A place of longing for musicians - in the middle of the Alps: in 1922, Richard Strauss accompanied the soprano Lotte Schöne at the first "Merano Music Festival" in the town theater and a year earlier, the young Paul Hindemith composed the music for the feature film "Im Kampf mit dem Berge" by director Arnold Fanck, whom he had met by chance in Merano, under the pseudonym "Paul Merano". Fanck edited his silent film in the spa town and Hindemith set this cinematic "Alpine symphony in pictures" to music in a 75-minute score. In 1986, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the spa town, the südtirol festival meran takes up this cultural heritage - and in its 40th season also explores its alpine surroundings.

On August 27, the LGT Young Soloists, conducted by Alexander Gilman and featuring pianist Martin James Bartlett, will perform - alongside Astor Piazzolla's "Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas" - the Piano Concerto No. 1 by minimalist composer Philip Glass entitled "Tirol" and the world premiere of the work "Dolomites" by Rachel Portman, commissioned by the südtirol festival meran. In 1996, the British composer became the first woman to be awarded an Oscar for best film music in Hollywood and later provided soundtracks for cinema highlights such as "Beloved" and "Chocolat" with Juliette Binoche. In this "open concert", the südtirol festival meran celebrates its 40 years of concert activity, thanks its audience and invites everyone to experience music live for a symbolic entrance fee.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London © Ben Wright, RPO

In August and September, the südtirol festival meran offers 26 concerts in six concert formats at thirteen venues in the city of Merano and in the castles and churches of the Merano region - and the "symphonic" series "classic" is once again the centerpiece of this European music festival. On August 21, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London will open the festival season in the Kursaal under the direction of Vasily Petrenko and with cellist Pablo Ferrández. Afterwards, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from Australia, conducted by Jaime Martín, will perform with pianist Behzod Abduraimov, the Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson will play works by Bach, Beethoven and Schubert in a recital, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under Jaap van Zweden will bring the piano star and Beethoven specialist Rudolf Buchbinder with them and the Philharmonia Orchestra London will travel to Merano with its chief conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali and pianist Bruce Liu. The BachWerkVokal ensemble led by Gordon Safari will present an evening of Handel's oratorio "The Messiah" and the "Utrecht Te Deum" in the Stadtpfarrkirche, the outstanding cellist Anastasia Kobekina will perform a program ranging from Vivaldi to Stravinsky with the Il Pomo d'Oro ensemble and on 22 September the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra under Dima Slobodeniuk will bring the festival season to a close with pianist Boris Giltburg.

Anastasia Kobekina © Julia Altukhova

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and pianist Jan Lisiecki performed Beethoven's five piano concertos in two concerts, and violinist Daniel Hope also performed twice in Merangleich: With the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the young pianist Marie Sophie Hauzel and the violinist Julian Kainrath from South Tyrol, he will play music by Bach, Elgar, Grieg and Chausson in the Kursaal and in the Art Nouveau ambience of the recently renovated Stadttheater, he can be heard with the trombonist Nils Landgren. The evening, entitled "Rendezvous", combines pieces by Bernstein and Gershwin with songs by pop star Sting. The vox humana series begins with Rachmaninoff's last work in Russia - a liturgical sound fresco in 15 cantos. In the Niederlana parish church, the Estonian vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis under the direction of Jaan-Eik Tulve will interpret this work, which has many names in the German-speaking world, such as "Großes Abend- und Morgenlob", "Vesper" or "Ganznächtliche Vigil". The a cappella program continues with performances by the British ensembles Voces8 at Schloss Tirol and Apollo5 at Schloss Katzenzungen. In the young artists portrait, the string quartet Quatuor Agate presents itself at Schenna Castle and Baslan Castle.

The British daily newspaper "The Telegraph" describes South African Opus Klassik winner Abel Selaocoe as a "radiantly talented cellist and a one-man band". The crossover artist between European and African musical worlds, who combines improvisation with body percussion and singing on stage, opens the "colors" series in the Kursaal with his Bantu ensemble. In this format, cellist Matthias Bartolomey and violinist and mandola player Klemens Bittmann lead a musical adventure in the Stadttheater that ranges from classical music to jazz and rock 'n' roll. In the "barocco" series, cellist Francesco Galligioni plays three suites by Johann Sebastian Bach in the Bel Etage of the Palais Mamming and the matinée classique series starts in the Pavillon des Fleurs with a concert by the renowned Hagen Quartet and continues with the concert debut of the new Meran-Teheran Trio. Two members of the ensemble - clarinettist Andrea Götsch, who is a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and cellist Jakob Mitterer - grew up in Merano. Violinist Nika Afazel was born in Tehran.
The third matinee concert marks the first time that the festival has visited Fragsburg Castle, situated above the Merano basin. Violinist Linus Roth and guitarist Anabel Montesinos will perform music by Corelli and Vivaldi in the late medieval building. Since its foundation, the südtirol festival meran has grown slowly but steadily, expanding its musical offering from classical symphonic music to contemporary jazz and world music and opening attractive venues, and this successful "crescendo" continues in the 40th concert season.
August 21 to September 22, 2025
www.meranofestival.com