DR. ULRIKE KIENZLE
Dr. Ulrike Kienzle is a musicologist and literary scholar. She works as a scholarly author, lecturer, and curator of exhibitions. She has published numerous works and is a renowned expert on the Romantic era. For the Romantik-Museum in Frankfurt she designed the musical stations and a continuous musical thread. She also curated exhibitions about Robert and Clara Schumann. Currently she is writing a book on the “Scenes from Goethe’s Faust” by Robert Schumann. At the Alte Oper Frankfurt she regularly holds music seminars and gives many lectures at various locations, for example on Richard Wagner’s music dramas or the forest in Romantic music. She particularly enjoys organizing talk-concerts with renowned musicians. Together with tenor Julian Prégardien she led masterclasses on Franz Schubert’s song cycles “Die schöne Müllerin” and “Winterreise.” Her main concern is the engaging, accessible dissemination of deep knowledge about music, not only for professionals but also for music-interested laypeople. She is convinced that music conveys a message about the existential questions of human existence, which we intuitively understand. You only hear what you know. Therefore, her seminars always contribute to a deeper, more intense musical experience and also inspire performers. Her seminars and talks are always accompanied by images and sound examples. In joint discussions we also share our musical experiences and our understanding with one another.
The Seminar:
The Music of the Romanticism: A journey of discovery in words, images and sounds
Workshop by Dr. Ulrike Kienzle
For the first time in 2026, Appassionato will also offer a music seminar. For a week, we will devote 90 minutes in the mornings to the exciting exploration of Romantic music. The 19th century is considered the "most romantic" of all arts. But what is romance in music? Composers such as Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert Schumann, and Franz Liszt develop the character piece and “Lieder without Words” for piano; they create wonderful song cycles to Romantic poems and symphonic poems. Timbres are integrated into the compositional process in novel ways; harmony expands. One discovers the secrets of the forest and its inhabitants and brings them musically to sound. The fascination with the Middle Ages, political visions of freedom and democracy, and the search for transcendence inspire Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner to innovative developments in the field of opera. Romanticism is not only an era but a mindset that remains relevant today and can be as guiding for our lives as it was in the 19th century, to which we owe the most beautiful Romantic compositions. Through texts, images, sound examples, and collective reflections, we explore Romanticism in its different facets in this seminar. The seminar can be attended as a standalone event or as a complement to the master classes. Look forward to an intellectual and artistic journey of discovery!
Dr. Ulrike Kienzle is a musicologist and literary scholar. She works as a scholarly author, lecturer, and curator of exhibitions. She has published numerous works and is a renowned expert on the Romantic era. For the Romantik-Museum in Frankfurt she designed the musical stations and a continuous musical thread. She also curated exhibitions about Robert and Clara Schumann. Currently she is writing a book on the “Scenes from Goethe’s Faust” by Robert Schumann. At the Alte Oper Frankfurt she regularly holds music seminars and gives many lectures at various locations, for example on Richard Wagner’s music dramas or the forest in Romantic music. She particularly enjoys organizing talk-concerts with renowned musicians. Together with tenor Julian Prégardien she led masterclasses on Franz Schubert’s song cycles “Die schöne Müllerin” and “Winterreise.” Her main concern is the engaging, accessible dissemination of deep knowledge about music, not only for professionals but also for music-interested laypeople. She is convinced that music conveys a message about the existential questions of human existence, which we intuitively understand. You only hear what you know. Therefore, her seminars always contribute to a deeper, more intense musical experience and also inspire performers. Her seminars and talks are always accompanied by images and sound examples. In joint discussions we also share our musical experiences and our understanding with one another.
The Seminar:
The Music of the Romanticism: A journey of discovery in words, images and sounds
Workshop by Dr. Ulrike Kienzle
For the first time in 2026, Appassionato will also offer a music seminar. For a week, we will devote 90 minutes in the mornings to the exciting exploration of Romantic music. The 19th century is considered the "most romantic" of all arts. But what is romance in music? Composers such as Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert Schumann, and Franz Liszt develop the character piece and “Lieder without Words” for piano; they create wonderful song cycles to Romantic poems and symphonic poems. Timbres are integrated into the compositional process in novel ways; harmony expands. One discovers the secrets of the forest and its inhabitants and brings them musically to sound. The fascination with the Middle Ages, political visions of freedom and democracy, and the search for transcendence inspire Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner to innovative developments in the field of opera. Romanticism is not only an era but a mindset that remains relevant today and can be as guiding for our lives as it was in the 19th century, to which we owe the most beautiful Romantic compositions. Through texts, images, sound examples, and collective reflections, we explore Romanticism in its different facets in this seminar. The seminar can be attended as a standalone event or as a complement to the master classes. Look forward to an intellectual and artistic journey of discovery!