UK Festivals

Aldeburgh Festival
June 13-29
Four featured artists – tenor Allan Clayton, violinist Leila Josefowicz, and composers Helen Grime and Daniel Kidane – are at the heart of this year’s programme; as is contemporary music, with 20 world premieres including the festival-opening performance: Colin Matthews’s new Chekhov-inspired opera A Visit to Friends. Meanwhile, Festival Extra! features late-night hair-down music, pop-up bars, treats for foodies, and artists in unfamiliar places. Among the other artists appearing are Exaudi, and Lotte Betts-Dean with George Fu.
brittenpearsarts.org

Bampton Classical Opera
July 18-19: The Deanery Garden, Bampton, Oxfordshire
August 25: The Orangery Theatre, Westonbirt School, Gloucestershire
September 6: The Barn at Old Walland, Wadhurst, Sussex
September 16: St John’s Waterloo, London
The 2025 production at the festival committed to breathing new life into little-known works of the Classical period will be Salieri’s comic opera La locandiera, marking the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death. It will be sung in a new English translation by Gilly French titled The Landlady, with Andrew Griffiths conducting.
bamptonopera.org

Bath Festivals
May 16-25
This celebration of books and music presents a mix of inspirational speakers, consummate storytellers and music in Bath’s historic churches. Guy Johnston plays Bach’s Cello Suites over three concerts, musician-in-residence Sean Shibe includes Thomas Adès’s Forgotten Dances in his recital, and Bath Abbey is the venue for Renaissance-inspired evenings featuring Stile Antico and The Marian Consort.
bathfestivals.org.uk

BBC Proms
July 18 – September 13
Full details of the BBC Proms season will be announced on April 24.
bbc.co.uk/proms

Beverley and East Riding Early Music Festival
May 23-25
This year’s programme looks at Beverley through the eyes of 18th-century diarist John Courtney, reflecting on the music that formed an important part of his life at a time when the town was at the centre of Georgian society. Artists include Stile Antico, soprano Nardus Williams, lutenist Elizabeth Kenny and, in residence, Ensemble Augelletti (the current BBC New Generation Baroque Ensemble).
ncem.co.uk/bemf

Brighton Festival
May 3-26
Sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar is Guest Director this year and will perform Passages, her father Ravi Shankar’s recorded collaboration with Philip Glass, which she presented live for the first time at the BBC Proms in 2017. Elsewhere, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays with the Castalian Quartet, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performs a new piece by Rachel Portman.
brightonfestival.org

Buckingham Summer Festival
July 12-19
Taking place in the market town of Buckingham, this festival offers weekday morning piano recitals, and lunchtime and evening concerts. This year’s closing gala concert features the Orchestra of Stowe Opera – conducted, as ever, by Robert Secret – performing Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with cellist Julian Metzger, and Goldmark’s Rustic Wedding Symphony.
buckinghamsummerfestival.org

Buxton International Festival
July 10-27
Three French operas are presented this year: Thomas’s Hamlet, Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers and Poulenc’s La voix humaine (half of a double bill alongside Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti). There’s also Mozart’s The Impresario, and Shorts – four mini-opera commissions. Concerts, meanwhile, include The Tallis Scholars celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Palestrina, and the Sacconi Quartet playing music by 150-year-old Ravel.
buxtonfestival.co.uk

Cambridge Music Festival
October 24, 2025 – March 27, 2026
This festival is a mix of tradition and innovation and is held in historic venues around the city. Among the highlights are cellist Guy Johnston and Britten Sinfonia with Tavener’s The Protecting Veil, and King’s College Chapel concerts under Daniel Hyde. The Tallis Scholars present Victoria’s Requiem, the Danel Quartet performs a Shostakovich cycle, and piano recitals feature Angela Hewitt and Boris Giltburg.
cambridgemusicfestival.co.uk

Carducci Festival at Highnam
May 16-18
Based in the Gloucestershire village of Highnam, this festival is hosted by the Carducci Quartet. This year the programme features Schubert and Schumann with pianist Charles Owen, the world premiere of a new work by Vincenzo Lamagna and a concert of Shostakovich’s music and letters narrated by Anton Lesser.
carduccifestivalhighnam.co.uk

Carwithen Music Festival
July 10-13
A celebration of Doreen Carwithen (1922-2003), the UK’s first full-time female film composer, this festival takes place in the Buckinghamshire village of Haddenham, her birthplace. It opens with British chamber music from the Piatti Quartet, including Carwithen’s First String Quartet, and closes with the Locrian Ensemble of London playing festival president Debbie Wiseman’s score for series two of the BBC’s Wolf Hall, with Anton Lesser reading from Hilary Mantel’s novel.
carwithenmusicfestival.co.uk

Cheltenham Music Festival
July 4-12
Cheltenham celebrates 80 years in 2025 with its first season from new Artistic Director Jack Bazalgette. Breadth and quality are the watchwords, with stirring orchestras at Cheltenham Town Hall, awe-inspiring choral performances at Gloucester Cathedral and virtuosic chamber recitals at Pittville Pump Room. Informal settings and international traditions also feature.
cheltenhamfestivals.org/music

Festival of Chichester
June 14 – July 20
This multi-arts festival’s classical music highlights include Simon Wilkins conducting an America-themed symphonic concert; Chichester’s Consort of Twelve recreating a Georgian-era vocal and instrumental concert typical of those held at London’s Vauxhall Gardens, preceded by a city-centre walk with local historian Alan Green; and Chichester Chorale singing Vivaldi’s Gloria, among other works, at Boxgrove Priory.
festivalofchichester.co.uk

Chipping Campden Music Festival
May 12-24
Connaught Brass, pianist Benjamin Grosvenor and the multi-award-winning Leonkoro Quartet all make festival debuts this year. Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective returns for a weekend residency, its concerts including a special programme with tenor Allan Clayton. Festival Academy Orchestra concerts include the world premiere of a flute concerto by Roderick Williams and a performance with cellist Steven Isserlis.
campdenmayfestivals.co.uk

Corbridge Chamber Music Festival
July 24-27
This four-day festival in the Northumbrian village of Corbridge is directed and performed by the Gould Piano Trio and clarinettist Robert Plane. This year’s renowned guest artists include violinist Magnus Johnston, cellist Alice Neary, horn player Ben Goldscheider and Gramophone’s own Richard Wigmore as musicologist.
corbridgefestival.co.uk

Cowbridge Music Festival
September 12-21
This Welsh market town has been hosting world-class classical, jazz and folk musicians each September since 2010. This year’s programme features recitals from Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, the Carducci Quartet, pianist-composer Huw Watkins, Welsh chamber-folk trio Vrï, Tango Calor and musical theatre group Welsh of the West End.
cowbridgemusicfestival.co.uk

The Cumnock Tryst
October 2-5
Set in the East Ayrshire town where its composer-founder Sir James MacMillan grew up, this music festival with a mission to be the UK’s most relevant and community-centred promises a packed four days and nights of performances. In advance of the announcement of detail (on May 24), know that last year’s artists included pianist Steven Osborne and the Maxwell Quartet.
thecumnocktryst.com

Dorset Opera Festival
July 22-26
Having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024, this country-house opera festival with its professional-career-orientated summer school this year celebrates 20 years of being based at Bryanston with its 400 acres of rolling Dorset countryside. Operas for 2025 are Verdi’s Rigoletto, Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana.
dorsetopera.com

Dunster Festival
May 24-26
Based at Dunster Priory Church, the Somerset festival this year has the transcendent voices of The Marian Consort celebrating Palestrina’s 500th anniversary, and joining baroque orchestra Spiritato for a festival finale of Bach. There’s also violinist Jacqueline Shave and friends, an afternoon cream-tea concert, a late-night vocal recital, a choral workshop and a first-ever Festival Fete with children’s entertainment.
dunsterfestival.co.uk

East Neuk Festival
June 25-29
The 20th festival brings together the Belcea, Castalian, Elias and Pavel Haas quartets for Beethoven’s late string quartets, Schubert and Mozart quintets and the premiere of Sally Beamish’s Field of Stars for four quartets. Sean Shibe plays music spanning five centuries on the lute and on acoustic and electric guitars, and Schubert’s song-cycles are performed by Mark Padmore, James Newby and Joseph Middleton.
eastneukfestival.com

Edinburgh International Festival
August 1-24
Highlights at the multi-arts event under the artistic direction of violinist Nicola Benedetti include the European premiere of a fully staged reimagining of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice featuring acrobatics, and a star-studded residency with Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO. The festival opens with a rare chance to hear Tavener’s eight-hour The Veil of the Temple.
eif.co.uk

Elgar Festival
May 24 – June 1
Celebrating Elgar’s legacy in the places that were familiar to him, the Worcestershire festival this year has the English Symphony Orchestra and Festival Chorus filling Worcester Cathedral with Elgar’s Symphony No 2 and Ireland’s These Things Shall Be. Also celebrated is the 70th birthday of composer Ian Venables, who has been a Worcester resident since 1986.
elgarfestival.org

English Haydn Festival
June 11–15
In the market town of Bridgnorth this year, trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins and violinist Jennifer Pike are soloists with the period-instrument English Haydn Orchestra led by Simon Standage and conducted by Steven Devine. Artists giving lunchtime concerts include the Consone Quartet and violinist Jacqueline Ross. The Grand Finale Choral Concert presents Haydn’s masterpiece The Creation.
englishhaydn.com

The English Music Festival
May 23-26
Four days of music-making, including premieres and overlooked gems, take place in the beautiful and tranquil surroundings of Oxfordshire’s Dorchester Abbey. This year’s world-class visiting artists include cellist Raphael Wallfisch, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and singer-composer Stef Conner.
englishmusicfestival.org.uk

Fishguard Festival of Music
July 18-31
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Pembrokeshire coastline, this festival always beautifully balances large-scale and chamber music, and local and international, rising and established artists. The opening concert at the cathedral in the city of St Davids is given by the Welsh National Opera Orchestra, with the programme featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No 5 and Mozart’s Ah, lo previdi with soprano Rebecca Evans. Recitalists include cellist Laura van der Heijden.
fishguardmusicfestival.com

Garsington Opera
May 28 – July 22
Set in the beautiful grounds of Wormsley with its deer park and walled gardens, the much-loved festival this year hosts new productions of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades (sung in Russian) and Handel’s Rodelinda (celebrating 300 years since its premiere). John Cox’s production of Beethoven’s Fidelio is also revived, and there’s a new community opera, Hannah Conway’s Uprooted.
garsingtonopera.org

Glasgow Cathedral Festival
September 18-21
Praised by Vox Carnyx for its ‘superb combinations of sound and vision’, this festival is celebrating community and innovation in Glasgow’s 850th anniversary year. A commission from Roxana Panufnik gets its world premiere; Roger Sayer marks the 10th anniversary of the film Interstellar by playing music from Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack on the majestic cathedral organ; and Fritz Lang’s iconic Metropolis is screened with a live score by Irene and Linda Buckley.
gcfestival.com

