2013–Present: Mannes Sounds Festival
A showcase of the talented musicians at Mannes, the Mannes Sounds Festival features more than 20 concerts per year, each with a unique topic and together exploring all periods of music, from the Baroque to the present.
2012: The Rise of Modernism: Innovation and Tradition, 1890–1939
The Rise of Modernism: Innovation and Tradition focused on music and art from the period 1890–1939, a period rich in collaboration between poets, musicians, actors, and visual artists, through concerts and master classes by students, faculty, and guests.
2011: Liszt: A Life in Music
A celebration of the 200th anniversary of a towering figure in music history, Franz Liszt. From his youth as the first modern superstar to his senior years as the sage of European music, his career spanned the Romantic era. The breadth and depth of his influence are incalculable.
2010: Schumann and Chopin
In celebration of the 200th anniversaries of Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin, Mannes explored the musical world they shared through concerts and master classes by students, faculty, and guests.
2009: The Mendelssohn Salon
Felix Mendelssohn and his musically talented sister, Fanny, were hosts of and guests at gatherings of the great composers of their time. In celebration of his 200th anniversary, Mannes explores this special musical world through concerts and master classes presented by students, faculty, and guests.
2008: The Pianist as Composer
Music of the great pianist-composers from the classical period to today in concerts and master classes presented by Mannes' young artists, faculty, and guests.
2007: Beethoven's Influence and Immortality
The music of Beethoven and of his heirs was celebrated in concerts and master classes presented by Mannes' young artists, faculty, and guests.
2006: Bach and the Baroque Legacy
Bach, his Baroque-era contemporaries, and their influence on future generations were explored through concerts and master classes with Mannes' students, faculty, and guests.
2005: The Late Romantics
The culmination of musical romanticism, from the mid-19th to the early 20th century, comes to life through concerts and master classes featuring Mannes' student artists, distinguished faculty, and guests.
2004: The Flowering of Romanticism: From Schumann to Brahms
The early maturity of musical romanticism, represented in the works of Chopin, Mendelssohn, Clara and Robert Schumann, Bellini, Berlioz, Liszt, and the young Brahms.
2003: The Birth of Romanticism: From Haydn to Schubert
An exploration of the genesis of musical romanticism from its roots in the Sturm und Drang of Haydn and Mozart to its early development in Beethoven, Rossini, and Schubert.
2002: La Belle Epoque: Music Around the Turn of the 20th Century
The fourth Mannes Festival explored one of the most dynamic and explosive eras in music history and the genesis of the music of our time. Students, faculty, and guests presented the works of a broad spectrum of composers active between the 1880s and the end of World War I and representing many nations, including Brahms, Strauss, Dvořák, Fauré, Debussy, Franck, Mahler, Schoenberg, Wolf, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Albéniz, Granados, Griffes, and Joplin.
2001: The Schumanns and Their Circle
The third Mannes Festival featured works by Robert Schumann and his wife, Clara, and by composers who were personally close to them or were admired by them, such as Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Chopin.
2000: Mannes Bach 2000
The second Mannes Festival marked the 350th anniversary of the death of J.S. Bach. An extraordinary number and range of works covering every area of Bach's vast oeuvre were performed: major keyboard compositions on piano, harpsichord, and organ; chamber compositions; solo pieces and concertos; and cantatas with instrumental ensembles.
1999: Chopin at Mannes
The inaugural Mannes Festival commemorated the sesquicentennial of the death of Frederic Chopin. The festival was especially notable in that all extant piano, chamber, and vocal works by Chopin were presented in chronological order—the first time this was ever done in the United States.