The Wittenberg Renaissance Music Festival is 20 years old - and also commemorates the 500th anniversary of the death of Frederick the Wise, the art-loving elector and patron of Martin Luther. From September 19 to 28, 2025, a festival that is historically informative, musically seductive and full of joie de vivre will unfold between the joy of dancing and rebellion, between the Elector's Ball and revolutionary songs. Under the motto "The Elector dances", the audience can expect a program that sets the stage for the diversity of Renaissance music in a very special way for the anniversary - from magnificent to poetic, from folk to virtuoso.
The musical journey through time begins on September 19 with a feast of emotions: Claudio Monteverdi's music in the opening concert "La dolce vita", interpreted by the lautten compagney BERLIN and the celebrated soprano Tehila Nini Goldstein. It is already clear here that the Renaissance is not a distant past, but a present that has become sound. Hundreds of voices will be shining in Wittenberg's musical diversity at the great choral gathering "Dona nobis pacem" in the Schlosskirche - a festival highlight for the community. Afterwards, lute legend Nigel North invites you to an intimate sound bath of 16th century Italian lute music with "Divine Melancholy". "Friedrich's Nightlife" takes the audience into the dazzling world of the Wittenberg court chapel - between missed masses, forbidden dances and nocturnal surprises. What follows is a week full of sonic discoveries: From Berlin court music with the Cöllner Compagney to transatlantic guitar journeys with Amandine Affagard and Alejandro Galiano Zurbriggen to a musical search for the songs of peasants and noblemen in the program "Die Welt die hat ein thummen Muet" by the ensemble astrophil & stella.
Ensemble astrophil & stella © Alejandro Gomez
Saturday, September 27, should be marked in red in your calendar: In the afternoon, the musical city walk "Loving as in Luther's time" invites you on a musical tour through Wittenberg's historical backdrops. And in the evening, it's time for the Elector to dance! At the festive Historical Dance Ball with the ensemble The Playfords, the Old Town Hall becomes a courtly dance stage - a glittering anniversary ball with historical flair and lots of joyful movement.
The festival is rounded off on September 28 with a musical consolation for body and soul: "The Healing Power of the Silver String Sound" - a tonal antidepressant with harp, dulcimer and soprano Julla von Landsberg, which impressively demonstrates the regenerative effect of music.
Nigel North © Hanya Chlala
In addition to the concerts, the festival once again offers an extensive supporting program: numerous workshops invite music enthusiasts to become active themselves - be it in historical dance, vocal or instrumental courses or on a stylistic journey of discovery. The large instrument exhibition in the Old Town Hall presents replicas of historical instruments to try out, admire and purchase - a paradise for music lovers and the curious.
For the 20th time, the Wittenberg Renaissance Music Festival 2025 combines top-class historical music with surprising perspectives, local commitment and a pinch of
wink of the eye. It celebrates the freedom of sound - then and now - and proves that the Renaissance is alive and well!
September 19 to 28, 2025, tickets available now!
www.wittenberger-renaissancemusik.de