Glyndebourne Festival
May 16 – August 25
New productions for 2025 are Wagner’s Parsifal from director Jetske Mijnssen – with Robin Ticciati conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra and a cast including Daniel Johansson, John Relyea and Sir John Tomlinson; and Mariame Clément’s Le nozze di Figaro – with Riccardo Minasi conducting the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and a cast featuring Anna El-Khashem as Susanna. Revivals are of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Handel’s Saul, Verdi’s Falstaff and Janáček’s Katya Kabanova.
glyndebourne.com

The Grange Festival
June 4 – July 6
With its stunning Hampshire country-house setting, this festival offers a new production of Verdi’s La traviata featuring Samantha Clarke as Violetta, with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Richard Farnes; the UK premiere of a hip-hop-meets-Baroque staging of Rameau’s Les Indes galantes; the return of Ballet Black in a contemporary ballet double bill; and four contrasting concert programmes.
thegrangefestival.co.uk

Grange Park Opera, Surrey
June 5 – July 13
The 2025 season brings Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra with much-celebrated baritone Sir Simon Keenlyside, Tchaikovsky’s epic Mazeppa and sitar opera Taj Mahal by Nishat Khan, who narrates and improvises on the sitar around the orchestral textures. A Gala of British Ballet features the Royal Ballet and other companies.
grangeparkopera.co.uk

HACS Harrogate Music Festival
June 26 – July 13
Trumpet virtuoso Mike Lovatt’s Brass Pack opens this year’s edition, at the Royal Hall. Onwards, and among several classical performances is a special candlelit concert at St Wilfrid’s Church in which choral ensemble The Marian Consort perform while standing beneath Gaia, Luke Jerram’s 3D art installation depicting our planet, which is displayed for 10 days alongside a full programme of events.
harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/harrogate-music-festival

Hatfield House Music Festival
October 9-12
Set in the sumptuous surroundings of Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, this festival under the artistic directorship of cellist Guy Johnston – who plays as soloist on the final night – is once again boasting an exciting line-up, including Brecon Baroque with its violinist founder Rachel Podger, pianist Imogen Cooper, Ensemble 360, vocal ensemble Recordare and the Doric Quartet.
hatfieldhousemusicfestival.org.uk

Hellensmusic
May 8-11
Co-founded by pianist Christian Blackshaw, and held in and around Hellens Manor in Much Marcle, this Herefordshire chamber music festival complements its concert programme with free-to-observe masterclasses. Co-artistic directors for 2025 are violinist Maya Iwabuchi and clarinettist Matthew Hunt. Highlights include a world premiere by bandoneonist and composer Omar Massa alongside music by Bach, Bartók, Dohnányi and Mozart.
hellensmusic.com

High Barnet Chamber Music Festival
June 20 – July 5
Led by conductor Joshua Ballance, this north London festival promoting early-career musicians presents three song-themed concerts for its fifth season. These include an afternoon recital from baritone Hugo Herman Wilson and pianist Richard Gowers, and baritone Jonathan Eyers joining contemporary ensemble Mad Song for Maxwell Davies’s Eight Songs for a Mad King.
hbcmf.co.uk

Opera Holland Park
May 27 – August 2
The London festival opens its 2025 doors with a new production of Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer, the company’s first staging of a Wagner work. Mainstage offerings also include the return of Jonathan Dove’s acclaimed festival-commissioned Itch, and Lehár’s The Merry Widow (one of two co-productions with Scottish Opera and D’Oyly Carte). The recital series Opera in Song also returns.
operahollandpark.com

If Opera
August 7-17
If Opera moves to a beautiful new, secluded venue this year: Church Farm, Wingfield (close to Bradford-on-Avon), where it presents Verdi’s Rigoletto and Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, plus the popular picnic prom. Wingfield’s historic St Mary’s Church is then the venue for a Baroque double bill, Monteverdi’s Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda paired with Carissimi’s Historia Jonae.
ifopera.com

JAM on the Marsh
July 3-13
With performances in medieval churches across Kent’s Romney Marsh, just an hour from London, the festival this year features repertoire ranging from Pergolesi to Satie and Piazzolla, plus world premieres. Three concerts celebrate composer Paul Mealor’s 50th birthday, one with the BBC Singers. Also visiting are The King’s Singers, London Tango Quintet, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Kosmos Ensemble.
jamconcert.org

Lake District Summer Music Festival
August 1-10
The magnificent Lake District Music celebrates its 40th birthday this summer, festivities beginning with the firebrand Jess Gillam Ensemble. Paul Lewis takes on all five Beethoven piano concertos, pairing the Emperor concerto with the Choral Symphony. There are also string quartets, chamber music, family events, and a memorial concert for beloved festival founder Renna Kellaway.
ldsm.org.uk

Lammermuir Festival
September 4-15
Beyond residencies from cellist Laura van der Heijden and I Fagiolini, the abundance of world-class artists descending upon beautiful locations across East Lothian this year includes the Philharmonia Orchestra performing with festival patron pianist Steven Osborne; Rinaldo Alessandrini directing Monteverdi; and Scottish Opera with a double bill concert staging of Walton’s The Bear and Ravel’s L’heure espagnole.
lammermuirfestival.co.uk

Leeds International Organ Festival
May 12 – July 14
Featuring Leeds Cathedral’s four-manual Klais organ and some of the finest players from Britain and around the world, this festival presents admission-free Monday lunchtime recitals (with a retiring collection, and excepting May 26), and this year includes David Pipe giving a children’s recital as part of the Royal College of Organists’ Play the Organ Year 2025.
leedsiof.org

Lewes Chamber Music Festival
June 13-15
Themed ‘Notes from a Small Island’, the 13th edition celebrates the rich legacy of chamber music by British composers, and their overseas influences. There’s a rare chance to hear Thomas Adès’s Clarinet Quintet and Piano Quintet. Countertenor Iestyn Davies premieres a bespoke chamber arrangement of songs by Finzi. There’s also music by Britten, Walton and Fauré.
leweschambermusicfestival.com

Lichfield Festival
July 8-20
Ravel is the featured composer this year, with a celebration of the 150th anniversary of his birth. Fifty years since the death of Bliss is also marked. Lichfield Cathedral hosts concerts from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales performing Beethoven and Bruch, bass-baritone Sir Willard White with the Brodsky Quartet, and Tenebrae singing Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles. There’s also early music played by Apollo’s Cabinet and recorder quartet Palisander.
lichfieldfestival.org

London International Festival of Early Music
November 12-15
Taking place at Blackheath Halls and the church of St Michael and All Angels, this vibrant festival is under the artistic directorship of award-winning recorder virtuoso Erik Bosgraaf. Expect concerts, masterclasses, talks and the 2025 Moeck Recorder Competition, all complemented by a festival-long exhibition of early instruments by leading makers from around the world.
lifem.org

London Piano Festival
October 9-12
Hosted by Kings Place, this festival is programming three world premieres for its 10th-anniversary year: solo works by Elena Langer and Cheryl Frances-Hoad, and a piano duet by Stephen Hough performed by festival Artistic Directors Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva in the Two Piano Gala, a much-loved festival fixture. Further highlights include Julian Joseph curating a jazz showcase.
londonpianofestival.com

Longborough Festival Opera
May 27 – August 2
The Cotswolds’ answer to Bayreuth presents the UK premiere of Avner Dorman’s Wahnfried: The Birth of the Wagner Cult alongside film screenings of its acclaimed 2024 Ring cycle. Beyond Wagner, festival Music Director Anthony Negus fulfils his longheld ambition to conduct Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, and violinist Bjarte Eike and his Barokksolistene perform Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.
lfo.org.uk

Gŵyl Machynlleth Festival
August 17-24
Set amid the beautiful landscape of Mid Wales, this festival in the market town of Machynlleth always attracts top-drawer artists to its intimate venue, former Wesleyan chapel the Tabernacle. This year they include pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout joining the Consone Quartet for an all-Mozart programme, the Chiaroscuro Quartet performing Beethoven and baroque violinist Rachel Podger with late-night solo Bach.
moma.cymru

Malcolm Arnold Festival
October 18-19
The festival honouring versatile and resourceful composer Sir Malcolm Arnold celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Entitled 20 for 20, it will present performances of all 20 of the composer’s concertos in Northampton, the town of his birth, over the course of the weekend.
malcolmarnoldfestival.com

Mendelssohn on Mull
August 31 - September 4
Set amid the stunning natural beauty that drew Mendelssohn to Scotland, this festival under the artistic direction of the Maxwell Quartet invites eight musicians training at conservatories all over the UK to work intensively in mixed ensembles, and perform eight concerts on the adjacent islands of Mull and Iona. The concerts are offered on a pay-what-you-decide basis.
soundwavesscio.org.uk/mendelssohn-on-mull/mendelssohn-on-mull-2025

IF: Milton Keynes International Festival
July 18-27
Expect large-scale performances, installations and commissions on themes of climate change and conflict for 2025. Mark Anderson’s Warning Notes is one highlight, its array of percussion and explosions sounding social and ecological alarm. There’s also performance company Transe Express’s DNA, Vertical Odyssey, which features a 40m-high sculpture resembling a tall ship after a storm, musicians, opera singers and acrobats.
ifmiltonkeynes.org

Music@Malling
September 20-27
This Kent festival is held in historic venues in and around West Malling, its concerts complemented by outreach initiatives. Highlights this year include Fretwork and star mezzo Helen Charlston at Malling Abbey performing works by Michael Nyman and Sally Beamish; also concerts at Ightham Mote exploring the history of the house through music.
musicatmalling.com

Music in Country Churches
May 23 – July 23
This festival with King Charles III as its patron raises funds for the maintenance of countryside parish churches. Ross-on-Wye’s church of St Mary the Virgin is hosting two concerts given by the London Chamber Ensemble, who perform works including Ravel’s String Quartet. Details of concerts in Chedworth (Gloucestershire), Wickhambrook (Suffolk), Newton St Cyres (Devon), Wiveton and Burnham Thorpe (both Norfolk) are online.
musicincountrychurches.org.uk

The Music Summer School and Festival
August 2-16
Now entering its second year at Gresham’s School in Holt, Norfolk (whose alumni include Britten), this is the new incarnation of the historic combined music school and festival that was Dartington. It offers around 35 courses a week on a wide range of topics including Renaissance music, jamming in a band and singer-songwriting. Details of the concerts and talks have not yet been announced at time of writing.
mssf.org.uk

Nairn Book and Arts Festival
August 30 – September 7
This annual celebration of literature, art, music, drama and film in the Scottish Highlands features a young musician competition and a folk-infused collaboration with Scottish Opera’s education programme. Complementing its eclectic mix of performances are inspiring talks, creative workshops and a final-day parade.
nairnfestival.co.uk

Nevill Holt Festival
May 30 – June 22
Taking place in the award-winning theatre, medieval chapel and landscaped grounds of the 13th-century Nevill Holt Estate in Leicestershire, the festival this year welcomes Opera North to present Mozart’s Così fan tutte and celebrates the centenary of the Harlem Renaissance with a special series that includes a brand new arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
nevillholtfestival.com

