The Stories
Rising Stars
at a Crossroads
The Stories
Rising Stars
at a Crossroads
The 2025/26 season marks a turning point for the European Concert Hall Organization (ECHO). For the past 30 years, its flagship Rising Stars programme has allowed dozens of early career musicians to find prestigious platforms and performance opportunities among the Organisation’s members – which include the Philharmonie Luxembourg. As with every milestone, this 30th anniversary is an invitation to both look back and look forward: what does the «Rising Stars proposition» entail that sets it apart from other, similar international awards, and how might it evolve in the future? How do alumni remember their seasons as Rising Stars and retrospectively analyse the way these impacted their journeys as professional musicians?
Janine Jansen, Jörg Widmann, Igor Levit, Khatia Buniatishvili, Renaud Capuçon… They don’t play the same instrument, belong to the same generation or share the same nationality, but these big names of the classical music scene have one key thing in common: they were all selected to be part of ECHO’s Rising Stars programme right as their careers started to take off. The internationally acclaimed pianist Cathy Krier, Luxembourg’s second laureate, still remembers vividly the day she received the call telling her that she had been chosen: «I remember I was rather speechless… and I’m usually quite the chatterbox!», she laughs. It was the year 2014 and the then 10-year-old Rising Stars scheme had already established a solid reputation.
How did that happen? To Federico Rinaldi, Network Manager at the European Concert Hall Organization, the secret lies in member halls’ commitment to the scheme from the get-go: «Rising Stars was initiated early in the history of ECHO, when members realised they felt the same responsibility towards future generations of artists». Such commitment involved more than passive endorsement of the programme: ECHO organisations took their role of nominating candidates very seriously: «Selection has always been excellent», Mr Rinaldi comments – which, in turn, quickly led the programme to be associated with musical excellence.
The source of one’s artistic identity
Ahead of her season as Rising Star in 2015/16, Cathy Krier suggested two concert programmes: one leaning towards the French tradition, the other more focused on Central Europe. «The organisers (from ECHO, editor’s note) trusted me completely in all programmatic and dramaturgical matters», she recalls, «which is exactly what every early career musician looks for: not just to present oneself as an artist, but most importantly to show what one really wants to show». An analysis which Federico Rinaldi emphatically echoes: «Imposing something would be against the artist-centred nature of the scheme: ideas must come from our Rising Stars. For some, it’s even the first time in their career they are given such free rein and told, take the stage, be yourself!». An opportunity as well as a challenge.
For many alumni, the origins of the artistic identity they are now celebrated for can indeed be traced back to their year as Rising Stars. In a 2018 interview recorded just before the start of «his» season in 2018/19, Kian Soltani formulated the following mission statement: «I would like to see myself as a musician, not just a classical musician». A prophetic wish, considering that the Austrian-born cellist has since gone on to achieve fame not just by collaborating with some of the world's most prestigious orchestras, but also by regularly pursuing fusion and non-classical projects, including blockbuster film music as in the critically acclaimed (and commercially successful) 2021 album, Cello Unlimited. Like Cathy Krier, Soltani had made full use of the freedom he was given as a Rising Star, and carefully curated his musical programme in accordance with his deepest artistic preferences, which meant including as much musical diversity as possible and going as far as to work with a jazz pianist and composer, David Helbock, on a commission piece.
«Who do you want to write for you?»
Collaborating with contemporary composers to create a new piece of music has long been at the heart of the Rising Star experience, though not from the get-go, Mr. Rinaldi points out. «But ECHO members quickly realised that as leading concert halls, they shared a responsibility to give new music a stage», he adds. Over the years, they have found in the Rising Stars scheme a privileged way of fostering both today’s performers and composers, while also getting their audiences used to concert programmes which juxtapose traditional and innovative contents.
Cathy Krier could never forget the moment when, upon meeting with the ECHO team, she was asked: «So, who do you want to write for you?». «I got out of the conference room in a daze», she gasps. «Most of the names listed, I had always considered to be out of reach». The young woman eventually chose the German composer Wolfgang Rihm. «Looking back», she says, «it was empowering to be told that anything was possible. What’s more, the ECHO team made it seem… easy!».
Such seamlessness implies of course arduous work behind the scenes – particularly in the first years of the programme, when it was still establishing itself. As Federico Rinaldi recounts: «We really had to ask ourselves, as an organisation, ‹What are our assets? What can we offer these young artists that they haven’t had elsewhere?›». A special bursary to commission – often of the first time – a tailor-made composition certainly is a unique added value. As are the many opportunities for nominees to perform outside the concert stage and to engage with the communities ECHO member halls serve.
The soloist isn’t solo
For the past 30 years, ECHO has done more than merely unlock stages across the continent for its young soloists. It has sought to plant the seeds for future professional collaborations: «Back in 2015/16, I wasn’t just performing», Cathy Krier recalls, «I got to network a lot». Interacting with fellow artists, but also with the music industry’s strategic stakeholders – such as talent scouts, directors, programmers, or even label owners – requires soft skills that lie beyond artistic acumen or technical virtuosity, and hence needs time and guidance – which ECHO leadership aims to provide. «It’s important to highlight», says Federico Rinaldi, «that the Rising Stars programme is a learning process. It was never just about performing virtuosic pieces: we want enable laureates’ growth and personal development». Since 1996 and increasingly over the years, this has been achieved through workshops on non-musical topics ranging from communication to body language, working with children, or staying healthy while on tour.
«Rising Stars was never just about performing virtuosic pieces» – Federico Rinaldi
Cathy Krier remembers a «constellation of people» around her throughout her season as a Rising Star. «I was always surrounded, and accompanied with a kind of benevolence I haven’t forgotten since».
This culture of care becomes all the more valuable when challenges inevitably arise. The touring format which the programme is based upon, while opening many doors and rigorously training nominees for their futures on international stages, brings about certain tensions and limitations. No matter how attached Rising Stars are to the programme they have been given free rein to curate, repetition (15 to 20 performances in one season!) can be daunting. «Retaining a sense of freshness and wonder towards the music isn’t easy after a while», Cathy Krier says, while also admitting that acquiring the necessary endurance to face such a routine is one of the most decisive aspects of a musician’s early career. And however stable a programme may be, no two evenings could ever be the same – like that time when the auditorium lights suddenly went out right as Ms Krier’s recital had begun, or when a young boy spontaneously stepped on stage to hug her during the final applause…
Continuity and novelty
To this day, ECHO doesn’t plan on altering the pace or the tour-based nature of its signature scheme. When it comes to future changes and developments, one should rather look to the profiles eligible for nomination. Recalling a 2025/26 nominee with a passion for pop music, Federico Rinaldi says enthusiastically: «We might start looking for personalities and projects outside the strictly classical world!». Thinking beyond the traditional recital experience appears equally essential, and future Rising Stars will participate in more ELPO (Education, Learning, Participation and Outreach) initiatives aside from their concert season. Finally, increasing the connectedness between Rising Stars is another strategic avenue for development, Mr Rinaldi points out: «We want to promote collaboration between the laureates of a given season, but also between alumni as, after 30 years, we now have several generations of Rising Stars. Some could become mentors to the newest members of the programme».
Meanwhile, ECHO member halls and former Rising Stars continue to cultivate their artistic friendships and to shape each other, season after season – in the first and second quarter of 2026 alone, four alumni will take to the Philharmonie’s stage.
