The Foundation

"Who chooses me must give and hazard all he has." This motto from Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” was the guiding principle that consistently informed the work of the foundation’s founder, Gabriele Forberg-Schneider, who passed away in the autumn of 2025. The Curatorium remains committed to her artistic ideals; it views itself as the custodian of a fascinatingly idiosyncratic and agile spirit – one that sought out the astonishing and, in doing so, so often discovered the truly pioneering.

The mission of the Forberg-Schneider Foundation is to support the creation, dissemination, and promotion of aesthetically ambitious contemporary music. In addition to avant-garde instrumental and vocal works, the Foundation supports interdisciplinary and transmedia projects, conceptually coherent and sustainable artistic programs, and outstanding achievements in musicology. The Foundation’s international orientation is inextricably linked to a commitment to cultural diversity. In addition to the Belmont Prize and traditional project funding, the Forberg-Schneider Foundation has introduced a multi-year funding program designed to provide momentum for the development of long-term ideas and projects.

Bold and daring artistic endeavors typically emerge outside the confines of established market mechanisms. In an era of increasingly scarce public resources, artists therefore require – now more than ever – an advance of trust.

The Founders

The Forberg-Schneider Foundation, established in 1997 in Frankfurt am Main, had two main areas of focus during its early years: contemporary music and landscape design. This reflected the primary interests of the two founders.

Dr. Achim Schneider – geologist, publisher, and science journalist. Born on February 27, 1928, in Leipzig, into a family of brewers, farmers, and miners. He spent his childhood and youth in Saxony. Following his escape to the West, he completed his doctoral dissertation at the Free University of Berlin in 1959 on the subject: "Geology of the Mountains: Between the Breitach and Stillach in the Allgäu." In 1978, he worked as the founding editor and first editor-in-chief of “Spektrum der Wissenschaft” – the German edition of “Scientific American”. He married Gabriele Forberg-Schneider in 1979. He was the first Chairman of the Forberg-Schneider Foundation. He passed away in 2000 in Freiburg im Breisgau.

Following the death of co-founder Achim Schneider, the foundation relocated to Munich in 2007 and amended its statutes: since then, its sole purpose has been the promotion of contemporary music.

Gabriele Forberg-Schneider – political scientist, translator, and editor – was born on August 23, 1943, in Düsseldorf into a family of artists and musicians. Both of her parents were prominent patrons of the arts in their hometown. After studying political science under Eric Voegelin, Kurt Sontheimer, and Ernesto Grassi, she worked as a freelance contributor for radio, the press, and publishing houses. Since the founding of the Forberg-Schneider Foundation, she served as Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees. Gabriele Forberg-Schneider shaped the Foundation through her passion for contemporary music and her profound discernment. She identified and championed numerous exceptional musicians and composers before they became widely known and recognized as artists of extraordinary caliber. Gabriele Forberg-Schneider passed away on October 1, 2025, in Munich.

The Curatorium and the Executive Board will now continue to lead the Foundation in accordance with her vision.

Curatorium

Florian Ganslmeier

Florian Ganslmeier studied German Literature, Art History, and Theater Studies at LMU Munich, completing his degree with a Master’s thesis on the themes of food and parasitism in the works of Gottfried Keller, supervised by Gerhard Neumann. In 1995, he became Press Officer and Editor at the record label ECM Records. In 2005, he joined the Münchener Kammerorchester – initially as Press Officer and Dramaturg, and since 2006 as Managing Director and a member of the Artistic Committee. Additionally, he has was a member of various juries, including those for the Music Prize of the City of Munich (2009), the Honorary Cultural Prize of the City of Munich (2011, 2012), the Hilde Zach Composition Grants awarded by the City of Innsbruck (2019), and the Advancement Awards of the International Lake Constance Conference (2020). Since 2013, he has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Forberg-Schneider Foundation; following the passing of Gabriele Forberg-Schneider, he assumed the chairmanship of the Curatorium.

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Anselm Cybinski

Anselm Cybinski, born in 1967, studied violin in Cologne and London. He began his professional career as an orchestral musician. Subsequently, he worked for the record labels ECM and Sony Classical, was concert planner for the Münchener Kammerorchester, acted as Artistic Director of the Niedersächsische Musiktage, and headed the Programming and Dramaturgy Department at the Heidelberger Frühling. Since November 2025, he is working as Editor for Contemporary Music at WDR 3 and holds the Artistic Directorship of the Wittener Tage für Neue Musik. He maintains a wide-ranging career as an author, including work on piano podcasts with Igor Levit. He is the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Forberg-Schneider Foundation.

Wiebke Busch

Wiebke Busch is Classical & Projects Director at the Wise Music Group, where, until 2025, she worked in London as Managing Director of the company’s UK rights entities. She studied Musicology, Business Administration, and Art History, as well as Cultural and Media Management, in Berlin. During her studies, she gained diverse experience through the founding of “artefakt kulturkonzepte” – an agency for PR and cultural productions – and the establishment of an amateur orchestra, “Sinfonietta 92”, as well as through her work with various music festivals and orchestras. She has been with the Wise Music Group since 1997 – working in both London and Berlin – with a focus on contemporary classical music. Over many years, she has collaborated closely with numerous composers – including Kaija Saariaho and Hans Abrahamsen – and has co-managed and overseen productions with institutions such as the Royal Opera House, London; the Bavarian State Opera, Munich; and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Additionally, she has been actively involved in professional association work in both England and Germany and has taught courses at various universities.

Executive Board

Sebastian Berger

A native of Düsseldorf, now a naturalized resident of Munich. A political scientist by training and a journalist by trade. Selected professional roles include: Editor at a southern German newspaper, press officer at a southern German publishing house, and Head of Copy at a branding agency – as well as a teaching position at a journalism school – both likewise located in southern Germany. Personal interests: Books and the stock market, culture and cuisine, cycling and politics. Board Member of the Forberg-Schneider Foundation since 2014. Responsible for administrative and financial matters.

Forberg-Schneider-Stiftung
Mottlstraße 12
80804 Munich
Germany

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