Newbury Spring Festival
May 10–24
Newbury welcomes back cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason this year in a concert with the Castalian Quartet at the Corn Exchange. Before that, the English Chamber Orchestra opens the festival with Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 1 with young Bulgarian pianist Emanuil Ivanov, winner of both the 2020 Busoni competition and the festival’s own 2023 Sheepdrove Piano Competition.
https://www.newburyspringfestival.org.uk/

Norfolk and Norwich Festival
May 9–25
Continuing its tradition of presenting world-class international performances alongside trailblazing local artists and emerging new talent, this festival includes highlights such as a night in Norwich Cathedral with DJ Gilles Peterson, a circus spectacular in the Adnams Spiegeltent from circus company Upswing, and performances from artists such as Apartment House, Lotte Betts-Dean with Joseph Havlat, and Sean Shibe.
https://nnfestival.org.uk/

North Norfolk Music Festival
August 8–16
Based at St Mary’s Church, South Creake, this event offers a rich selection of chamber concerts plus masterclasses. Its 20th-anniversary edition opens with a piano recital from Alim Beisembayev featuring Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales and Chopin’s Op 28 Preludes. Other artists include the Carducci and Karski quartets, Ensemble 360 and tenor Dafydd Jones.
https://www.northnorfolkmusicfestival.com/

North York Moors Chamber Music Festival
August 10–23
Always sporting a cleverly interwoven, erudite programme, cellist Jamie Walton’s chamber music festival this year mirrors a sonnet’s 14-line structure, its 14 concerts (taking place mainly in the grounds of Welburn Manor but also in historic moorland churches) tracing the pagan year’s elements, solstices and equinoxes through 400 years’ worth of music, plus poetry, reflecting the seasonal shifts. Walton performs alongside his 30 regular artists-in-residence.
https://www.northyorkmoorsfestival.com/

The Northern Aldborough Festival
June 12–21
Beyond its prestigious annual New Voices Singing Competition, this vibrant, picturesquely situated Yorkshire festival presents among its 2025 offerings a recital from mezzo Dame Sarah Connolly with Dame Imogen Cooper on the piano, a semi-staging of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love by Wild Arts, and the Fantasia Orchestra. Headline speaker is journalist Matthew Parris.
https://aldboroughfestival.co.uk/

Oxford International Song Festival
October 10–25
The 2025 festival, a mix of evening, lunchtime, rush-hour and late-night concerts, is an exploration of stories: from fairy tales and ballads, to the human relationships behind the songs, and national traditions. Artist-in-residence is baritone Benjamin Appl. Other artists include mezzo Helen Charlston, baritones Stéphane Degout and Roderick Williams, and soprano Camilla Tilling. Choral music, dance, chamber works and talks also feature.
https://www.oxfordsong.org/

Oxford Piano Festival
July 26 – August 3
Under the artistic directorship of Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director Marios Papadopoulos, this festival welcomes some of the world’s most distinguished pianists and pedagogues for a week of concerts and masterclasses in some of Oxford’s most beautiful and historic buildings. Isata Kanneh-Mason plays this year’s opening concert. Nikolai Lugansky also performs.
https://oxfordpianofestival.com/

Music at Paxton
July 18–27
Chamber musicians gathering this year at Paxton House, Berwick-upon-Tweed, in the Scottish Borders, include Associate Ensemble the Consone Quartet performing Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert; pianists Yevgeny Sudbin and Pavel Kolesnikov; and mezzo Helen Charlston with pianist Sholto Kynoch and lutenist Toby Carr. Special concerts celebrate Paris salons and Indian music ‘Southall style’.
https://www.musicatpaxton.co.uk/

Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festival
June 26–29
Under the artistic directorship of violinist Anthony Marwood and cellist Richard Lester, this East Sussex festival presents seven concerts in Peasmarsh’s beautiful Norman church, guests including cellist John Myerscough, Lumas Winds and composer-in-residence Steven Mackey. Marwood and Lester also perform as concerto soloists with Britten Sinfonia at St Mary’s Church in Rye.
https://peasmarshfestival.co.uk/

Perth Festival of the Arts
May 22–31
This festival presents more than thirty live events around the Scottish city. Its classical concert series this year includes the ORA Singers under Suzi Digby performing Allegri’s Miserere and Sir James MacMillan’s setting of the same text; the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra with classical favourites; and Opera Bohemia’s production of Puccini’s Suor Angelica.
https://www.perthfestival.co.uk

Presteigne Festival
August 21–25
Renowned for its advocacy of contemporary composers, this much-admired Welsh festival has Eleanor Alberga as its composer-in-residence for 2025, with performances of her works including a song-cycle for mezzo and string quartet – one of 14 premieres this year. There’s also Huw Watkins’s Clarinet Concertino, a Shostakovich focus (to mark 50 years since his death), the Castalian Quartet, Leonore Trio, Nova Music Opera and more.
https://www.presteignefestival.com

Purbeck International Chamber Music Festival
September 4–7
With its concerts in historic churches dotted along some of the most beautiful parts of the south coast, this festival under the artistic direction of cellist Natalie Clein combines a notably warm and joyous atmosphere with distinctive programming that often weaves speakers, visual artists and writers into the musical mix. Details for 2025 will be released online.
https://www.picmf.org

Ryedale Festival
July 11–27
Featuring 70 concerts in around 30 historic venues across North Yorkshire, from Scarborough to Skipton, this year’s packed programme includes big names, notably soprano Claire Booth with a major new song-cycle by Gavin Higgins, and Timothy Ridout as soloist for the premiere of Philip Wilby’s new orchestration of Bliss’s Viola Sonata.
https://www.ryedalefestival.com

St Endellion Summer Festival
July 29 – August 8
This Cornish festival has a Shakespearean theme for 2025. The opera is Verdi’s Falstaff in a production directed by Cornish resident and comic genius Bill Bankes-Jones, conducted by Paul Daniel and featuring a stellar cast including Darren Jeffery, Roderick Williams, Mark Padmore and Elin Pritchard. Olivia Clarke conducts the opening symphonic concert, the repertoire including Chaminade’s Flute Concertino.
https://www.endellionfestivals.org.uk

Proms at St Jude’s
June 21–29
Taking place in Hampstead Garden Suburb’s magnificent Lutyens-designed church, this fixture of north London’s musical calendar welcomes Dame Evelyn Glennie and Fantasia Orchestra to perform this year’s opening concert. Among other highlights are visits from the Fibonacci Quartet and London Mozart Players.
https://www.promsatstjudes.org.uk

St Magnus International Festival
June 20–27
Set in Orkney’s breathtaking landscape, this festival takes music, film, literature and theatre across the islands over midsummer. This year’s lineup includes the Stevens Pound Duo reimagining the folk music that inspired so many classical composers; Katherine Wren’s ensemble, Nordic Viola; and a vibrant celebration of the accordion.
https://www.stmagnusfestival.com

Sheffield Chamber Music Festival
May 16–24
Hosted by Music in the Round, and based at Sheffield’s intimate in-the-round space of the Crucible Studio Theatre, this festival presenting chamber music old and new is curated for 2025 by Ensemble 360 (celebrating its 20th anniversary), which on opening night premieres a new work by Aileen Sweeney. Guests, meanwhile, include percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie.
https://www.musicintheround.co.uk

Sherborne Abbey Festival
May 1–8
Presenting its usual mix of famous names and local amateur ensembles, this Dorset festival is welcoming Armonico Consort for the first time to perform its Naked Byrd Two programme by candlelight. The Festival Chorus performs Mozart’s Requiem and Haydn’s Te Deum. And offerings beyond the choral include cellist Natalie Clein performing music by Haydn with the Juventus Orchestra.
https://www.sherborneabbeyfestival.org

Shipley Arts Festival
April 27 – November 8
Performed by the chamber musicians of the Bernardi Music Group, notably violinist Andrew Bernardi and pianist Maria Marchant, this festival takes place across beautiful West Sussex country estates and churches, using music to bring together the rural communities. Among this year’s highlights is the return of baritone and composer Roderick Williams.
https://www.bmglive.com

Sinfonia Smith Square Easter Festival
April 15–19
Hurry! If you’re reading this as a Gramophone subscriber, you’ve just a couple of days to catch the tail end of this festival at Westminster’s Smith Square Hall (formerly St John’s Smith Square). The programme this year includes Mozart’s Requiem performed by National Youth Voices and Sinfonia Smith Square under Nicholas Chalmers, Bach’s St John Passion performed by Polyphony and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and a concert given by London International Gospel Choir.
https://www.sinfoniasmithsq.org.uk/festival/easter

SongEasel
May 10 – July 13
With the title Dreams: A Place, southeast London’s celebration of song this year marks the 185th anniversary of the Schumanns’ marriage with all of Clara’s songs and all of Robert’s 1840 song-cycles, with further subtexts provided by Goethe’s West-Eastern Diwan. Artist-in-residence is bass-baritone Stephan Loges. Among the other major artists are sopranos Juliane Banse and Nadine Benjamin.
https://www.songeasel.co.uk

Sound Festival
October 23 – November 2
Northeast Scotland’s ‘generous, all-inclusive’ festival of new music is again presenting a feast for the curious-minded. There are new works from composers such as Tansy Davies, Laura Bowler and Electra Perivolaris, while the lineup of international and local musicians features the likes of pianist-composer Zubin Kanga, and accordionist Andreas Borregaard with Red Note Ensemble.
https://www.sound-scotland.co.uk

Southern Cathedrals Festival
July 16–19
Salisbury Cathedral hosts the 2025 edition of this festival that moves around the cathedrals of southern England, featuring their combined choirs. Expect sacred choral and organ music performed to the very highest standard.
https://www.southerncathedralsfestival.org.uk

Southwell Music Festival
August 22–25
This jam-packed bank holiday weekend of classical, folk and jazz music takes place in venues across the historic Nottinghamshire town, with Southwell Minster hosting two notable highlights featuring the Festival Voices: works from Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts, together with the Festival Big Band; and Marcus Farnsworth conducting Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Festival Baroque Sinfonia. Acclaimed folk artist Kathryn Tickell also performs.
https://www.southwellmusicfestival.com

Stamford International Music Festival
May 15–17
Directed by acclaimed violinist Freya Goldmark, this event brings some of classical music’s most exciting younger-generation talent to the picturesque Lincolnshire town. Themed Sounds of Spain, this year’s seven concerts showcase composers Granados, Turina, Sarasate and Falla alongside major works inspired by Spanish folk song. Artists include violinists Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux and Alessandro Ruisi, and pianist Jâms Coleman.
https://www.simfestival.com

Stour Music Festival
June 20–29
Robert Hollingworth’s gentle invigoration of Alfred and Mark Deller’s early music festival in Kent’s Stour Valley continues with Bach motets from Solomon’s Knot, a Gibbons anniversary programme from countertenor Iestyn Davies with Fretwork, soprano Hilary Cronin and tenor Sam Boden in a French Baroque spectacle, Machaut from French sensation Apotropaïk, jazz in the tent, and a 15th-century-style German wind-band-in-residence – also there’ll be fireworks!
https://www.stourmusic.org.uk

