One can indeed be of differing opinions with regard to the musical qualities of Robert Miles´ prog rock “music” from 1976. The lyrics, though, are pretty much okay, particularly “To live without my music / Would be impossible to do / In this world of troubles / My music pulls me through.” In Friedrich Nietzsche words: “Without music life would be a misapprehension.” This results in a beautiful motto for the highly popular, always exciting and entertaining format under which a contemporary can outline his biography, based on far-reaching musical experiences or even record collections. We look forward to this year’s guest, Thorsten Schmidt, born 1962. He completed his studies in economics before co-founding the popular and programmatically demanding music festival “Heidelberger Frühling” in 1997, of which he has been director since. Was music “only” his second love? Or were his studies a pragmatic decision with important consequences that are still effective to date? In the last decade, he has also founded the Heidelberg String Quartet Festival, the Lied Academy, the youth project “Classic Scouts” and last but not least the Heidelberg International Song Centre.
