Institute for Strings & Plucked String In­stru­ments

The institute is dedicated to the artistic training of instrumentalists playing strings and plucked string instruments. The faculty consists of internationally recognized instrumental pedagogues, many of whom have established themselves in the global concert scene. 

The institute focuses on the artistic and pedagogical training of instrumentalists playing strings and plucked string instruments. 

Studies in the respective main subject are enriched by comprehensive teaching opportunities that are significant for the development of students into versatile, open-minded, and curious musicians. This includes orchestral playing and studies, chamber music, methodology/teaching of the main subject, and performance practices of baroque and contemporary music. 

Regular workshops and masterclasses by international instructors provide students with a wide range of opportunities to foster their artistic and personal development. 

Musically, teachers and students also connect through intensive training in chamber music. The institute collaborates dynamically and in various ways with all departments of the university, including the "Studio Neue Musik", "Campus Gegenwart", "Forum Alte Musik", Institute for Musicology, Institute for Speech Art, and the Opera School. 

Two existing orchestra academies of the HMDK Stuttgart, in direct cooperation with the Stuttgart State Opera and the Stuttgart Philharmonic, provide future students with the opportunity to interact with a professional orchestra alongside their studies at the HMDK. 

Studies in the respective main subject are enriched by comprehensive teaching opportunities that are significant for the development of students into versatile and modern musicians. This includes orchestral playing and studies, methodology of the main subject, chamber music, and performance practices of baroque and contemporary music. Bachelor's, Master's, and postgraduate concert exam degrees are possible in all main subjects, sometimes also in the specialized areas of Early Music, New Music, and Chamber Music. 

Chamber music, especially the pinnacle discipline of the "string quartet," is at the core of string training. The training includes regular chamber music work in the Bachelor's programme and the Master's programme in Chamber Music. Since the summer semester of 2012, Professor Stefan Fehlandt has been supervising the weekly work of the students and organizing internal and external concerts. Regular public master classes by both professors take place. Additionally, this teaching offer is enriched by concerts and workshops by external quartets and personalities from the international chamber music scene. 

The institute collaborates dynamically and in various ways with all departments of the university. Cooperation with instrumentalists from other institutes is part of it, as well as joint projects with the department of New Music, the Opera School, and the Insitute of Musicology. Noteworthy are regular chamber music concerts by the faculty. Joint performances by faculty and students have also become a tradition.