Summer Music in City Churches
June 18–27
With its title Eternal Light, this year’s festival based in the City of London is bookended by two of the most beloved Requiems, both performed by the City of London Choir at St Giles Cripplegate: on opening night, the Fauré, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir John Rutter in his 80th year; on closing night, the Verdi conducted by Daniel Hyde.
https://www.summermusiccitychurches.com

Surrey Hills International Music Festival
May 6–17
Hosted by venues across the Surrey Hills, with guided countryside walks complementing the musical programme, this year’s festival welcomes Voces8 celebrating its 20th anniversary, 2021 Leeds Piano Competition winner Alim Beisembayev and musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New York. Repertoire highlights include Strauss’s Metamorphosen and Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. Among young artists being platformed is the Londinium Consort.
https://www.shimf.co.uk

Swaledale Festival
May 24 – June 7
This festival brings more than sixty world-class music, arts and walking events to the spectacular Yorkshire Dales, with artists including Royal Northern Sinfonia with trumpet player Matilda Lloyd, pianist Pascal Rogé, Fretwork with soprano Ruby Hughes, classical sarod player Amjad Ali Khan, the Carducci Quartet, Manchester Baroque and multi-genre vocal ensemble Apollo5.
https://www.swalefest.org

Tetbury Music Festival
September 27 – October 5
This festival, with its candlelit concerts in a historic Cotswold town, has King Charles III as its patron. This year’s packed programme boasts Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in a semi-staging by I Fagiolini, a piano duo recital given by Paul Lewis and Steven Osborne, talks by Sir Nicholas Kenyon and a festival-closing Baroque Busters evening from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
https://www.tetburymusicfestival.org

Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival
June 27–28: Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle
September 22 – October 5: The Cockpit, London
This visionary festival of new opera is spreading its wings beyond London for the very first time, opening with two nights at Newcastle’s Alphabetti Theatre showcasing the work it has developed with local artists over recent years. It then returns to London to present a kaleidoscope of work from across the UK and beyond. Look out for the programme announcement online.
https://www.tete-a-tete.org.uk

Thaxted Festival
June 20 – July 13
The resident orchestra London Mozart Players opens the Essex festival this year with Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux as soloist. For opera lovers, Wild Arts brings its chamber-orchestra-accompanied production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (sung in English). There’s jazz from Mighty Like the Blues, while further artists include tenor Nicky Spence, the Doric Quartet, and Leeds 2024 Piano Competition winner Jaeden Izik-Dzurko.
https://www.thaxtedfestival.co.uk

Three Choirs Festival
July 26 – August 2
More than 300 years old, and rotating between the cathedral cities of Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford, this historic festival lands in and around Hereford Cathedral for 2025, with its world-class, centuries-spanning programme including Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Howells’s Hymnus paradisi, a revival of Coleridge-Taylor’s The Atonement and premieres of new works by Richard Blackford and Bob Chilcott.
3choirs.org

Tilford Bach Festival
June 6–8
Tilford’s 73rd festival coincides with the 25th anniversary of artistic director Adrian Butterfield’s London Handel Players, and centres on a performance of Bach’s B minor Mass. In the opening concert, London Handel Players collaborate with Scottish folk duo Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, and the weekend concludes with a programme featuring talented students from London and Toronto.
tilfordbachfestival.com

Torbay Musical Weekend
November 14–17
This is a musical weekend at the Torquay Grand Hotel featuring three concerts with baroque ensemble Red Priest’s Piers Adams and David Wright and the Primrose Piano Quartet, plus guests. Complementing this is a surrounding programme of talks and presentations on topics ranging from early keyboards to writing for film and media. Flexible residential packages are available.
torbaymusicalweekend.co.uk

The Two Moors Festival
October 2–5, 9–12
The first weekend of this festival takes place on Exmoor, the second on Dartmoor. The festival’s 25th anniversary edition opens with solo Bach from violinist Artistic Director Tamsin Waley-Cohen and cellist Guy Johnston. Each moor hosts a Schubertiade, with soprano Elizabeth Watts among the singers. Also visiting are the Chiaroscuro Quartet led by Alina Ibragimova, and Intesa Duo (viol and voice).
twomoorsfestival.co.uk

Ulverston International Music Festival
May 30 – June 8
Directed by pianist Anthony Hewitt, this festival on the Lake District’s outskirts is known for its eclecticism, ranging from core classical recitals to jazz and folk. Sir John Rutter’s Requiem promises to be a 2025 highlight, as does violinist Daniel Rowland performing Max Richter’s The Four Seasons Recomposed in the magnificent Cartmel Priory. Sound Bites also returns, pairing concerts with fine dining.
ulverstonmusicfestival.co.uk

Vache Baroque Festival
August 30 – September 7
The Buckinghamshire festival this year presents Le carnaval de Venise, a circus-opera directed by James Hurley, with music by André Campra. Starring mezzo Katie Bray and soprano Julieth Lozano, and accompanied by the Vache Baroque band, this new production features aerial choreography by Rebecca Solomon.
vachebaroque.com

Voces8 International Summer School and Festival
July 28 – August 2
This is set to be another week of exceptional concerts at Dorset’s beautiful Milton Abbey, presented by the Voces8 Foundation. There are performances given by Voces8 and Apollo5, with the all-age Voces8 Summer School running alongside them. A clear highlight is their festival-closing joint performance featuring the world premiere of Taylor Scott Davis’s Requiem, written for Voces8’s 20th anniversary; another is the launch concert for Paul Smith’s new album, Revolutions.
voces8.foundation/miltonabbey

Waterperry Opera Festival
August 8–17
Based at Waterperry House and Gardens in Oxfordshire, this jam-packed open-air opera festival this year stages Mozart’s Don Giovanni in front of the house, while Handel’s Semele graces the intimate Waterperry Amphitheatre. Other events include the festival-closing Last Night of the Opera, with Bertie Baigent conducting opera classics.
waterperryoperafestival.co.uk

West Green House Opera
July 18–27
This is a brand new Hampshire opera festival in the gardens of West Green House near Hartley Wintney. Performances take place in a specially designed auditorium, with the festival’s own orchestra conducted by Jonathan Lyness. The inaugural edition presents Shakespeare-inspired operas including Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Verdi’s Macbeth. Performers include soprano Fflur Wyn and Armonico Consort.
westgreenhouseopera.co.uk

West Meon Music Festival
September 11–14
Led by the musicians of the Primrose Piano Quartet, this Hampshire festival presents four days of chamber music spanning the centuries from the Baroque to the present day. Shostakovich features strongly this year, honouring the 50th anniversary of his death, and tenor James Gilchrist joins the Primrose for a Jane Austen gala concert in collaboration with Chawton House.
westmeonmusic.co.uk

Whiddon Autumn Festival
September 17–21
Set across five picturesque north Dartmoor villages, this festival returns for its fifth year – featuring ensemble-in-residence Corvus Consort, Ferrier Award-winning tenor Matthew McKinney, and singer-songwriter the Magic Lantern (aka Jamie Doe). World premieres from composer-in-residence Ben Nobuto run alongside a flourishing learning and engagement programme, all curated by Artistic Director Freddie Crowley, who was born locally.
whiddonautumnfestival.co.uk

York Early Music Festival
July 4–11
Dotted around the city’s churches and historic venues including York Minster, the festival this year is titled Heaven and Hell, and weaves together three main strands: the anniversary of Renaissance composer Orlando Gibbons, the Baroque genius of Vivaldi and Bach, and reflections upon the fall of man. Le Consort and violinist-director Théotime Langlois de Swarte bring Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Other artists include the Academy of Ancient Music, The Sixteen and The Tallis Scholars.
ncem.co.uk/yemf

EUROPE

Aix-en-Provence Festival
July 4–21
France’s principal opera festival focuses this year on ‘the inexorable mutability of all things and the perpetual reinvention of the self’. Among seven new productions is a Mozart Don Giovanni from young English Shakespearean director Robert Icke making his operatic debut, with Sir Simon Rattle conducting a cast headed by André Schuen. One of two world premieres is Sivan Eldar’s The Nine Jewelled Deer directed by Peter Sellars. Concert highlights include Jonas Kaufmann and Diana Damrau singing an anthology of Lieder by Mahler and Strauss.
festival-aix.com

Festival d’Auvers-sur-Oise
March 22 – September 18
This festival based mostly on the outskirts of Paris presents a summer season of wide-ranging weekend concerts featuring both major names and rising talent. Highlights for 2025 include a harpsichord-accompanied Rameau programme given by violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte (who also performs Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons) and William Christie, and recitals from soprano Sonya Yoncheva, and cellist Gautier Capuçon.
festival-auvers.com

Festival International d’Opéra Baroque de Beaune
July 4–27
The Burgundy town of Beaune is capital not just of wine but also of the baroque, and this year’s festival comes refreshed, thanks to new artistic direction and additional concert venues joining the magnificent Cour des Hospices. Among 15 operas, oratorios, recitals and concerts from major names, Christophe Rousset leads Lully’s Proserpine, and the tercentenary of Alessandro Scarlatti’s death is marked with a production of his rarely heard Il primo omicidio.
festivalbeaune.com

Beethovenfest Bonn
August 28 – September 27
The Beethovenfest Bonn is among the largest and most innovative classical music festivals in Germany. Founded in 1845 in Beethoven’s birthplace, it celebrates his music every year via around eighty concerts encompassing everything from major international orchestras to pop acts, plus talks, exhibitions and workshops. This year’s full programme is published on May 12.
beethovenfest.de

Festival de Bellerive
July 8–15
Hosted at La Ferme de Saint-Maurice, just seven kilometres from the centre of Geneva, this friendly, intimate-atmosphere festival always welcomes interesting names, which for 2025 include pianists Lucas Debargue and Alexandra Dovgan playing solo recitals. There’s also a cinema-themed programme from the Geneva Chamber Orchestra under Raphaël Merlin, with cello soloist Maximilian Hornung.
bellerive-festival.ch

Bergen International Festival
May 21 – June 4
Conductor Grete Pedersen is Festival Musician for 2025, and resident visual artist is William Kentridge. Mainstage Grieghallen concerts include mezzo Joyce DiDonato’s festival debut, and Gemma New conducting the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra’s festival-closing concert: Mendelssohn’s incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Further concerts and recitals take place at Troldhaugen, Grieg’s former home.
fib.no/en

Berlioz Festival
August 21–31
With this year’s festival titled À la vie, à la mort!, Berlioz’s birthplace of La Côte-Saint-André (in France’s Isère region) will ring with the sound of his music, including the Requiem, Les nuits d’été and Harold en Italie. Artists will include violinist Renaud Capuçon, viola player Lise Berthaud and pianist Alexandre Tharaud.
festivalberlioz.com

Blackwater Valley Opera Festival
May 27 – June 2
The Irish festival’s two operas this year are Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed at Lismore Castle and directed by Patrick Mason with the Irish Chamber Orchestra under David Brophy; and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at St Carthage’s Cathedral (appropriately!), featuring Paula Murrihy, Dean Murphy and Kelli-Ann Masterson with the Irish Baroque Orchestra under Nicholas McGegan. The festival finale concert is Baroque Hits at Dromore Yard.
blackwatervalleyopera.ie

