Music City Leipzig

Leipzig. Where music sets the tone. www.leipzig.travel/musikstadt

The fascinating power of music can be felt everywhere in Leipzig - in the streets and squares, in churches, concert halls and at the many authentic places where famous musicians worked. And this has a long tradition: over 500 composers have lived and worked here in the past centuries, including the greats of music history: Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Clara and Robert Schumann as well as Richard Wagner, Edvard Grieg, Albert Lortzing, Gustav Mahler and Hanns Eisler. The rich musical heritage also includes the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the world-famous St. Thomas Boys Choir. And not forgetting the opera, which is one of the oldest in Europe and delights its visitors with both musical theater and ballet.

Bach, Mahler and Mendelssohn - Leipzig delights with top-class music festivals
Leipzig was an inspiring place of creation for many renowned artists. Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert and Clara Schumann, Richard Wagner, Edvard Grieg, Max Reger and many more - they are all closely associated with Leipzig through their lives and artistic work. But Leipzig not only has a great musical history, tradition is also lived here. Every year, the city honors "its" musicians with top-class festivals that inspire guests from all over the world. The musical calendar is record-breaking and makes Leipzig a highlight for classical music fans. Bach, Mahler and Mendelssohn are at the heart of the festivals.

Mendelssohn House, photo Andreas Schmidt

Leipzig Opera Festival: Wagner 22 brings all 13 operas to the stage
In the city of Richard Wagner's birth, all thirteen of the composer's operas will be performed in the order in which they were written; only the four parts of the "Ring" are excluded from the chronology and are performed consecutively. In addition to the well-known stage works from "Der fliegende Holländer" to "Parsifal", Richard Wagner's early works are also on the program: "Die Feen", "Das Liebesverbot" and "Rienzi". The Gewandhaus Orchestra will perform under the direction of Ulf Schirmer and other conductors.
Richard Wagner, born in Leipzig in the year of the Battle of the Nations, spent the first year of his life here before the family moved to Dresden in 1814. At the age of fifteen, he returned to Leipzig to become a pupil at the Nikolai-Gymnasium. It was here that his passion and curiosity for the fine arts awoke, he heard his first Beethoven symphony, received his first music lessons from Gewandhaus musicians and his first compositions were performed at the Gewandhaus. His early operas "The Wedding" and "The Fairies" were written. Since the 200th birthday of the city's great son, Leipzig Opera has continuously expanded the repertoire of his works and will honor him in 2022 with a performance of all 13 operas.
June 20 to July 14, 2022
www.oper-leipzig.de

Mendelssohn Festival 2022: 175th anniversary of the composer's death
Alongside Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy is probably Leipzig's most important composer. He shaped the city like few others. During his twelve years as Gewandhauskapellmeister and as a pioneer of Germany's first music academy, he established Leipzig's reputation as a world city of music. The memory of Mendelssohn is very much alive in Leipzig: The city traditionally honors the composer and musician every year with many concerts as part of the Mendelssohn Festival. These take place in cooperation between the Mendelssohn House and Gewandhaus zu Leipzig around the anniversary of the composer's death, November 4, with concerts featuring prominent musicians in both houses. 2022 marks the 175th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's death. At the same time, the museum in the Mendelssohn House will also be celebrating its 25th anniversary. The "Felix Festival Year" has therefore been proclaimed, culminating in the Mendelssohn Festival from October 31 to November 6, 2022.
Mendelssohn Festival 2022
175th anniversary of the death of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
October 31 to November 6, 2022
www.mendelssohn-haus.de

Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhaus Orchestra © Gert Mothes

Mahler Festival 2023: All of Gustav Mahler's symphonies in 19 days
From 11 to 29 May 2023, the Gewandhaus will focus on the composer and conductor Gustav Mahler and honor him - for the second time since 2011 - with its own festival. Mahler worked as 2nd conductor at the Leipzig Opera from 1886 to 1888, the beginning of a great career. It was in Leipzig that Mahler became the composer of fascinating symphonies that we know today. Leipzig and the Gewandhaus Orchestra promise a uniquely authentic setting for the festival, as Mahler conducted the Gewandhaus Orchestra almost daily during the two years he lived in the city. He also composed his first symphony during this time. For the Mahler Festival 2023, a unique program will pay tribute to his artistic work. Ten world-class orchestras, including the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform not only all of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, but also other orchestral works with the participation of world-famous soloists.
Gewandhaus Festival
Mahler Festival 2023 - All of Gustav Mahler's symphonies in 19 days
May 11 to 29, 2023
www.mahlerfestival.de

Bachfest Leipzig 2023: "BACH for Future"
Every year, Leipzig honors its famous Thomaskantor with the Bach Festival. The city thus follows a long tradition of cultivating Bach, which Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy brought to life. The Leipzig Bach Festival 2023 will focus on the 300th anniversary of Bach's appointment as Thomaskantor. Bach's masterpieces will be presented in new, exciting contexts under the motto "BACH for Future". "BACH - We Are Family" will then be the motto in June 2024, when numerous Bach choirs, societies, ensembles and associations from all over the world will travel to Leipzig to celebrate the composer at his main place of activity. Just as the widely scattered Bach family regularly came together for musical and social family gatherings, the ensembles perform in honor of the Leipzig Baroque superstar. At the Bach Festivals, renowned performers from all over the world are guests and delight classical music fans at over 100 events. Of course, the Thomanerchor and the Gewandhaus Orchestra can also be experienced.
Leipzig Bach Festival 2023
"BACH for Future"
June 8 to 18, 2023

Bachfest Leipzig 2024
"BACH - We Are Family"
June 7 to 16, 2024
www.bachfestleipzig.de

Bach memorial, St. Thomas Church © Tom Williger

Opera Festival 2024
With over 325 years of tradition, Leipzig Opera is one of the flagships of Leipzig as a city of music. One reason: the first-class musical level of the house with the Gewandhaus Orchestra, one of the world's best orchestras. But the house's ballet company also inspires at the highest level. The city of Wagner's birth is a popular destination for lovers of his works. Tobias Wolff will take over as artistic director in the 2022/23 season, succeeding Prof. Ulf Schirmer, who has held this position since 2011 and played a key role in keeping Richard Wagner's legacy alive. The three-week festival "WAGNER 22" at the opera in 2022 was the brilliant finale. The next major festival at Leipzig Opera is planned for summer 2024 and will be dedicated to dance.
Opera festival days
Summer 2024
www.oper-leipzig.de