A toast to the next 50 years!

On Friday,15th May, Konzertdirektion Schmid popped the corks: all the staff together with around 140 guests from all over Europe celebrated the 50th anniversary of KDS in the town hall with a festive ceremony followed by dinner. Among the guests were artists, business partners and friends from five decades of successful cooperation. That afternoon, KDS and the Sprengel Museum had hosted a panel discussion, open to the general public, on the subject “Can talent be gauged?”.

Photo gallery          Commemorative Journal

In-house public relations

Over the last few decades, the role of PR has become more and more important in the development of artists’ careers, or support for orchestra tours. Already in 1996 Konzertdirektion Schmid recognised the advantages of public relations and established its own PR department. Sabine Mühlberg started to provide this additional service for artists and orchestras and the concept of an in-house public relations department has proven its worth to this day. Since 2004, Nina Steinhart and two colleagues have been working for artists such as Andris Nelsons and Jonathan Biss. At the same time, they also regularly support European tours of internationally renowned orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Bach Collegium Japan. Over the years a network of media contacts has been established all over Europe, from Poland, Hungary and the UK to Italy, Spain and Greece.

Pro Musica Hannover

In the early sixties, Hans Ulrich Schmid became active as a promoter of musical events in Hannover and even today the company Pro Musica is still bringing famous artists to the city. In the first season in 1964/65, Hans Ulrich Schmid organised concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Arrau as soloist  with the Czech Philharmonic, Yehudi Menuhin, the violin virtuoso Wolfgang Schneiderhan and the singers Irmgard Seefried and Christa Ludwig. Even at that time the city benefited  from the many renowned orchestras, managed by Konzertdirektion Schmid, stopping by in Hannover on their tours. Today, Pro Musica has more than 2000 subscribers, spread over three concert cycles and looked after by two members of staff in the subscription office.

EXPO 2000 Hannover

EXPO 2000 Hannover is a special highlight in the history of Konzertdirektion Schmid. As one of the leading concert artists’ agencies, it was entrusted with the preparation and realisation of the entire classical and crossover programme.     KD Schmid arranged three central concert series involving German radio orchestras, youth orchestras and the NDR Pops Orchestra and coordinated musical theme days, resulting in more than 250 performances. One of the main focuses lay on crossover projects with the NDR Pops Orchestra, accompanying prominent musicians such as Herbert Grönemeyer, Ray Charles, Lionel Ritchie, Patricia Kaas, Randy Crawford, Al Jarreau and Bobby McFerrin. The concerts took place in the TUI Arena, a temporary concert hall, and on numerous open-air stages.

A strong bond

It has been a special and traditional cooperation which has linked the KDS with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Sir Neville Marriner for decades – in 2009, they will both celebrate their 50th anniversaries and Sir Neville his 85th birthday. The legendary chamber orchestra already toured Germany under the management of KDS in 1969, at that time known as the “London Strings”. “Sir Neville Marriner is a great violinst, soloist, concert master and conductor in one person”, praised the “Weser-Kurier” at the time. Thus it is not a surprise that in 1976/77 Hans Ulrich Schmid decided to add Sir Neville Marriner to his list of artists, in order to develop his career as a conductor. Tours of the Academy are still a regular part of the KDS calendar – and whilst soloists like Maurice André or Alfred Brendel made history with the ensemble in the early days,  the most sought-after soloists touring with the Academy still cause a sensation today. From 6 until 28 January the Academy undertakes its anniversary tour with Julia Fischer, Håkan Hardenberger, Martin Stadtfeld, Janine Jansen and Alison Balsom with dates in Budapest, Vienna and various German cities.

Long-term relationships

Sabine Meyer and Christian Tetzlaff – two big names which have been linked closely to the Konzertdirektion Schmid for decades. KD Schmid has supervised the career of the legendary clarinetist Sabine Meyer for the last 28 years. The artist performs regularly with chamber music partners like Gideon Kremer or Heinrich Schiff. Moreover, she gives concerts with her “Trio di Clarone”. SheŽs often involved in projects which cross borders between “serious music” and “popular music”. Ms. Meyer appreciates the perfect co-operation with KD Schmid and looks forward to “many more successful and happy years of ‘marriage’”. The top-class violinist Christian TetzlaffŽs relationship with the KD Schmid started 18 years ago. “One of the many reasons” why he “feels so at ease” with KDS, says Tetzlaff, is the fact that he has never been forced to accept engagements and projects against his will. In 1984, Tetzlaff won the ARD Competition and four years later, his debut with the Münchner Philharmoniker under Celbidache was praised as a “sensation”. By now he is a most welcome guest on the concert stages of the world.

10 Years KDS UK

The office of KDS in London (KDS UK Ltd) opened as a one-person operation under the leadership of Director Karen McDonald in 1998. The idea was simple and an instant success: KDS UK focused on the direct contact to promoters for KDS artists in traditionally "anglophile" countries such as Great Britain, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand and became a permanent branch office in London, one of the most important cities in the music business. But the management remit soon exceeded local representation in these countries. After a short time Karen McDonald took on her first general management artist, trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger. Today, KDS UK holds the general management for eleven artists (among them shooting-star Andris Nelsons) in addition to local management for all other KDS artists. The office now comprises five members of staff and works from a small but attractive office in the very heart of the city, just around the corner from Covent Garden.

How it all began…

Hans Ulrich Schmid, formerly employed by the Steinway company in Hamburg, founded together with his business partner Alfred Döll, also a former employee of Steinway, the Klavierhaus Döll in Hannover in 1957. Very quickly they became authorised vendors for the most popular piano brands like Steinway, Ibach and Grotrian. “Whoever sells pianos, should also be able to sell piano recitals”. This thought was birth of Konzertdirektion Schmid. Soon “young pianists” like Paul Badura-Skoda and Alfred Brendel were to be heard in the basement of the Klavierhaus Döll which was turned into a mini concert hall. First artist representations followed: the pianist Karl Engel, the Heutling Quartett from Hannover and the American pianist Alexander Uninsky.

Dear friends and business partners,

I am delighted to welcome you to the Season in which Konzertdirektion Schmid celebrates its 50th Anniversary. At the end of the 50's, shortly after founding Konzertdirektion Schmid, I started to stage piano recitals in the cellar of Klavierhaus Döll, with several artists such as Karl Engel and Alfred Brendel. At the time I never imagined that the company would develop into one of the leading music managements in the business. Today, at the age of 82, I look back with joy and pride at this development. Even now I am still closely connected to many long-standing artists and colleagues at the Konzertdirektion. I am immensely proud that through the leadership of my daughter, Cornelia Schmid, we succeeded in carrying the company into the next generation, continuing the family tradition and securing the future of the company.