Bolzano Festival Bozen
August 5 – September 7
Set against the backdrop of the Dolomites, this Italian festival welcomes major international names while equally being a top destination for spotting rising talent. Some big names visiting this year are Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Pablo Ferrández, Renaud Capuçon and the European Union Baroque Orchestra.
bolzanofestivalbozen.eu

Brandenburg Summer Concerts
May 31 – August 31
This is the largest music festival in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, held at weekends and taking in historic venues from churches and monasteries to castles and architectural monuments. This year’s opening concert features violinist Stephen Waarts and cellist Marie-Elisabeth Hecker in the Brahms Double Concerto with the Philharmonie Stettin under Przemysław Neumann.
brandenburgische-sommerkonzerte.org

Bregenz Festival
July 16 – August 17
This festival – with its picturesque lake stage and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra as resident ensemble – focuses mainly on opera, but has an orchestral programme, music theatre, drama and other offerings too. The 2025 edition opens with a new production from Andreas Kriegenburg of Enescu’s Oedipe. There’s also Weber’s Der Freischütz, the Austrian premiere of choreographer Tero Saarinen’s Borrowed Light, and much more.
bregenzerfestspiele.com

Chorégies d’Orange
June 13 – July 25
Europe’s oldest festival takes place in the famous Théâtre Antique d’Orange near Avignon. Two Verdi operas appear in concert versions this year: Il trovatore conducted by Jader Bignamini and starring Anna Netrebko, and La forza del destino conducted by Daniele Rustioni. There’s also Mozart’s Requiem, McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio and Swan Lake performed by Ballet Preljocaj.
choregies.fr

Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie
August 23–30
Les Arts Florissants’ summer festival takes place in France’s Vendée region, in the gardens of William Christie’s late 16th-century house. One highlight for 2025 is a performance of the ensemble’s namesake opera, Charpentier’s Les arts florissants, on the platform by the reflective pool. The full programme appears online in June.
arts-florissants.org

Musique et Vin au Clos Vougeot
June 22–29
This warmly convivial Burgundy festival under the joint artistic direction of cellist Gautier Capuçon and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is based in Château du Clos de Vougeot and the surrounding historical and cultural sites and wine domains. It presents a week of chamber concerts preceded by wine tastings, bookended by two orchestral concerts. Among the highlights is a recital given by Capuçon with Yuja Wang.
musiqueetvin-closvougeot.com

Copenhagen Opera Festival
August 15–24
This is a citywide celebration of the entire spectrum of opera, with venues ranging from the urban open-air Festival Stage to the canals and the Tivoli Gardens, with some performances site-specific. Eight brand new works feature, including Christian Balvig’s combined version of Wagner’s Ring cycle for families and children. Visiting artists include tenor Rolando Villazón and baritone André Schuen.
operafestival.dk/en

Festival de Pâques / Août Musical de Deauville
April 12–26; July 31 – August 9
Conceived as a twin-period artistic residency over which participating young musicians work with established musicians to rehearse and perform the widest range of chamber music, the festival this year features violinist Augustin Dumay, viola player Lise Berthaud, keyboardist Justin Taylor and baritone Stéphane Degout. You’ll have to hurry to catch the first period, as it’s in April.
musiqueadeauville.com

Dresden Music Festival
May 17 – June 14
With its motto of Love for 2025, this festival under the artistic direction of cellist Jan Vogler has invited orchestras and artists from three continents for its 61 concerts in 24 atmospheric venues, wishing in these times of social upheaval to send a message of understanding to the world through music. One highlight is the Concert for Peace, the Israel and Munich philharmonic orchestras performing together under Lahav Shani.
musikfestspiele.com

George Enescu International Festival
August 24 – September 21
The world’s largest meeting of major orchestras marks 70 years since the passing of its namesake. Enescu’s own compositions are strongly showcased, notably his opera Oedipe. Artistic Director Cristian Măcelaru directs the opening concert with the George Enescu Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra and soloist Nemanja Radulović, winner of the 2001 George Enescu International Violin Competition.
festivalenescu.ro

Rencontres Musicales d’Évian
June 25 – July 5
Boasting a ravishing concert hall all in wood, this major festival founded originally by Mstislav Rostropovich is these days under the artistic directorship of violinist Renaud Capuçon. Ravel’s 150th is celebrated across this year’s mix of prestigious conductors and soloists, plus young talent. The artists and ensembles include the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer, and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.
lagrangeaulac.com

Flanders Festival Ghent
September 12 – October 2
Bringing the entire city to musical life this year, festival highlights include Bach’s Mass in B minor with Vox Luminis and Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Lisa Batiashvili playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Lahav Shani, and the third edition of Night of the Imagination, guest-curated by Aïda Gabriëls.
gentfestival.be/en

Göttingen International Handel Festival
May 16–25
Power and glory, success and fame, but also their darker sides, including the depths to which great rulers have fallen, are explored in this year’s festival under the theme Laurels. The colourful programme includes Handel’s opera Tamerlano and his oratorio Solomon, featuring both internationally renowned soloists and up-and-coming artists – all in one of Germany’s most beautifully preserved cities.
hndl.de

Grafenegg Festival
August 14 – September 7
Under the artistic direction of pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, this star-studded festival takes place in the grounds of Grafenegg Castle near Vienna. Fabien Gabel directs the resident Tonkünstler Orchestra in the opening concert pairing Strauss’s Eine Alpensinfonie with Poulenc’s Concerto for two pianos, with sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque as soloists. Guest orchestras include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic.
graffenegg.com

Granada Festival
June 19 – July 13
Presenting music and dance in the Alhambra, the 2025 edition features festival debuts from the choir and orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the SWR Symphony Orchestra, with (respectively) conductors Daniel Harding, Iván Fischer and Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Ballets include Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet; there’s flamenco; and guest soloists include pianist Alexandre Kantorow.
granadafestival.org

Festival de la Grange de Meslay
June 13–22
Created by Sviatoslav Richter in 1963, this festival near Tours holds its two weekends of big-name concerts, young artists’ recitals and masterclasses in a stunning 13th-century granary. Pianist Nelson Goerner plays this year’s opening concert. The second weekend closes with a Loire-themed afternoon with La Capella de la Torre. Pianists Nikolai Lugansky and Sophia Liu also appear.
festival-la-grange-de-meslay.fr

Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Academy
July 18 – September 6
This stunning Swiss alpine festival with its important academy always presents a star-studded, wide-ranging programme. For 2025, pianists include Lucas and Arthur Jussen, Víkingur Ólafsson and Sir András Schiff; voices range from soprano Marina Viotti and mezzo Elīna Garanča to The King’s Singers; and world-class orchestras are conducted by the likes of Paavo Järvi (Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra) and William Christie (Les Arts Florissants).
gstaadmenuhinfestival.ch/en

Hamburg International Music Festival
May 1 – June 5
Over five weeks, Hamburg orchestras and star guests this year explore the theme Future. Kent Nagano conducts the Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra in the opening concert pairing Beethoven’s Symphony No 6 with Boulez’s Répons. Visitors include Daniel Harding conducting the orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Joshua Bell as soloist in Dvořák’s Violin Concerto.
musikfest-hamburg.de

Heidenheim Opera Festival
June 5 – July 27
Recently named Best Festival at the 2025 Oper! Awards, this event is presenting a Gianni Schicchi and Elektra double bill, staged by Vera Nemirova and conducted by Marcus Bosch, at both the Festspielhaus and Schloss Hellenstein. Bosch also conducts the next instalment in the series of early Verdi operas, Attila, in a production by Matthias Piro. A concert series also runs alongside the operas.
opernfestspiele.de

Herbstgold
September 10–21
Based at Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt, this Austrian festival under the artistic direction of violinist-conductor Julian Rachlin welcomes back the Chamber Orchestra of Europe as its resident ensemble, with Sir András Schiff playing–directing it through two Mozart piano concertos for the opening concert. Further notable guests are violinist Janine Jansen and Hollywood actor John Malkovich.
herbstgold.at/en

Herrenchiemsee Festival
July 15–27
Based at Bavaria’s Herrenchiemsee Castle (King Ludwig II’s famous copy of the Palace of Versaille), the festival this year is titled Time of Flowering. Its own patron, conductor Kent Nagano, is among the many artists performing music displaying striking developments in their composers’ work. Included on the programme are Mozart’s C minor Mass and Brahms’s Second and Fourth Symphonies, and among the artists are the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Gabrieli Singers and Paul McCreesh, pianist Alexandra Dovgan, and more.
herrenchiemsee-festspiele.de

Hidalgo Festival für Junge Klassik
September – October
This Munich festival named after the Schumann Lied Der Hildago presents unique concerts under a remit to bring seemingly contradicting worlds together. Expect innovative concert experiences, this year on the theme of Connections.
hidalgofestival.de

Incontri in Terra di Siena
July 19–27
This Tuscan chamber music festival’s seven concerts, held at La Foce and other stunning Val d’Orcia locations, begin with Artistic Director Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung playing Schubert’s piano four-hands Fantasia in F minor, paired with tenor Mark Padmore singing Schubert’s Schwanengesang. Pianist Sunwook Kim, violinist Clara Jumi Kang and horn player Radek Baborák make festival debuts.
itslafoce.org

Innsbruck Festival of Early Music
July 25 – August 31
Who is pulling the strings? That’s the question explored across this year’s 54-strong array of concerts and operas. The mytholocial figure of Iphigenia inhabits two opera productions: Caldara’s Ifigenia in Aulide and Traetta’s Ifigenia in Tauride. The many top artists and ensembles include countertenor Andreas Scholl, Le Concert de la Loge, and Christina Pluhar with L’Arpeggiata.
altemusik.at/en

Istanbul Music Festival
June 11–26
Taking place at heritage sites such as the Greek Orthodox monastery on the island of Kinaliada, the 53rd edition is themed Beyond Borders, offering multigenre classical music from Baroque to contemporary, multinational traditional music, plus world premieres. Ensembles and artists include the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Geneva Camerata, pianists Hélène Grimaud and Rafał Blechacz, and violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann.
muzik.iksv.org/en

Itinéraire Baroque
July 31 – August 3
Championing Baroque gems in historic churches and chateaux across the French Dordogne, harpsichordist and conductor Ton Koopman’s festival opens this year with a French rarity, Clérambault’s cantata Pyrame et Thisbé, performed by A Nocte Temporis and tenor Reinoud Van Mechelen. There’s also a Molière play, La Risonanza under Fabio Bonizzoni, and Koopman directing his own Amsterdam Baroque.
itinerairebaroque.com

Festival Piano aux Jacobins
September 4–30
Held in Toulouse’s magnificent Cloître des Jacobins, this festival continues its remit to invite pianists largely unknown on the French scene, either classical or jazz, such as Clayton Stephenson and Elisabeth Brauss, along with legends faithful to the festival such as Elisabeth Leonskaja, who celebrates her 80th birthday with two carte blanche concerts with Pavel Kolesnikov, Samson Tsoy and Mihály Berecz.
pianojacobins.com

