Hans Martin Müller, the former operator of the Cologne concert venue LOFT, was awarded the Cologne Cultural Council’s Honorary Award on May 19th, 2026, at the COMEDIA Theater.
Article by Horst Peter Koll / Kölner Stadtanzeiger (German only):
https://www.ksta.de/kultur-medien/ehrung-fuer-hans-martin-mueller-die-hohe-kunst-der-freiheit-1283076
The now-retired long-time associate principal flutist of the WDR Symphony Orchestra (where he served on the board for 16 years) and former instructor of a major-level class at the Cologne University of Music and Dance is being honored for his cultural and cultural-policy contributions to the city of Cologne.
For eight years, he served as principal flutist of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, among other roles, and as principal flutist and soloist in numerous chamber orchestras and chamber music ensembles. In addition to his own musical activities as a flutist, improvised music and jazz were particularly close to his heart: he and later his son, Dr. Urs Benedikt Müller, turned the LOFT concert venue – which he founded 40 years ago – into one of the most successful and influential jazz clubs in Germany (including two German Jazz Awards for Club of the Year) and Europe. In addition, he was a co-founder and founding spokesperson of the Kölner Jazzkonferenz, and during his time as spokesperson for the Initiativkreis Freie Musik Köln, he played a key role in driving and shaping the restructuring of political advocacy for the independent music scene.
In February 2015, Hans Martin Müller was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon, and in September 2019, he became the first honorary member of the Cologne Jazz Conference.
“The fact that the LOFT’s work in support of jazz and improvised music is recognized and honored by a culturally diverse and engaged institution like the Cologne Cultural Council is an accolade of which I am proud and which brings me immense personal joy, but above all on behalf of my son and successor, Urs Benedikt, and the countless musicians and volunteers who, through their concerts and their work, have made the LOFT a vibrant concert venue for the city.”
Hans Martin Müller
About the Cologne Cultural Council:
Since 1998, the Cologne Cultural Council (Kölner Kulturrat e.V.) has brought together cultural support groups and institutions in the city of Cologne. As an advocacy group and voice for the cultural sector, it supports cultural activities in Cologne through personal commitment and expert advice.
Transcript of the acceptance speech delivered at the awards ceremony on May 19, 2026, at the COMEDIA Theater in Cologne:
Good evening, everyone.
Let me start by saying this: Heide Häusler, I was incredibly impressed, and now I also know why I would never have been nominated for Cultural Manager of the Year – because I’m just wired completely differently. I’m not a team player; that’s totally old-fashioned, but unfortunately, that’s just how it is. I’ve been a lone wolf; I’d have an idea and I’d carry it out, and of course people got excited about it too – that’s perfectly clear—but what they achieved, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.
The word “brief” appears eight times in the schedule we received; I’ll take that to mean – and you’ve already done this, Ms. Häusler – as brief as possible, or as lawyers would say, fundamentally brief. If there’s time for the award ceremony, there should also be enough time for thanks.
My first thanks go to you—almost everything has already been said, just not by everyone yet—so thank you for coming here today to celebrate these awards with us. I thank the Cologne Cultural Council for recognizing and honoring my work with this year’s Honorary Award, and especially the jury and its chair, Angela Spitzig, for the warm words in the jury’s statement.
I am particularly pleased that this honor comes from the Cultural Council – that is, from an association, from support groups and institutions, and from civic engagement in Cologne’s cultural life – in other words, from my colleagues. And the fact that another award being presented today is connected to contemporary jazz and improvised music once again demonstrates the great significance and attention that this music is currently and rightly receiving in Cologne.
There are four people from whom I have learned a great deal about cultural engagement. From my father, Walter Müller; from Dr. Alfred Krings, the former head of the music department at WDR; from gallery owner Rudolf Zwirner; and from my oldest friend, Burkhard Hennen, the long-time director and founder of the International New Jazz Festival Moers, who is also here with us this evening. I am very happy that you are here. And I think of these people with respect and great gratitude.
Of course, I would also like to extend my special thanks to the volunteers at the LOFT, and especially to my son and successor, Urs Benedikt Müller, who has made a good thing even better over the past few years. To our friend and colleague Christopher Ullrich, the members of jungeloft, the sound engineers, the piano technicians, and especially the musicians who have embraced the opportunity to creatively utilize the LOFT’s facilities, thereby making the LOFT a place where music can develop freely – a venue for encounter and communication with national and international appeal.
I am being honored for a life’s work that, fortunately, can continue, and for this I also thank Cologne’s cultural policymakers and, above all, the former and current staff members of the City of Cologne’s Cultural Office: Renate Liesmann, Dr. Hermann Christoph Müller, Sylvia Hecker, Ulrike Lehmann, and Dr. Juana von Stein. They recognized and supported the value of the LOFT for Cologne as a city of music early on and continue to do so.
As you have already mentioned, Ms. Häusler, I hope we can all agree that it is urgently necessary – indeed should be increased – for the independent arts scene to receive adequate and predictable funding from public cultural resources. The Cultural Council has, after all, formulated recommendations for action to improve these conditions. This is not just about financial resources, but also, for example, about simplifying the application process and facilitating access to spaces and venues. There is still a lot of work to be done in all these areas. Don’t let go of the drills. Sharing, even redistribution: an important issue that is currently preoccupying us in society and politics, and the discussions surrounding it open up a wide field and are of great concern to me.
Last but not least, dear Lis, dear Frauke, dear Benedikt, and also dear Dana, my deepest thanks go to you: you have always supported me, carried me, and above all, put up with me. Even though I was rarely at home: as an event organizer and musician, one leads a very family-unfriendly life, and you have put up with that for over 40 years. And so half of this honorary award belongs to you.
I don’t have many sponsors to offer, and that’s because I’m not a team player. I’d like to say a warm goodbye to you all, wish you the best of luck, and hope we all have a wonderful and inspiring evening.