A Reason to Celebrate
Celebratory Event on October 22: Awarding of an Honorary Doctorate to Prof. Richard Stokes
The celebratory event marking the 215th birthday of the Weimar Music University’s namesake is entirely dedicated to Franz Liszt and the art song. The University of Music will celebrate, on Thursday, October 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Festsaal Fürstenhaus, the 70th anniversary of its naming and the 20th anniversary of the NEW LISZT FOUNDATION—and will confer an honorary doctorate on this festive occasion.
The program features a rich selection of songs ranging from Beethoven, Brahms, Loewe, and Wolf to Britten. Some of the best students and alumni from the Department of Voice and from the Art Song Performance will be singing and performing. The reason for this intimate concert series is the awarding of an honorary doctorate to art song expert Prof. Richard Stokes of the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Richard Stokes is internationally regarded as one of the foremost authorities in the field of the art song and has been a guest at the FRANZ LISZT University of Music in Weimar on several occasions over the past ten years to lead master classes. Stokes maintains close ties with the art song classes taught by Prof. Karl-Peter Kammerlander and Prof. Thomas Steinhöfel. The latter has already traveled to London with his students for a return visit.
In addition to his successful teaching career, Richard Stokes has also made a name for himself as an author and translator of numerous books and libretti. His new book on Carl Loewe’s art song compositions has just been published and will soon be presented at London’s Wigmore Hall. In addition to his professorship in London, Stokes also teaches at the Young Artists Schubertiade Leeds, the Oxford International Song Festival, and through a worldwide series of courses. He also serves as a juror at prestigious art song competitions. The laudatory address in honor of Richard Stokes will be delivered by Kammersänger Prof. Olaf Bär.
“Our university intends to collaborate with Richard Stokes on the further scholarly and artistic exploration of the extensive art song collection in the University Archive / Thuringian Regional Music Archive,” says Professor of Art Song Thomas Steinhöfel. “We are also planning further cooperation with the Royal Academy of Music in London, given that the United Kingdom will once again be participating in the ERASMUS exchange program starting in 2027.”
Admission to the ceremony is free!
[14 October 2026]