Kissinger Sommer
June 20 – July 20
‘Je ne regrette rien’ is the motto of this international classical music festival this year, with a focus on France. Expect a packed programme of concerts from major orchestras and soloists, all wrapped up in the glorious surroundings of the spa town Bad Kissingen, Bavaria’s historic Unesco World Heritage Site.
kissingersommer.de

IMUKO (International Music Festival Koblenz)
April 27 – November 10
Presenting orchestral and chamber music concerts at some of the most beautiful concert halls along the Rhine riverside, the festival programmes 21 concerts this year, featuring artists such as violinist Augustin Dumay, viola player Lawrence Power, the Modigliani Quartet and festival founder the cellist Benedict Kloeckner.
internationales-musikfestival-koblenz.de

Klosters Music Festival
July 26 – August 3
Just seven years old, but already newly positioning the famous Swiss ski resort as a summer destination, Klosters Music is themed Myths and Legends this year, nodding to its own mountainous, legend-filled Graubünden canton. Eleven concerts, four of them symphonic, opening with Haydn’s Nelson Mass from the Zurich Sing-Akademie and Munich Chamber Orchestra. Other highlights include Augustin Hadelich playing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.
klosters-music.ch

Kronberg Academy
Chamber Music Connects the World: May 9–18
Kronberg Academy Festival: September 23 – October 5
The world-leading Kronberg Academy’s festivals present the greatest international soloists making music with some of the finest rising artists, with concerts held in its stunning Casals Forum. The May festival this year welcomes back alumni from 2007–24 to play chamber music together, with open rehearsals and eight public concerts. In September, the theme is Good Vibrations. Expect major names at both events.
kronbergacademy.de

Laus Polyphoniae
August 22
This Antwerp festival centred entirely on music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance this year focuses on polyphony from the age of cathedral builders (1140–1440). Highlights include the Huelgas Ensemble and Graindelavoix exploring polyphony across the centuries; Alla Francesca Jeune Ensemble performing music created alongside the building of Paris’s Notre-Dame; and Hespèrion XXI exploring the Marian devotions in Catalonia’s Llibre Vermell.
amuz.be/en/laus-polyphoniae

Leipzig BachFest
June 12–22
This Bach-focused festival stands out for its connections with a place where Bach lived and worked, and for the participation of its historic venues and the famous local ensembles Thomanerchor Leipzig and the Gewandhaus Orchestra. The theme for 2025 is Transformation, the opening concert featuring Liszt’s Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H played by Thomaskirche organist Johannes Lang.
bachfestleipzig.de

Linos Festival
September 20–28
The Linos Trio’s Cologne chamber music festival aims to push the boundaries of classical chamber music, thinking and presenting it in innovative and fresh ways. Expect interesting repertoire, and top-drawer guests. Programme to be announced at time of writing.
linosfestival.de

Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival
July 10–19
This Austrian festival under cellist Nicolas Altstaedt’s artistic direction is based in Lockenhaus’s ancient knight’s castle and Baroque church. Further magic comes from the repertoire often being chosen at short notice, based on what the musicians feel inspired to play. Artists in 2025 include festival-founding violinist Gidon Kremer, viola player Lawrence Power, tenor Julian Prégardien and keyboardist Sir András Schiff.
kammermusikfest.at

Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival
July 7–12
Set amid Norway’s spectacular Lofoten islands, this festival invites its artists to stay all week, performing in various constellations. Engegård Quartet founding violinist Arvid Engegård is Artistic Director for 2025 – and the Engegård performs, as do the Marmen, Gerhard and Goldberg quartets. Other artists include pianists Marc-André Hamelin and Anna Fedorova (who makes her festival debut), and Trio Con Brio Copenhagen.
lofotenfestival.com

Lucerne Festival
August 12 – September 14
This mighty Swiss festival begins as ever with its Music Director Riccardo Chailly at the helm of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra for the opening performance – Mahler’s Symphony No 10 and Rückert-Lieder with mezzo Elīna Garanča. Visiting artists include Klaus Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in a programme featuring Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto played by Janine Jansen.
lucernefestival.ch

Chamber Music at Lundsgaard
August 7–10
Under the artistic direction of Trio con Brio Copenhagen, this intimate festival takes place at Denmark’s picturesque Lundsgaard Manor, on the Funen seaside. On the theme of Flows, the 2025 edition has a mix of Danish and international artists including the Marmen Quartet, pianist Enrico Pace and cellist Jonathan Swensen. Also there’s a special appearance by the Hungarian violinist Ernő Kállai Kiss Jnr and his Gypsy Band.
kammermusikfestival.dk

MA Festival
August 1–10
Based in Bruges, this early music festival has a special focus on new generation artists, its concert programme complemented by an academy which this year welcomes the musicians from Juilliard415, the primary period-instrument ensemble at the Juilliard School in New York. Violinist-composer Elisabeth Klinck performs this year’s Younger than Jesus series, creating early music-based new music.
mafestival.be

Mahler Festival
May 8–18
This is a grand, citywide tribute to Mahler in Amsterdam, hosted by the Concertgebouw, featuring his symphonies and songs, with many free events. Lorenzo Viotti leads the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra in the opening theatrical concert, Dear Mahler! Other orchestras, beyond the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Klaus Mäkelä, include the Chicago and NHK symphony orchestras and the Berlin Philharmonic. Singers will be accompanied by Julius Drake.
mahlerfestival.concertgebouw.nl/en

MeetMusic Open Air
August 14–16
Set beneath the trees of Draiflessen park, and curated by sisters Anouchka and Katharina Hack (respectively cellist and pianist), this year’s edition features the Hanke Brothers with their blend of classical and pop; and a culinary concert given by Ukrainian pianist Marina Baranova, in which she pairs music by Couperin, Ravel and herself with French and Ukrainian dishes.
meetmusic.online/en

Festival Messiaen au Pays de la Meije
July 19–27
Set against the spectacular backdrop of the Massif des Écrins in the French Alps at La Grave, facing the Meije glacier, the festival is celebrating two composers born 100 years ago this year: Boulez and Berio. Guest artists include soprano Barbara Hannigan and pianists Bertrand Chamayou, Michel Béroff and Marie-Josèphe Jude.
festivalmessiaen.com

Mikkeli Music Festival
August 2–10
The only Finnish festival that specialises in large symphonic concerts is set against the backdrop of the country’s largest lake, Saimaa. For 2025 it concentrates on music inspired by legendary epics such as The Kalevala, interpreted by top musicians including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Jyväskylä Sinfonia and Sinfoniaorkesteri Vivo.
mikkelinmusiikkijuhlat.fi

Molyvos International Music Festival
August 12–19
Situated on the Greek island of Lesbos, this festival under the artistic direction of pianist sisters Danae and Kiveli Dörken explores the theme of Chaos for 2025. Guest artists include violinists Antje Weithaas and Florian Donderer, viola players Georgy Kovalev and Sindy Mohamed, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff and three of the island’s own musicians who originally arrived as refugees.
molyvosfestival.com/en

Monteverdi Festival
June 13–29
This vibrant festival celebrating Monteverdi and his world in his birth city of Cremona is presenting two new productions: Monteverdi’s Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria and Cavalli’s Ercole amante. There’s also the premiere of the new critical edition of Palestrina’s Requiem, and the array of prominent visiting artists includes mezzo Cecilia Bartoli, The Tallis Scholars and male soprano Maayan Licht.
monteverdifestivalcremona.it

Festival Radio France Occitanie Montpellier
July 6–19
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Radio France’s live-programming jewel is presenting more than a hundred musical events (some of them free) in more than fifty venues in and around Montpellier, featuring artists such as Daniil Trifonov performing Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto with the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra under Daniel Harding. Ravel’s 150th birthday is also celebrated, not least by pianist Bertrand Chamayou, who performs his entire solo piano works.
lefestival.eu

Moritzburg Festival
August 8–24
Under the artistic directorship of cellist Jan Vogler, this chamber music festival draws renowned soloists and outstanding young artists from around the world to work together on chamber repertoire, then present it in open-air concerts at Moritzburg Castle. This year’s festival embarks on a musical journey through 19th-century Europe, with Vogler joined by trumpet player Tine Thing Helseth and pianist Anton Mejias, among others.
moritzburgfestival.de

Munich Opera Festival
June 27 – July 31
This year’s headline productions are David Hermann’s new Mozart Don Giovanni (this year’s Opera for All screening on Max-Joseph-Platz), with Vladimir Jurowski conducting a cast headed by Konstantin Krimmel; and the first ever Bavarian State Opera production of Fauré’s Pénélope, under Susanna Mälkki. The theme of Myths includes Strauss’s Die Liebe der Danae and the Bavarian State Ballet with La sylphide.
staatsoper.de/en/munich-opera-festival

Musique Cordiale International Festival and Academy
July 29 – August 9
Set in the Var Seillans and Pays de Fayence, this festival dotted around Provence’s atmospheric medieval hill towns presents evening and lunchtime concerts attached to a string academy. Expect Baroque, chamber and orchestral music, a little popular music and jazz, and Haydn’s The Creation as the closing concert.
musique-cordiale.com

New Ross Piano Festival
September 24–28
This small Irish town’s unique festival presents Irish and international pianists in solo and chamber settings. This year there’s a new jazzy element offered by Duo Pianistico. Festival Artistic Director Finghin Collins performs as usual, while further pianists include Daniel Lebhardt, Magdalene Ho, John O’Conor and Danae Dörken. Beyond pianists, there’s the Castalian Quartet.
newrosspianofestival.com

Birgit Nilsson Days
August 4–9
This festival comprises a week of events taking place at the Birgit Nilsson Museum, the farm where Sweden’s legendary singer grew up, on the southern Bjäre peninsula. There’s a focus on young talent and the community, and highlights include a closing performance of Verdi’s Aida on Sweden’s famous tennis centre court in Båstad, starring Joyce El-Khoury.
birgitnilsson.com

Odessa Classics
March 28 – September 29
Between 2015 and 2021, Ukraine’s historic port city hosted a music festival every June, presenting some of classical music’s biggest names. It has since continued in exile, and this year presents editions in Greece, Germany and Switzerland. Joining pianist festival founder Alexey Botvinov are artists including pianist Grigory Sokolov, cellist Mischa Maisky, baritone Ludovic Tézier and violinist Alissa Margulis.
odessaclassics.com

L’Offrande Musicale
June 29 – July 11
Based in and around the cities of Tarbes and Lourdes, this Hautes-Pyrénées festival founded by pianist David Fray, who also performs, brings major names to play at wheelchair-friendly venues where significant floor space is reserved for wheelchairs, and 20 per cent of tickets are offered free to anyone disabled plus a companion. This year’s guest artists include the Orchestre National de France and violinist Daniel Lozakovich.
loffrandemusicale.fr

Festival O/Modernt
June 13–15
Held at Stockholm’s Queen Silvia Concert Hall, violinist Hugo Ticciati’s festival with its always-inventive programming this year focuses on the theme of Crossings. Classics by Beethoven, Britten, Haydn and Purcell are interwoven with groundbreaking works and new commissions by contemporary composers including Caroline Shaw, Bryce Dessner, Nicola Campogrande and Sauli Zinovjev; plus there are imaginative arrangements of rock and pop.
omodernt.com/summer-festival

