Gidon Kremer Foundation

Gidon Kremer Foundation
Name	Gidon Kremer Foundation
Founded	1990s
Founder	Gidon Kremer
Location	Riga, Vienna
Genre	Classical music, Contemporary music

Gidon Kremer Foundation The Gidon Kremer Foundation is a non-profit cultural organization established by violinist Gidon Kremer to promote contemporary classical repertoire, young performers, and music from Eastern Europe. Based in Riga with activity in Vienna, the foundation organizes festivals, commissions new works, and supports recordings and educational projects. It is closely associated with ensembles, soloists, composers, and institutions across Europe and the Americas.

History

The foundation grew out of initiatives surrounding Kremer's collaborations with artists such as Martha Argerich, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and ensembles like the Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra. Early milestones included commissions from composers Alfred Schnittke, Sofia Gubaidulina, Arvo Pärt, John Cage, and premieres involving performers Daniel Barenboim and Yehudi Menuhin. Over time the foundation forged links with venues such as Wiener Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, and festivals including the Salzburg Festival and Aix-en-Provence Festival.

Mission and Activities

The foundation's stated aims align with advocacy for contemporary composers like Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Elliott Carter, György Ligeti, and Iannis Xenakis and promotion of young artists associated with institutions such as the Juilliard School, Royal Academy of Music, Moscow Conservatory, and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Activities encompass commissioning works from composers including Per Nørgård, Kaija Saariaho, Pēteris Vasks, and Victorija Jurgaitė, organizing recordings with labels like Deutsche Grammophon, ECM Records, and Nonesuch Records, and producing curated concert series featuring soloists such as Itzhak Perlman, Hilary Hahn, Maxim Vengerov, and Nigel Kennedy.

Festivals and Projects

The foundation initiated and supported festivals and projects including the Kremerata Baltica festival series, chamber cycles at the Schloss Esterházy, and thematic projects focusing on repertoires by Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Claude Debussy, and Igor Stravinsky. It has mounted contemporary music series in collaboration with promoters of the Aarhus Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, Bergen International Festival, and the Lucerne Festival. Projects have included commissioning cycle works by Philip Glass, Toru Takemitsu, Peter Eötvös, and retrospectives of composers such as Alexander Zemlinsky, Béla Bartók, and Dmitry Kabalevsky.

Educational and Outreach Programs

Educational initiatives target conservatory students and young professionals from institutions like the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, Conservatoire de Paris, and Curtis Institute of Music. Masterclasses and workshops have featured pedagogues and performers including Zino Francescatti, Isaac Stern, Sergiu Celibidache, Francois Leleux, and András Schiff. Outreach has encompassed community concerts modeled on programs run by El Sistema, youth orchestra residencies inspired by the European Union Youth Orchestra, and cross-disciplinary collaborations with museums such as the Louvre, Hermitage Museum, and Tate Modern.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The foundation has partnered with cultural institutions and broadcasters including European Broadcasting Union, BBC Radio 3, Arte, NRK, ORF, and record companies like Sony Classical. Institutional partners include the Latvian National Opera, Vienna State Opera, Malmö Live, Staatskapelle Dresden, and academic entities such as Harvard University and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. It also worked with foundations and funding bodies including the European Cultural Foundation, Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and national ministries of culture in Latvia, Austria, Germany, and France.

Awards and Recognitions

Projects associated with the foundation and its artists have received prizes including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, ICMA (International Classical Music Awards), the Herder Prize, and national honors such as the Order of the Three Stars and the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art. Commissions have been shortlisted for composition prizes like the Pulitzer Prize for Music and the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition through composers connected to the foundation.

Governance and Funding

Governance typically involves a board drawn from performers, cultural managers, and patrons with honorary positions held by figures such as Gidon Kremer and artistic directors from ensembles including Kremerata Baltica. Funding sources include grants from the European Commission cultural programs, sponsorship from corporations such as Siemens and Mercedes-Benz, philanthropic gifts from private donors linked to families like the Rothschilds and foundations including the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, as well as box office revenues and recording royalties.

Category:Music foundations Category:Classical music organizations