La Grande Gare

When the term "musical salon" comes up, Pauline Viardot and Richard Pohl are sure to be mentioned in Baden-Baden. After her career, the French star soprano from the nineteenth century hosted a prominent salon in Baden-Baden featuring music and conversations. 

Naturally he got off the train in Baden-Baden on his spa trip through Germany in 1856. The world-famous Gioacchino Rossini was well established in the glamorous summer capital; after all, the German premiere of his Stabat Mater had taken place here in the old theater in 1842.

Pauline Viardot-García was one of the great artistic personalities of the nineteenth century. The soprano filled opera houses throughout Europe and inspired many composers. In Baden-Baden, she lived with her husband and the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev in a legendary ménage à trois. The musical-literary evening harks back to this great era.

Beethoven's ambassador Maurice Schlesinger – actually "Moritz," originally "Mora Abraham" – was a Parisian music publisher based in Baden-Baden who devoted his life to promoting works by German composers in France. In Vienna, he met Beethoven and secured the rights for his last piano sonatas. One more reason to celebrate the composer in our city today! This time with two of his most popular works: the Seventh Symphony and the Violin Concerto.

The Singfest is a permanent fixture at the Autumn Festival. Amateurs sing with professionals, and at the end they step on stage together. Everyone can participate in the project choir under the guidance of the instructors from the Balthasar Neumann Choir. Are you ready to let your voice be heard? Sign up for the workshops! The highlight will be a concert on the big stage in the Festspielhaus, to the thunderous applause of an enthusiastic audience. Anyone who has ever stood on the Festspielhaus stage will certainly agree: an unforgettable experience.

They are a must: what could be called the Brandenburg Concertos of choral music. But any comparison is inadequate when it comes to Bach's motets, which are among the most beautiful and moving pieces ever written for choir. And also the most difficult: clear enunciation of the text and suitable expression are the singer’s first duty. 

Teodor Currentzis is back with his Utopia Orchestra, where first-class musicians from numerous ensembles come together to prepare programs with him. This time we will be hearing two pivotal twentieth century works: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1. The soloist will be violinist Daniel Lozakovich, who despite his young age is already performing on all of Europe’s leading stages.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos are among the highlights of Baroque instrumental music – and yet they are not often heard in concerts. Their great virtuosity and demanding instrumentation make live performances on historical instruments a particular challenge. The Balthasar Neumann Orchestra brings these works to the stage in all their variety.

The Balthasar Neumann Orchestra and Balthasar Neumann Choir present music by Gabriel Fauré and Max Reger. Fauré's Requiem is one of the most popular settings of the liturgical mass for the dead. With their late Romantic chromaticism, Reger’s works make the greatest demands on singers. French conductor Lionel Sow was director of the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris and the Choir of the Orchestre de Paris, and for several years has led the choir of the National Forum of Music in Wrocław.

We’re eagerly looking forward to this Ninth. Because the Festspielhaus and its audience have been familiar with the thoughtful and convincing interpretations of the Balthasar Neumann ensembles for years. The vocal soloists are also known in Baden-Baden from opera and concert performances. On the podium will be Pablo González, former chief conductor of Spain’s RTVE Symphony Orchestra and internationally sought-after guest conductor.