Tonhalle Düsseldorf
(c) Susanne Diesner
Just a few days after the successful ICMA Gala in Valencia, ICMA President Remy Franck was at the Tonhalle Düsseldorf for a meeting with the Intendant Michael Becker and staff members from Tonhalle Düsseldorf to begin the preparations for the Award Ceremony and the Gala Concert that will take place on 19 March 2025 in Düsseldorf, a city with a long music tradition, where Mendelssohn and Schumann were music directors.
The concert will be played by the almost 400-year-old Düsseldorfer Symphoniker conducted by ICMA Lifetime Achievement winner 2022, Adam Fischer, who is Principal Conductor of this orchestra since 2015. The concert will take place in the architecturally spectacular and sonically outstanding 1800-seat Mendelssohn hall, the former Planetarium of Düsseldorf. The dome-shaped and refined sound deflection make for magnificent acoustics. Optically, light diodes and a refined lighting concept today have
Adrian Jokisch (Operations Office), Gina Ries (Orchestra Director), Michael Becker (Intendant & General Manger), Remy Franck (ICMA President), Anke Pfeuffer (Head of Operations Office), Burkhard Scheuer (Commercial Director)
turned the concert hall back into what it has always been: a Music Planetarium.
The Award Ceremony will take place at the smaller Helmut-Hentrich-Saal. Remy Franck says: « The ICMA jury is enthused to have the 2025 Gala hosted in such an exceptional venue. And our Board members look very much forward to collaborating with Michael Becker’s team, whose warmth and open as well as positive Rhineland mentality I was already able to experience at this very first meeting. »
Michael Becker says: « Since Düsseldorf is a curious and eventful city hosting events like Tour de France, Euro 2024 or MTV Music Week we are both, excited and delighted, to host the ICMA gala as one of the true highlights in Europe’s classical music season. »
