Rarities of Piano Music — Piano Festival Husum

A Festival for the Margins of Piano Literature

The «Piano Festival Husum» holds a special place in the international piano calendar: a festival that explicitly does not play standard Beethoven-Brahms-Liszt programs, but rather makes the "margins" of piano literature visible — composers who stand in the shadows, works that have unjustly fallen out of the concert canon, piano arrangements of forgotten symphonists. Pianists from all over the world come to Husum to perform precisely these works, which they can hardly play elsewhere.

The Castle Park as a Venue

The venue is the Rittersaal of Husum Castle — the only Renaissance castle building on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, built in the 16th century for Duke Adolf of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf. The hall, with its stucco ceilings, offers exceptionally present and intimate acoustics. A maximum of around 250 listeners per concert — anyone who has sat here knows the effect: every note, every pedal movement is audible.

Peter Froundjian, Artistic Director Since 1987

Pianist Peter Froundjian founded the festival in 1987 and has directed it ever since — a consistency that is rare today. His programs usually combine a main personality (composer or pianist) with contextualizing works. For the 40th edition in 2026, a Walter Niemann focus (with its own exhibition) and a film about Josef Hofmann (pianist and inventor) will be at the center.

Husum Piano Quiz and Danacord Recordings

Among the regular program elements is the popular Husum Piano Quiz — a playful exploration of the piano repertoire with the audience. Recordings from the festival have been released for years on the Danish label Danacord, documenting a unique piano repertoire project in over 60 CDs. Additionally, there is the festival book «Beyond the Mainstream» and a traveling exhibition on 34 years of program history.