Dresden Festival
Dresden, Germany, 9 May – 9 June
Dresden is pondering the theme of ‘Horizons’: cellist and artistic director Jan Vogler believes that the perception of classical music is changing, ushering in transformation. Over 60 events colonise some 21 venues for a festival bookended by the Royal Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Czech Philharmonic. Conducted by Kent Nagano, the ongoing period instrument Wagner Ring cycle reaches Die Walküre; from Bach’s B minor Mass to electro-pop duo Ätna, Dresden’s own cultural hinterland is explored; and in the German Museum of Hygiene violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja dusts down Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire.
Ravenna Festival
Ravenna, Italy, 11 May – 9 July
Last year’s catastrophic flooding in the Emilia Romagna region has left Ravenna ’24 reflecting on climate change, sustainability and the healing power of creativity. Screenings of Philip Glass’s Qatsi Trilogy exploring man’s impact on the natural world are accompanied by his live ensemble; and amid the mosaic splendours of the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare, Haydn’s The Creation exercises Accademia Bizantina. In San Vitale the Marian Consort salutes Vicente Lusitano, and the Irini Ensemble delivers Dufay. Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic set the ball rolling, while November’s operatic postscript is devoted to Monteverdi and Purcell.
Prague Spring Festival
Prague, Czech Republic, 12 May – 3 June
For history afficionados, ‘Prague Spring’ refers to the protests of 1968. For music lovers, however, what first ‘springs’ to mind is a prestigious festival with an International Competition attached. Tradition and innovation go hand in hand, and nothing is more traditional than the opening concerts of Smetana’s – this year awarded to the Berlin Philharmonic and its chief conductor Kirill Petrenko. Klangforum Wien is in residence and musters 50 pianos (and pianists!) for; Ton Koopman conducts Bach; and Collegium Vocale Gent look back to late-16th-century Italy.
