crescendo - music festival of the UdK Berlin

The music festival crescendo will take place from May 30 to June 13, 2026, under the motto GegenTöne (CounterTones).

Die Kunst ist eben keine hübsche Zuwaage – sie ist die Nabelschnur, die uns mit dem Göttlichen verbindet, sie garantiert unser Mensch-Sein.
(Art is not merely a pleasant addition – it is the umbilical cord that connects us to the divine; it guarantees our humanity.) Nicolaus Harnoncourt

We are living in a time of uncertainty and transformation, a time in which priorities are constantly shifting; alongside education, the arts—the “beautiful,” and with them music—are increasingly suspected of being secondary and are pushed into the background. Yet it is precisely music that can help build bridges and send powerful signals against exclusion, violence, oppression, and indifference.

Music fosters confidence, stimulates creativity and resilience, and offers comfort. The shared process of making music—in lessons, ensembles, and rehearsals—cultivates openness toward “the other” anew each day. Can we, as a society, really afford to be “against” tones?

In these politically turbulent times, crescendo 2026 follows the path of CounterTones—we resist through sound and words, through composers and musicians, and we look back at times when music has done exactly that. Musically, too, the idea of “counter” appears again and again: in dissonances, closely related tones rub against each other and strive for resolution, for harmony. Sound itself cannot exist without physical resistance—a string must resist in order to vibrate.

We need the “counter.” Only by pushing against societal norms and established structures can we evolve, expose injustices, and bring them to an end. Only with resistance, only with CounterTones, can there be progress.

crescendo 2026 presents CounterTones—loud and soft, subtle and explicit. As every year, students, teachers, and guests collaborate across institutes and faculties to create programs ranging from intimate chamber music evenings to large orchestral performances, from music for the very youngest to children and adults alike. All events are free of charge.

Join us and stand with us for the importance of music in our city and our society. Together, let us send a signal against the erosion of culture and in favor of sound with crescendo 2026.