Palazzetto Bru Zane Festival
May 24 – July 2
Shining its usual spotlight on French musical heritage from the period 1780 to 1920, and especially championing forgotten repertoire, the Paris festival this year honours the 150th anniversary of Bizet’s death, notably with a double bill of L’Arlésienne and Le Docteur Miracle at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Other events include Edgar Moreau in an evening of works for cello and ensemble.
bru-zane.com

Pärnu Music Festival
July 16–25
The Järvi family’s Baltic seaside festival and academy this year celebrates the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt (a close friend of the Järvis) while also celebrating its own 15th edition. Neeme Järvi launches the event with Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten, and Paavo Järvi follows, leading the Estonian Festival Orchestra in four programmes centred on Pärt’s works.
parnumusicfestival.ee

Festival du Périgord Noir
August 3–17
This festival is underpinned by an International Baroque Academy of the highest level directed by Iñaki Encina Oyón, its teachers including violinist Johannes Pramsohler, cellist Kristin von der Goltz and vocal coach Carlos Aransay, who also perform. Guest artists at this year’s Mediterranean-themed edition include cellist Astrig Siranossian with pianist Abdel Rahman El Bacha, and the Modigliani Quartet.
festivalmusiqueperigordnoir.com

Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci
June 13–29
Centred on historically informed performance and set in and around the Prussian palaces and gardens of Potsdam, this festival under the artistic direction of recorder player Dorothee Oberlinger is based on a Grand Tour theme for 2025. Highlights include the performance of Steffani’s opera Orlando generoso under Oberlinger, with Ensemble 1700 and a brilliant cast of singers headed by countertenor Terry Wey.
musikfestspiele-potsdam.de

Pablo Casals Festival, Prades
July 29 – August 8
This historic festival in the French Pyrenees city of Prades, founded by the great cellist-conductor Pablo Casals, is celebrating its 75th anniversary with opening and closing concerts played as usual by its festival orchestra under artistic director Pierre Bleuse, the former featuring Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Gautier Capuçon. Other artists include pianist Christian Zacharias. The informal Club concerts continue, too.
prades-festival-casals.com

Prague Spring Festival
May 12 – June 3
Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja is artist-in-residence for this 80th edition, with Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire among her concerts. Visiting ensembles include the Boston, Chicago, NHK and Vienna symphony orchestras, plus the London Symphony Orchestra for the first time in 20 years, with Sir Antonio Pappano conducting Lisa Batiashvili in Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto. The Ébène Quartet performs both classical music and jazz, and this year’s Prague Spring International Music Competition is devoted to oboists and cellists.
festival.cz/en

Ravel Festival
August 28 – September 7
The 150th anniversary of the birth of Ravel makes this a major year for this festival rooted in and around his birthplace, Saint-Jean-de-Luz / Ciboure. Much of his output is covered, by major names such as the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris conducted by Thomas Adès. Ramon Lazkano’s chamber opera La main gauche receives its world premiere; and Bertrand Chamayou performs Ravel’s Left Hand Piano Concerto to a video installation by Anri Sala.
festivalravel.fr

Rheingau Music Festival
June 22 – September 7
This is a huge festival, spread across the Rheingau regions, with venues ranging from cultural monuments to secluded wineries. This year’s five main artists are accordionist Martynas Levickis, conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, violinist Renaud Capuçon, guitarist Thibaut Garcia and jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater. Further guests include violinist María Dueñas. Thematic programming explores Spain, the world of dance and Ravel’s 150th anniversary.
rmf.de

Piano à Riom
June 4–18
Ravel’s birthday is celebrated in several concerts at this piano-centred festival in France’s Auvergne region under the artistic direction of pianist Suzana Bartal. Pianist visitors include Jean-François Heisser and rising talent Tom Carré. Harpsichordist Justin Taylor returns to perform Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Other instrumentalists include Diyang Mei, principal viola player of the Berlin Philharmonic.
piano-a-riom.com

Festival International de Piano de La Roque d’Anthéron
July 19 – August 17
Filling the extensive grounds and spectacular outdoor stage of Provence’s Château de Florans each year with the piano world’s greatest names, this festival opens its 2025 edition with Maxim Emelyanychev playing–directing the Paris Chamber Orchestra in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 22, K482. Other pianists include Alexandre Kantorow, Víkingur Ólafsson, Bertrand Chamayou and Nikolai Lugansky.
festival-piano.com

Rosendal Chamber Music Festival
August 6–10
For its final ever edition, this festival returns to Norwegian roots and the local region of Hardanger which has inspired artists including Grieg, Tveitt and festival composer Knut Vaage. Joining Artistic Director Leif Ove Andsnes for the grand finale are more than thirty artists and guest speakers.
baroniet.no/rosendal-festival

Salzburg Festival (Whitsun)
June 6–9
Under the artistic directorship of Cecilia Bartoli, the festival is themed Sounds of La Serenissima (Venice) and features music spanning five centuries from Monteverdi to Mantovani. Performances include Verdi’s La traviata and a recital of Rossini’s Venetian arias.
salzburgerfestspiele.at

Salzburg Festival (Summer)
July 18 – August 31
The world’s leading opera, music and drama festival is presenting 174 performances across 15 venues, and 37 more as part of the youth programme. Highlights include Cecilia Bartoli singing the role of Aracne in a newly commissioned Venice-themed pasticcio from Barrie Kosky setting texts from Ovid’s Metamorphoses to music by Vivaldi. There’s also Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda and Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto.
salzburgerfestspiele.at

Savonlinna Opera Festival
July 4 – August 2
Operas at this Finnish festival take place in the grounds of the city’s medieval Olavinlinna castle, supported by its own festival orchestra, choir and children’s choir. It opens with Verdi’s Macbeth, with Ludovic Tézier in the title-role. There’s also Puccini’s Turandot, Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Kokkonen’s The Last Temptations and Purcell’s The Fairy Queen.
operafestival.fi/en

Schackenborg Musikfest
August 8–10
Founded and directed by the Danish Clarinet Trio and taking place in the idyllic grounds of Schackenborg Castle in southern Denmark, the festival this year features 12 artists, including France’s Van Kuijk Quartet, Belcea Quartet violinist Suyeon Kang, soprano Christina Herresthal and lutenist Fredrik Bock.
musikfest.nu

Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival
July 5 – August 31
Always star-studded, this is Germany’s largest classical music festival, whose famous festival orchestra of young musicians was founded in 1987 by Leonard Bernstein. This 40th edition focuses on Istanbul and pianist Fazıl Say, while also welcoming a dizzying array of top German and international orchestras, and soloists such as cellist Sol Gabetta, saxophonist Jess Gillam and pianist Grigory Sokolov.
shmf.de

Schubertiade Hohenems / Schwarzenberg
April, May, June, July, August, October
Begun as a small recital and chamber concert series in 1976, it’s now celebrating its 50th edition as the world’s largest and most renowned Schubert festival, albeit still with an intimate atmosphere. There’ll be 30 song recitals, 25 chamber concerts, 13 piano recitals and a piano matinee, with the world’s most esteemed chamber artists performing, among them baritone Konstantin Krimmel, the Hagen Quartet and pianist Marc-André Hamelin.
schubertiade.at

Festival Septembre Musical Montreux-Vevey
September 3–14
This vibrant Swiss riviera festival’s usual principal venue, the Auditorium Stravinski, is still closed for renovation, so it’s continuing to spread its concerts across an array of magnificent venues around the area. Visiting artists and ensembles include cellists Gautier Capuçon and Kian Soltani, violinists Alexandra Conunova and Leticia Moreno and pianist Alexander Malofeev.
septembremusical.ch

Oper im Steinbruch (Opera in the Quarry)
July 9 – August 23
Held in the St Margarethen Quarry, Europe’s largest natural stage, embedded within a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape, this Austrian open-air opera festival is presenting a new production by Philipp M Krenn of Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer, led by internationally renowned Wagner conductor Patrick Lange, who makes his festival debut.
operimsteinbruch.at/en

Festival Un Temps pour Elles
June 6 – July 6
This festival promoting women composers dots itself around beautiful Val-d’Oise sites such as the Château de La Roche-Guyon. Its 2025 edition presents the world premiere of a piece by Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber, a rare lyrical work by Holmès and a weekend of programming on the theme of the Four Seasons. Artists include pianist David Kadouch, mezzo Marielou Jacquard and harpsichordist Justin Taylor.
festivaluntempspourelles.com

Tsinandali Festival
September 4–14
This Georgian festival with its Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda’s musical direction is based on the historic Tsinandali wine estate in Georgia’s stunning Kakheti region, its concerts split between a 1200-capacity open amphitheatre and a chamber concert hall. This year’s starry guests include cellist Mischa Maisky, conductors Kent Nagano and Zubin Mehta and the Jerusalem Quartet.
tsinandalifestival.ge

Valdres Sommersymfoni
June 25–29
This Norwegian festival offers encounters with world-renowned musicians in atmospheric settings such as barns and churches, and outdoors amid spectacular rural scenery. This year’s opening concert stars violinist Alexander Rybak.
sommersymfoni.no

Epicentre Venice
September 5–7
Finally, a serious classical music festival for Venice. This brand new festival is presenting 19 concerts across seven historically significant venues, including private palazzos that are rarely accessible to the public. Full details are announced in May, but it promises the world’s finest soloists and orchestras, and a celebration of the composers Venice inspired, from Handel to Stravinsky to Bernstein.
epicentervenice.com

Verbier Festival
July 16 – August 3
The Swiss Alpine festival brings major classical artists, often performing together in unprecedented chamber constellations, alongside a world-famous academy plus the popular UNLTD fringe programme. Ravel’s 150th anniversary is marked notably by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet performing his complete solo piano works, and Barbara Hannigan makes her festival debut leading the Verbier Festival Orchestra in a programme ranging from Haydn to Richard Rodgers.
verbierfestival.com

Verona Arena Opera Festival
June 13 – September 6
Held in the spectacular Arena di Verona, the 102nd edition of this huge opera festival features productions of Verdi’s Nabucco, Aida, Rigoletto and La traviata and Bizet’s Carmen. Concerts include a gala night with tenor Jonas Kaufmann, Orff’s Carmina Burana and a multisensory Vivaldi The Four Seasons; and there’s ballet as usual from Roberto Bolle and friends.
arena.it

Les Festivals de Wallonie
June 26 – October 26
Les Festivals de Wallonie bring together seven classical music festivals across Wallonia and Brussels, each with its own identity, spanning early to contemporary music, solo to symphonic repertoire, and featuring top musicians from Belgium and Europe. The 2025 theme, Curiosities, highlights artists like gambist François Joubert-Caillet and his ensemble L’Achéron, soprano Lore Binon and pianist Julien Libeer.
lesfestivalsdewallonie.be

