Normally there is no fridge next to the stage in the Kleine Tonhalle. But we're here at a klubZ event where younger classical music fans get together - and it's not just the average age in the hall that's a little different than usual. There are around 60 people here and the atmosphere is relaxed. People get a chilled beer or water, empty their bowls of crisps and snacks, talk about the concert they've seen or something else entirely and wait for the main attraction: cellist Anastasia Kobekina, who played Haydn's C major concerto in the main hall beforehand.
Then she arrives, sits on the edge of the stage and answers questions from the audience, in which she fits in perfectly at the age of 30. Yes, she is excited before the first note, "but I try to stay calm and certainly don't think about whether I've unplugged the iron". And yes, her cello is a Stradivarius, "I haven't been playing it for long, I performed the Haydn concerto with it for the first time that evening - I was amazed myself at what is possible with it!" Then she asks back: "The bars around here close so early, how do you do it after the concert?"
Morris Wolf, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at the ETH, composer with more than just hobby ambitions and president of klubZ, is standing on the sidelines. He is 29 years old and has a clear goal: "We want to normalise classical music as a leisure programme." It's no coincidence that he doesn't use the usual phrase of "breaking down inhibitions": klubZ has no educational mission, nor does it have an educational mandate, "we simply want to offer interesting programmes". The members are "pleasingly diverse"; of course, many have an educated middle-class background, "but most of them have joined through contacts". In terms of age, the bandwidth covers around two decades, and the label "young" is understood generously: Up to 40 is included.
Insights and contacts
KlubZ was founded in 2012 by members of the Freundeskreis board and the management of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich (TGZ), when it was still called TOZzukunft. Other cultural centres also rely on associations for young people to reach a younger audience, which further increases the opportunities for networking: for example, a number of "young friends" from Zurich Opera House also came to the Kleine Tonhalle that evening.
klubZ has around 650 members and the number is growing. This is because the offer is attractive: financially, thanks to favourable ticket prices for all TGZ concerts. There is also the social aspect - many klubZ members also arrange to go to concerts together outside of the organised events. Above all, however, it is the content that attracts people: there are undoubtedly quite a few older concertgoers who would give a lot to be able to ask Anastasia Kobekina questions. And then there is the summer party that klubZ members celebrate together with younger members of the orchestra: this is another occasion that provides insights and contacts that are otherwise unavailable.
The institutional question remains: does klubZ "deliver" what it is supposed to? Is the audience of the future really growing up here, as the Z in the name promises? Marta Lisik, who is in charge of fundraising at the TGZ as well as klubZ, is both realistic and optimistic: "Many people continue to come to the Tonhalle at least occasionally, while others have shifted their priorities" - for most 40-year-olds, family and work take centre stage. "But if people have a good time at klubZ, they will remember it at some point."
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