When Leipzig is dedicated entirely to the music of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in November, the Mendelssohn Festival will once again open a richly stocked sound window between tradition and the present.
The Mendelssohn Festival 2025 invites you to a multifaceted program that ranges from the historical sound space to the present day. The festival will open with a benefit concert in the Great Hall of the Gewandhaus, where Anne-Sophie Mutter, Pablo Ferrández and Elena Bashkirova will present works by Mendelssohn, Fanny Hensel, Clara and Robert Schumann. At the same time, the Leipzig International Mendelssohn Prize will be awarded again - for the first time in nine years in the categories "Music" and "Europe".
A dense sequence of concerts is dedicated to the festive days: chamber music with renowned soloists such as Elisabeth Leonskaja, song and piano recitals, themed formats ("Richard Wagner - The Plagiarist"), salon talks with artists such as Gidon Kremer and a special concert at the hour of death with René Pape. Highlights also include two major symphony concerts with the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Andris Nelsons, featuring soloists such as Seong-Jin Cho. The crowning finale is a concert with works by Mendelssohn and Mozart performed by the Quatuor Arod.
Igor Levit, plays works by Maurice Ravel, Dmitri Shostakovich, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Fryderyk Chopin on November 9 © Felix Broede/Sony Classical
The program makes it clear that the Mendelssohn Festival is not only a tribute to the composer, but also a manifesto for musical openness. They combine tradition and innovation, invite people to listen and discuss and create spaces - for biographical reflection, artistic dialog and a lively exploration of sound and context.
November 2 - 9, 2025
