For one evening, the Elkamet Music Hall in Dautphetal-Friedensdorf was transformed into a concert hall: 570 guests attended the 2026 Summer Concert featuring the hr Symphony Orchestra – from Berlioz to Gershwin, with Richard Galliano and conductor Izabelė Jankauskaitė.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the Eckelshausen Music Festival, the 2026 summer concert took place at the Elkamet Music Hall in Dautphetal-Friedensdorf. For one evening, the hall – which is normally used for work, development and production – was transformed into a concert hall. 570 guests attended the concert – more than at any previous concert in this series held at our venue.
Around 85 musicians took to the stage. The programme covered a wide range and took the audience on a journey through different musical worlds – from Hector Berlioz, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Edvard Grieg to Astor Piazzolla and George Gershwin. Gershwin brought the evening to a close with ‘An American in Paris’; Piazzolla’s ‘Libertango’ provided another striking highlight.
The concert centred on two artistic personalities: Richard Galliano on the accordion and Izabelė Jankauskaitė as conductor. Galliano, a French accordion virtuoso who moves between classical, jazz, musette and tango, also performed his own work, ‘Opale Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra’. The fact that he performed in Friedensdorf alongside Jankauskaitė and an orchestra of this size was a special experience for many guests.
Among the visitors were also numerous colleagues. Many spoke afterwards about the sound quality in the hall, the energy on stage and the sensation of experiencing a familiar place in a completely new light.
As the host, Elkamet is delighted to be able to provide a venue for cultural events of this calibre. The very well-attended evening demonstrates the place the Elkamet Music Hall has now come to occupy in the region’s cultural life.
Our thanks go to the Eckelshausen Music Festival for organising the event, as well as to all our colleagues who helped in the run-up to and on the evening of the event itself – from preparing the hall to looking after the guests on the night.
