. In time. Together.

Chamber music has always been close to my heart. Not just as a form of musical expression, but as a model for how people can live and work together.

When we founded the Kronberg Academy in 1993, we did so with a simple but far-reaching belief: that music — and especially chamber music — has the power to connect. It invites us to listen deeply, to collaborate without hierarchy, and to build something greater than ourselves. Over the years, I have seen these values come to life again and again, particularly during our festival Chamber Music Connects the World.

This May, as nearly 40 young leading musicians from over 20 countries gathered in Kronberg — most of them former students of the Academy — we asked a different kind of question: What if the spirit of chamber music were not just something we practice in the rehearsal room, but something we carry into the world?

This question became the starting point for a new campaign: “We should all be chamber musicians.”

Printed on T-shirts, seen on stage, backstage, and in public spaces around Kronberg, this phrase is more than a slogan. It’s a quiet statement of values. And it continues on the back of the shirt: "In tune. In time. Together."

These are the conditions of great music — and perhaps also of a better society.

Chamber music, at its best, is not about perfection. It is about presence. It requires us to hold our own voice while making space for others. To speak and to listen. To know when to lead, and when to follow. No one voice dominates; all voices matter.

In a time when our world is facing polarization, noise, and fear of “the other”, chamber music offers something different: a culture of attentiveness, empathy, and shared responsibility. And I believe these are not just artistic virtues — they are social ones.

The response to the campaign has been deeply moving. Musicians, supporters, audience members — even our festival staff — have embraced it not as branding, but as a belief. Some wear the shirt. Others just live the message.

And while the concerts are over, the idea continues.

If there is one thing I’ve learned from a life in music, it’s this: Listening well is one of the most powerful things we can do. Chamber music teaches us how. And right now, the world needs good listeners more than ever."

-Raimund Trenkler