MUSIC
COMMUNICATOR
> friederike kienle
FRIEDERIKE KIENLE – A Passionate Music Educator
— Music is for everyone!
Friederike Kienle is passionate about making classical music accessible to people of all ages. Her mission is to uncover the emotional core of music and create immediate, barrier-free musical experiences—regardless of prior knowledge or background.
Whether for children, teenagers, or adults, Friederike Kienle knows how to captivate her audience. As a dedicated music educator, she has conducted popular family and children’s concerts with actor Jörg Schade, including Krach mit Bach and Papa Haydn’s Animal Show. She has also developed her own educational projects for renowned institutions such as the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, the BALANCE Forum for Music Stuttgart, and the Hokkaido University of Education in Sapporo.
— PROJECTS
— ARTISTIC COLLABORATION – With Spoken Word Artist Timo Brunke
Friederike Kienle shares a close artistic partnership with Stuttgart-based concert poet Timo Brunke. Together, they bring classical works to the stage in contemporary, poetic reinterpretations—including Verdi’s La Traviata, Beethoven’s Egmont, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, and Strauss’ Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Through Brunke’s rhapsodic spoken-word artistry, these works gain a touching sense of relevance that resonates especially with younger audiences.
Their collaboration also breathes new life into Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals: humorous, imaginative, and with a message that speaks to both children and adults alike—a visionary world where animals and humans meet as equals and friendship becomes possible.
> Link: Timobrunke.de
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is popular the world over. Everyone is familiar with the symphony and its famous Ode to Joy. But despite its familiarity, the curious structure of the symphony is an enigma.
In her lecture, Friederike Kienle elucidates the historical milieu of Beethoven and the structure and meaning of the symphony for a broad audience by means of live musical excerpts – with the aim of giving the audience a deeper insight into Beethoven’s fascinating masterpiece.
“…the ground-breaking novelty of Beethoven’s compositional style in the choral finale is that he is composing then and there in the concert hall, before the eyes and ears of the audience. He doesn’t present the listener with the results of his inner compositional process, but co-composes the search undertaken by the entire audience. In this way, we become one with Beethoven. We search, we suffer, we struggle, we ascend, we come face to face with God. Beethoven has composed something that has the power to empower us. After this journey we feel ecstasy: joy really exists! The individual experiences of each of us when we embark on the symphony is what has made the Symphony No. 9 such a global success. Even now, after 200 years, it continues to move us.”
La Traviata remains one of the five most popular and regularly performed works in today’s opera repertoire. Violetta, a courtesan at the height of her popularity, decides to renounce her previous way of life, but, tragically, she suffers from tuberculosis and falls victim to the double standards of the bourgeoisie. The depth, passion and tenderness of Giuseppe Verdi’s music transforms this sad story into a timeless fable about love itself.
The rhapsodic interludes written and read by the poet Timo Brunke comment on the action and make up for the missing scenery and staging of ensemble balance’s chamber-opera version of the work. This was written for ensemble balance by Nicholas McRoberts, the musical director of Opéra Montmartre. The score for two violins, viola, cello, double bass, piano, clarinet, flute, bassoon and horn, a beguiling soprano, a magnificent tenor and energetic baritone is sufficient to render the work coherently and authentically. Conducted by Friederike Kienle, the evening of opera will be an unforgettable, compact, cost-effective and flexible experience that can be successfully performed almost anywhere.
> Link Trailer: Trailer: La Traviata mit dem ensemble balance
> Link: Ensemble Balance
The Carnival of the Animals is a musical gift that is full of different rhythms and beautiful melodies – and full of humour! Originally described as a “grand zoological fantasy” by Saint-Saens, the suite transports its listeners into a curious in-between world, in which the animals themselves are re-enacting the human carnival. Throughout the performance, idiosyncratic animal figures take over the stage of our imagination. They succeed in bringing to light the deeper meaning of carnival: a transformation of our self-imposed boundaries in a joyful and homely way.
In Timo Brunke’s text version of The Carnival of the Animals, the animals of Stuttgart’s Wilhelma zoo escape from their cages and re-enact the human world with mischievous fervour. Lions, kangaroos, wild asses and tortoises vacate the stage for each other, and the music conveys the scenes in a vivid, free-flowing way.
It is possible that the chamber music version created by the composer himself – written for two pianos, two violins, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, flute and xylophone – is particularly well suited to opening the ears of young listeners to the musical treasures of this work. That’s why the ENSEMBLE BALANCE production is aimed at both younger and older children. But it also invites everyone to prick up their ears, rediscover their own favourite animal in the music and discover how comedy is created through music.
> Link: Ensemble Balance
> Trailer:
> The Swan:
> Finale:
Music connects. In the heart of Stuttgart-Berg, a cultural gem has emerged: the BALANCE Concert Series at Berger Kirche. Since its founding in 2021, the neo-Gothic church has become a vibrant venue for musical encounters—a space where music, diversity, and community come together.
As founder and artistic director of the series, Friederike Kienle is dedicated to presenting music and culture in a contemporary and inclusive way. Her focus lies in opening the concert hall to a diverse audience—across generations and regardless of musical background. The concerts held in the acoustic haven of Berger Kirche enrich the cultural life of the neighborhood and actively promote social participation in the arts.
A space for sound and dialogue. Whether chamber music, opera, improvisation, jazz, world music, or youth concerts—the program is as multifaceted as its audience. Each concert becomes a transcending experience, extending beyond the music itself.
At the heart of the series is the ENSEMBLE BALANCE, which has found its artistic home here. Together with renowned guest artists and emerging talents, it presents concerts of the highest caliber—crossing genres, embracing innovation, and resonating with the spirit of our time.
> Link: Konzertreihebergerkirche.de
