March 12, 2026

Gunhild Carling Enchants the Chamber Philharmonic Audience in Ingolstadt

Ingolstadt — “Can we swing this? We have to give everything! We are here in Ingolstadt!” says Gunhild Carling. This concert needs no programme notes. The Swede guides the audience through the subscription concert of the Chamber Philharmonic on Sunday evening at the Festsaal with disarming charm and wit.

In the opening pieces, one can still hear that swing is not always on the weekly menu for the Chamber Philharmonic. But as the concert progresses, the string players loosen up more and more, caught up in the effervescent joy of the multi-instrumentalist, singer, and irrepressible entertainer.

She announces a program drawn from her own compositions and the Great American Songbook. “I have composed a melody,” she says repeatedly, in charmingly accented German.

Carling stands there in her stunning 1920s outfit — pearl necklace, fringed dress, and white feather boa — and transforms her femininity into pure strength the moment she picks up one of her instruments. Trombone, trumpet, harmonica, bagpipes: she commands them all with equal mastery. The audience is transfixed.

A muted trumpet solo, played with such feeling and heart. Concertmaster Friedemann Breuninger adds the cherry on top with a heartbreaking violin solo.

Anyone who needs a little escapism in times when a glance at the state of the world provokes despair and despondency would do well to check the upcoming concert dates of Gunhild Carling. Such joy for life, warmth, and humanity is impossible to resist. Storms of enthusiasm.

Virtuosity on trombone, trumpet, harmonica and bagpipes: the Swede Gunhild Carling brought the Chamber Philharmonic audience to storms of enthusiasm. Photo: Bernhard Schaffer

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Originally published in Donaukurier, Ingolstadt. By Katharina Stork. Translated from German.