［CITY］
Salzburg … Austria
［SCHEDULE］
2026：3.27 … 4.6
To the festival site ▷
The Salzburg Easter Festival is held during the Easter season. This is different from the summer music festival. Its Program is combining one opera, two orchestral concerts, and an orchestral works with chorus during the 10-day festival period, with two Cycles in period. This style is well established since founding.
The festival was founded in 1967. The founder was Herbert von Karajan, the most famous conductor of the 20th century. He was the general director of the summer festival in his native Salzburg, which he transformed into one of the world’s most gorgeous music festivals.
But even with all his power, there were some things he did not have. A place to conduct the opera. He wanted a place to perform and record operas with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, of which he was the artistic director for life.
True to his wishes, the festival became a place where he could perform and record famous operas (especially Wagner’s), and a rare opportunity to hear the Berlin Philharmonic perform opera.
After his death in 1989, the Berlin Philharmonic continued to perform with the music directors of the time, Claudio Abbado and Simon Rattle, but from 2013 decided to appear at the Baden-Baden Festival in Germany during the Easter season.
The Staatskapelle Dresden, led by Christian Thielemann, saved the festival in a pinch when the core orchestra left. They have been performing since 2013, and their presence has enhanced the reputation of the festival.
However, the line changed in 2020 when Nikolaus Bachler took over as general director. He has decided not to have a resident orchestra from 2023. Bachler is a big name, having served as general director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. Thielemann, who had risen to prominence as the “founder of the new generation,” has been cut loose.
The new line also includes ballet performances, and the orchestras are Andris Nelsons and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 2023, and Antonio Pappano and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome in 2024.
But the story did not end there. To the surprise of music fans, it was announced that the Berlin Philharmonic would return as orchestra in residence for the first time in 12 years, starting in 2025. The Berlin Philharmonic will continue to make regular guest appearances each year in Baden-Baden.
That is its “amicable divorce” with Baden-Baden. The Salzburg Easter Festival will opening up new horizons with its founding orchestra.
