The styriarte's Meerschein concerts are celebrating their 40th anniversary: for the 40th time, the traditional concert series is inviting audiences to embark on a musical journey of discovery in the Minoritensaal in Graz. The program has always combined classical music with world music, tradition with experimentation and takes its audience on excursions into worlds of sound between baroque and pop, jazz and folk music. In the spirit of this "Meerschein feeling", five extraordinary evenings are once again on the program for 2025/26 - always entertaining, always surprising and full of passion.
Darkness Falling (November 16, 2025)
The Quadriga Consort under the direction of Nikolaus Newerkla leads us into the mysterious sound world of the British Isles. Ancient ballads of unfulfilled love, ghostly stories and songs of winter and transience unfold an archaic intensity in sophisticated arrangements - eerily beautiful and timelessly moving.
Silent Night (December 14, 2025)
Arianna Savall, Petter Udland Johansen and their ensemble Hirundo Maris present Christmas music from Northern Europe and the Mediterranean during the Advent season. Between Norwegian melancholy, Catalan birdsong and Latin American exuberance, the result is an atmospheric evening that combines familiar traditions with unknown treasures.
Schneeberger & Bakanic Quartet © Christoph Lehner
Avanti, Avanti (January 11, 2026)
Two masters of their craft come together: gypsy jazz guitarist Diknu Schneeberger and accordion virtuoso Christian Bakanic. Together with their quartet, they create a sparkling universe of sound between swing, Balkan rhythms and lyrical melodies - rousing, improvisational and full of energy.
The Moldau (February 8, 2026)
The piano duo Kalabova&Gugg transforms the Minoritensaal into a concert hall of Romanticism. Four hands perform great works by Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Dvořák and Smetana - including the famous "Moldau" in chamber music intimacy, as festive as it is touching.
On the arpeggione (March 8, 2026)
A glimpse into the sound world of the early 19th century: Peter Hudler (arpeggione), Andreas Teufel (Schrammel harmonica) and Daniel Fuchsberger (contraguitar & string zither) revive Schubert's famous arpeggione sonata amidst dances and songs of Viennese folk music - a feast for the curious and aficionados alike.
With this mixture of the familiar and the unexpected, the Meerschein concerts prove once again that they are a fixture in Graz's cultural life - approachable, inspiring and full of musical magic moments for 40 years.
Piano duo Kalabova&Gugg © Helmut Laufenböck
