Sönke Meinen & Philipp Wiechert

Two acoustic guitars, nothing else. In their duo programme, Sönke Meinen and Philipp Wiechert build a musical world that pushes the niche of "guitar music" in every direction, going well beyond technical skill on the instrument. Their music shifts between bursts of energy and moments of fragile intimacy - spanning virtuosic fingerstyle, heartfelt folk and cinematic film music. The guitars are a means to an end; what matters is handcrafted music full of ideas, colour and feeling.

Meinen and Wiechert first met as teenagers at a festival campsite, with no idea that a shared love of the guitar would become the foundation of a close friendship and ongoing mutual inspiration. They went on to study together - and then, for a while, took separate career paths.

Sönke Meinen built an outstanding reputation in the international guitar scene as a solo artist and in a duo with Danish violinist Bjarke Falgren. He has won prizes at numerous international competitions, and guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel called him "one of the most creative guitarists on the current guitar scene".

Philipp Wiechert established himself as a sought-after theatre musician and composer, working at the Staatstheater Hannover and the Kellertheater Winterthur, among others, and as guitarist in the Sarah Lesch Band. He also tours regularly in a duo with bass clarinettist Falk Breitkreuz.

Their different influences and approaches are no barrier - quite the opposite: they form the basis for the duo's stylistic openness, constant curiosity and distinctive sound. This comes through most clearly on their current album "COCOON". Meinen and Wiechert's music is poetic, inventive and alive, driven by energetic grooves and melodies that stay with you.