［CITY］
Besançon … France
［SCHEDULE］
2026：9.11 … 9.20
To the festival site ▷
In 1948 the music festival was founded in Besançon, the central city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It is famous as a well-established music festival among several French festivals. In 1951, the International Conductor Competition and the International Composition Competition were established at the music festival (now held every other year), and the presence of the music festival is widely known.
The conductor competition is known as an entrance gate to the international arena, and it has produced great names of conductors such as Zdeněk Košler, Michel Plasson, Zdeněk Mácal, Sylvain Cambreling, and Seiji Ozawa.
The music festival is held in about two weeks in mid September, the program is mainly composed of orchestras and chamber music concerts. Facilities in the city of Besançon, such as Revolution Square, Cultural Hall and Theater, will be venues, as well as concerts in the cities of Belfort, Pontarlier and Vesoul in the Franche-Conte region. In 2017, nearly 40 programs including a concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, recital by prominent artists, etc. are organized.
