In 2026, the New Year will once again begin musically with “Happy New Ear” and a very special concert experience that redefines the boundaries of hearing: musical worlds collide, united by innovative 3D audio technology that transforms the Main Stage of the Festival Theatre into a lively, pulsating soundscape.

In the first part, the renowned Asasello Quartet presents new compositions by Adrian Laugsch, Aline Sarah Müller, Andres Quezada, Joan Tan, Eftichis Vittorakis and Szymon Wójcik, which were created specifically for an immersive listening experience and combinations of classical string instruments with digital sound technology. The concert is the first highlight of the multi-year project “PODI – Postdigital Interpretation”, which, in collaboration with professional partner institutions, artists and students from the Cologne University of Music and Dance, explores and presents the introduction and communication of current digital media and XR technologies in classical concert programmes.

The second part of “Happy New Ear” belongs to the legendary trio Brandt Brauer Frick and their handmade, irresistible dancefloor sound. The BBC describes the trio's music as “concert hall compositions for the clubbing generation.” The trio was founded in 2008 with the idea of combining repetitive and groovy electronic dance music formulas with the soundscapes of classical, new music and complex club avant-garde. As a trio, with their ten-piece ensemble or even with an entire orchestra, Brandt Brauer Frick have now played over 400 concerts worldwide in clubs, classical concert halls and at festivals – first at Berlin's Berghain, later also at Lincoln Centre, Centre Pompidou and the Cologne Philharmonic Hall. For Art Basel Miami Beach 2022, Brandt Brauer Frick developed “Multi Faith Prayer Room”, an immersive sound and light project featuring 120 voices from over 35 countries, which they also released on their sixth studio album in 2023. At HELLERAU, they take the project as a starting point to immerse themselves and the audience in an extraordinary spatial sound dance floor and celebrate the New Year.