The Dresden Music Festival
The Dresden Music Festival is one of the largest and most highly acclaimed classical music festivals in Europe, presenting a high-carat program of extraordinary density and variety over the course of four and a half weeks every May and June. Breathtaking orchestral concerts, fascinating chamber music, celebrated soloists – the dialogue between the important and leading voices of the classical music scene as reflected by these unique cultural and historical surroundings make Dresden a vibrant Festival town, conveying the message of an open-minded, diverse and lively cultural metropolis, both on a national and international level.
Since 2009 the cellist Jan Vogler has been the festival’s Intendant (artistic director). Under his leadership, the festival, which was founded in 1978 and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017, has further expanded its worldwide renown. Given this guidance, the Dresden Music Festival’s trademark is the unique confluence of programming, artists and the 22 atmosphere-rich performance venues in Dresden and its surroundings, offering truly special opportunities for the implementation of creative, vibrant concepts. These include not only new formats, such as the sing-along/play-along project »Klingende Stadt« (The City Resounds), which was initiated in 2016 and invites amateurs to make music all over Dresden while conveying a message of peace and conciliation to the world, but also the series of »Palastkonzerte« (Palace Concerts) which began during the 2018/18 season and features internationally celebrated artists at the new concert hall at Dresden’s Kulturpalast outside the regular festival season. Furthermore, the Dresden Festival Orchestra, founded in 2012, has given the festival its own ensemble specialized in historically informed performance practice. An ideal ambassador of the festival, the Dresden Festival Orchestra tours all of Germany’s concert halls.
First awarded in 2004, the Glashütte Original MusicFestivalAward with its 25,000 Euro cash value has been a regular part of the Dresden Music Festival ever since. It honours outstanding personalities of the musical world who have distinguished themselves especially in their service to classical music education. Its recipients so far have included Christa Ludwig, Gustavo Dudamel, the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle, Hélène Grimaud, Hilary Hahn, Mariza, Andris Nelsons and Steven Isserlis.
