Our History
DK Deutsche Klassik GmbH is the result of the merger of some of the most traditional owner-managed concert series and artist agencies in Germany. Over 100 years of experience and passion characterise the work of our concert management companies, which still influence the decisions and developments of the umbrella brand today. Follow the timeline on an exciting journey to our roots, which date back to 1910.
DK Deutsche Klassik celebrates 50th anniversary
Partnership KD Schmid & KD Goette intensified
The strategic partnership between Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette and Konzertdirektion Schmid is expanded. In addition to Cornelia Schmid and Karen McDonald, Burkhard Glashoff now also heads the fortunes of the tradition-rich Konzertdirektion Schmid.
Handover of WDK Cologne
The WDK Köln becomes part of Deutsche Klassik due to the long-standing friendly relations and at the request of Jutta Adler; since then Jutta Adler and Burkhard Glashoff have been jointly responsible for the programme.
DK Deutsche Klassik becomes umbrella brand
After the handover of Konzert Theater Kontor Heinersdorff, PRO MUSICA Hannover and the Meisterkonzerte Bremen and Braunschweig, the concert series are combined under the umbrella brand DK Deutsche Klassik. Managing directors are Pascal Funke and Burkhard Glashoff.
Handover of KTK Heinersdorff
After the death of René Heinersdorff jun., Pascal Funke joins Konzert Theater Kontor Heinersdorff as a partner at the request of the surviving relatives and appoints Burkhard Glashoff as managing director.
Glashoff becomes managing director of KD Goette
Burkhard Glashoff leaves Konzertdirektion Schmid and is appointed managing director by Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette. Through this move, the two concert management companies enter into a strategic partnership.
Kuhnt becomes managing director of KD Goette
Christian Kuhnt wird Geschäftsführer der Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf GoetteChristian Kuhnt becomes managing director of the Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette. He is in charge of the Konzertdirektion until 2013, when he takes over the directorship of the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival. Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festivals übernimmt.
KD Schmid continues to grow
In cooperation with Van Walsum Management, the London office of Konzertdirektion Schmid is established in 1998. In 2011, another branch is added: the Berlin office opens.
Handover of KD Schmid
Hans Ulrich Schmid retires from active management of Konzertdirektion Schmid and hands over the reins of the company to his daughter Cornelia Schmid.
Takeover of Meisterkonzerte Bremen
The Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette takes over the concert series Meisterkonzerte Bremen and thus organises concerts outside the Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Handover of KD Goette
In search of a successor, Maria Goette, who had continued to run the company after the tragic death of her husband, hands over the now renowned Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette to the Hamburg concert promoter Hans-Werner Funke.
KD Schmid goes international
In 1976 the vocal department of Konzertdirektion Schmid and the Agentur Bueker to form Bueker/Schmid Management . The concentration of Konzertdirektion Schmid auf Orchestertourneen führt 1980 zur Übernahme von Interartists Amsterdam.
Foundation of KTK Heinersdorff
René Heinersdorff Jr. continues his father's tradition and intensifies concert activities. This leads to the 1969 founding of Konzert Theater Kontor Heinersdorff.
Opening of the Stadthalle Braunschweig
The opening of the Stadthalle Braunschweig creates an attractive concert hall for the region, so that more and more international greats accept the invitation of the Meisterkonzerte Braunschweig.
Movement at the WDK Köln
Finemann leaves the WDK Köln after almost 40 years and hands it over to three organisers: Rudolf Wylach in Wuppertal, Hans Ulrich Schmid in Hanover and Witiko Adler in Berlin. The latter, together with his wife Jutta Adler, will take over the management of WDK Cologne in its entirety in 1971.
PRO MUSICA Hanover is founded
Hans Ulrich Schmid and Alfred Döll (Klavierhaus Döll) begin organising events for PRO MUSICA. They start playing in the 1964/65 season.
Founding of KD Schmid
After his commercial apprenticeship at the Hamburg piano factory Steinway & Sons and the opening of the Klavierhaus Döll (1957 with Alfred Döll), Hans Ulrich Schmid does not stick to selling pianos for long. In 1959 he founds the Konzertdirektion Hans Ulrich Schmid and devoted himself to finding pianists.
Opening of Heinersdorff at the Opera House
René Heinersdorff Sr. opens the Klavierhaus Heinersdorff am Opernhaus, and also runs a concert and theatre box office committed to promoting young artists.
First season of the Meisterkonzerte Bremen
The Meisterkonzerte Bremen stage their first season. The long-established Bremen company Praeger & Meier is responsible for the quality and success of the series for the next 40 years.
Death of Dr. Rudolf Goette
Rudolf Goette becomes the victim of an insidious murder. His wife Maria, herself very familiar with the event business, takes over the management of KD Goette. Under her skilful management, the Konzertdirektion develops into a formative element of Hamburg's classical music industry.
Founding of the Braunschweig Konzertdirektion
Shortly after the end of the war, Walter Ernst Schmidt was called to Braunschweig, where he was to take over the management of the artistic operations office at the completely destroyed State Theatre. He also began organising symphony concerts and in 1946 founded the Braunschweiger Konzertdirektion Walter E. Schmidt.
WDK Köln under pressure
The cooperation between WDK Köln and the Berlin agency Hermann Wolff und Jules Sachs, which began in 1927, collapses under the pressure of the Nuremberg Race Laws, since Schiff (at WDK Köln since 1927), Wolff and Sachs are Jews. Schiff emigrates to the USA and recommends Gustav Finemann, violinist and then leader of a chamber orchestra in Berlin, as his successor.
Founding of KD Goette
After several years as an employee of the Konzertdirektion Johann August Böhm, Dr. Rudolf Goette becomes self-employed and founds the Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette.
Founding of WDK Köln
Heinrich Dubois, owner of the music shop Johann Franz Weber in Cologne's Budengasse, founds the Westdeutsche Konzertdirektion Köln.
Ibach Hall opens in Düsseldorf
The Ibach-Saal opens in Düsseldorf. Constans Heinersdorff worked in cooperation with the Hofpianofortefabrik Rud. Ibach to build the hall. The new chamber music hall quickly becomes the focal point of musical life in Düsseldorf.
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