West Cork Chamber Music Festival
June 27 – July 6
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the festival brings its usual mix of top and rising international chamber ensembles and soloists, this year beginning with a Bantry House concert given by the Ukrainian-French Tchalik Quartet and featuring the world premiere of a festival anniversary commission by Cork composer Sam Perkin. Also appearing are the Chiarascuro Quartet, violinist Henning Kraggerud and pianist Barry Douglas.
westcorkmusic.ie/chamber-music-festival

Wexford Festival Opera
October 17 – November 1
This Irish festival with its commitment to introducing audiences to unjustly neglected works is themed Myths and Legends for 2025, featuring three mainstage operas: Verdi’s Le trouvère, Handel’s Deidamia and Delius’s The Magic Fountain. There are also pocket operas, concerts, lunchtime recitals and pop-up events. General booking opens on May 7.
wexfordopera.com

International Festival Wratislavia Cantans
September 4–14
Celebrating vocal and instrumental music since 1965, this festival based in and around Wrocław, Poland, showcases top local ensembles such as the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, plus a long list of starry guests. The theme of the 2025 edition is Paradise Lost, with visiting artists including pianist Martha Argerich, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Christoph Eschenbach and Vox Luminis.
nfm.wroclaw.pl/en

Zeist Music Days – International Chamber Music Festival and Masterclasses
August 16–30
This Netherlands festival under the artistic directorship of Jerusalem Quartet first violinist Alexander Pavlovsky presents concerts from some of the world’s greatest quartets, alongside masterclasses for young professional ensembles. Performing ensembles for 2025 include the Casals (its members also teaching), Leonkoro and Danish quartets, and the Sitkovetsky Trio.
zeistmusicdays.nl

North America & Beyond

Aspen Music Festival and School
July 2 – August 24
Highlights of this historic Colorado festival and academy’s 76th season include premieres of works by Christopher Theofanidis and Thomas Adès, and soprano Renée Fleming’s debut as opera director (Così fan tutte). Also there’ll be performances from violinist Gil Shaham, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, cellists Alisa Weilerstein and Sheku Kanneh-Mason, actress-singer Patti LuPone, conductors Stephane Denève and Vasily Petrenko and pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Yefim Bronfman and Lang Lang.
aspenmusicfestival.com

Orchestra of St Luke’s Bach Festival
June 3–24
The annual New York festival based at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall features early music ensemble Vox Luminis’s director Lionel Meunier with soprano Gemma Nha and countertenor Reginald Mobley, French violinist and conductor Théotime Langlois de Swarte, pianist Angela Hewitt, and a performance of the Brandenburg Concertos.
oslmusic.org/24-25/bach-festival

Bard SummerScape
June 27 – August 17
The multi-arts Bard SummerScape’s 2025 return to Hudson Valley, NY, features the 35th Bard Music Festival: two weekends of concerts and panels on the theme of Martinů and his World (August 8–17). There’s also a new production of Smetana’s opera Dalibor; a world premiere from Pam Tanowitz Dance with original music by Caroline Shaw; the beloved Spiegeltent – and much more.
fishercenter.bard.edu/whats-on/programs/summerscape

Beyond Baroque
October 23-26, 2025
November 8, 2025
February 12-15, 2026
April 30 – May 3, 2026
Through four short festivals of between one and four days in length, Early Music Seattle unites international artists with local Seattle artists, organisations and partners to celebrate the global interconnectedness of early music cultures. Among this season’s world-renowned ensembles and soloists taking part are Tafelmusik, Twelfth Night Ensemble, soprano and harpist Hana Blažíková and countertenor Philippe Jaroussky.
earlymusicseattle.org

Blossom Music Festival
July 3 – September 7
The Cleveland Orchestra’s summer residency in Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park (which celebrates its 50th anniversary) features seven classical programmes including Jonathan Hayward’s debut with the orchestra, conducting Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, and Elim Chan conducting Mahler’s Titan Symphony. Among pops favourites is an evening with Grammy-nominated actress and singer-songwriter Cynthia Erivo, and there are two film presentations.
clevelandorchestra.com

Bravo! Vail Music Festival
June 19 – July 31
Set against Colorado’s majestic Rocky Mountains, this major festival’s orchestras for 2025 are the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Mexico’s Sinfónica de Minería, with soloists including Yefim Bronfman playing both Brahms piano concertos. Chamber concerts, meanwhile, include a solo recital from violinist Gil Shaham.
bravovail.org

Britt Music and Arts Festival
June 13-29
Set in Oregon’s Rogue Valley, this festival’s classical offering comes from the Britt Festival Orchestra and is this year led by conductors Damon Gupton, Chia-Hsuan Lin, Roberto Kalb and Norman Huynh. The event begins with screenings of Jurassic Park accompanied live, and later highlights include Clayton Stephenson as soloist in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G.
brittfest.org/britt-festival-orchestra

June in Buffalo
June 1-7
Based at the University of Buffalo, this combined festival and conference dedicated to contemporary composers offers an intensive schedule of seminars, lectures, workshops, open rehearsals and more, with public concerts featuring faculty composers and resident musicians.
arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/music21c/june-in-buffalo

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
July 27 – August 10
The 2025 edition of this Californian festival celebrates the legacy of queer and courageous voices that have shaped the event since 1961. Music Director Cristian Măcelaru and guest conductor Daniela Candillari lead the festival orchestra and guests in works by more than twenty composers, including three world premieres and a new song-cycle by Jake Heggie.
cabrillomusic.org

Caramoor
June 21 – August 3
The historic Caramoor estate in Katonah, NY, presents operas this year by Monteverdi and Telemann, alongside a sparkling concert lineup featuring the Orchestra of St Luke’s with conductors Rafael Payare and Teddy Abrams, and violin and piano soloists Christian Tetzlaff and Garrick Ohlsson. There are also performances given by The Knights with mandolinist Chris Thile; Sō Percussion with Caroline Shaw; and the famed piano trio made up of Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma.
caramoor.org

Carmel Bach Festival
July 12-26
Set in the stunning Californian town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, this festival returns for its 88th season with a programme on the theme of Dialogues, exploring musical conversations across time via works such as Bach’s Mass in B minor and The Art of the Fugue, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Harmoniemesse and works by Stravinsky and Jessie Montgomery.
bachfestival.org

Colorado MahlerFest
May 14-18
Total immersion in Mahler is what’s offered by this festival in Boulder, Colorado, under the artistic direction of conductor Kenneth Woods and supported by the Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra. This year it celebrates Defiance, Protest, Resistance and Remembrance, centred on Mahler’s Sixth Symphony and expanding out via works including Ullmann’s satirical opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis, oder, Die Tod-Verweigerung (‘The Emperor of Atlantis, or, Death Goes on Strike’) and Schulhoff’s String Sextet.
mahlerfest.org

Glimmerglass Festival
July 11 – August 17
Celebrating its 50th anniversary season, this opera festival (named after Otsego Lake, NY) is presenting mainstage productions of Puccini’s Tosca, Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George, Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, the world premiere of Derek Bermel’s The House on Mango Street (based on Sandra Cisneros’s classic book) and Ben Moore’s youth opera Odyssey in Francesca Zambello’s original production.
glimmerglass.org

Grand Teton Music Festival
July 3 – August 23
Set in the foothills of Wyoming’s Teton Mountain Range, this festival opens its 2025 programme with Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles conducting the festival orchestra and renowned soloists in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The season concludes with Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Other highlights include violinist James Ehnes performing Brahms’s Violin Concerto, Mahler’s lesser heard Seventh Symphony and a piano recital given by Clayton Stephenson.
gtmf.org

La Jolla Music Society SummerFest
July 25 – August 23
This Californian festival takes Milestones as its theme for 2025, with dozens of the best classical musicians converging on La Jolla for four weeks of concerts curated by acclaimed concert pianist Inon Barnatan. Highlights include soprano Renée Fleming’s SummerFest debut, and a Tasting Notes concert featuring chef and food writer J Kenji López-Alt.
theconrad.org/summerfest

Lake George Music Festival
June 8-19
Located in the grounds of Lake George’s historic Fort William Henry Hotel, this New York State festival directed by violinist Barbora Kolářová, composer Alyssa Weinberg and conductor Roger Kalia offers a collaborative retreat for instrumentalists seeking to advance intellectually, artistically and professionally within a tight-knit, nurturing community, without a formal faculty–student dichotomy. These musicians then perform in public concerts.
lakegeorgemusicfestival.com

Music from Land’s End, Wareham
July 25-27, August 8-10
This Massachusetts festival presents concerts led by Artistic Director and violinist Ariadne Daskalakis and featuring special local and guest artists. Keep an eye on the website for the full schedule announcement.
mlewareham.org

Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City
June 11 – August 9
This festival each year sees Lincoln Center’s outdoor campus transformed into a colourful oasis, complete with its own Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center. New Yorkers can experience hundreds of free events showcasing the power of the live arts. Expect opera, dance, jazz, family programmes and more.
lincolncenter.org/series/summer-for-the-city

Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival
June 18-28
Based in San Diego, California, North America’s largest Mozart-centred festival draws musicians for its All-Star Orchestra from top US and Canadian ensembles such as the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. This year’s six performances open with Music Director Michael Francis conducting Mozart’s newly discovered Serenade in C alongside ‘four seasons’ music by both Vivaldi and Piazzolla.
mainlymozart.org

Manchester Music Festival
July 10 – August 7
This Vermont festival under the artistic direction of the Emerson Quartet’s Philip Setzer has a Music and Storytelling focus for 2025, illuminating the connections between literature and music. Opening night features works by Bach, Purcell, Handel and Mendelssohn played by harpsichordist Arthur Haas, flautist Emi Ferguson and others. The final concert presents Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat, its singers including soprano Christine Goerke.
mmfvt.org

Marlboro Music Festival
July 19 – August 17
With pianists Mitsuko Uchida and Jonathan Biss currently joint artistic directors, this chamber festival has taken place in beautiful southern Vermont since 1951, giving young professionals the opportunity to live, collaborate with and be nurtured by eminent artists, and then present their work in public concerts. This year’s composer-in-residence is Reena Esmail.
marlboromusic.org

Meadowmount
June 22 – August 9
Located in Westport, NY, in the Adirondack Mountains, Meadowmount is America’s most respected and beloved summer home for young violinists, viola players and cellists. It presents more than forty concerts on the campus and around the region, featuring young artists, faculty and special guests. The Kronos Quartet will be in residence in late July.
meadowmount.org/events

Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute
July 18 – August 9
Under the artistic directorship of cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han, this festival based at Menlo School in Atherton, California, is this year titled Constellations: Ensemble Magic, and there’ll be 44 mainstage artists exploring myriad strings, wind, piano and vocal chamber combinations. Composers range from Mozart to Thuille, and artists include violinists Stella Chen and Chad Hoopes.
musicatmenlo.org

Midsummer’s Music
June 12 – September 1
This chamber music festival in scenic Door County, Wisconsin, features musicians from top US ensembles such as the Chicago and Detroit symphony orchestras. Its 35th season’s repertoire ranges from Schumann and Franck piano quintets to Grammy-nominated Gernot Wolfgang’s Impressions septet for winds and strings. Another highlight is bluegrass virtuoso Eric Lewis teaming up with the Griffon Quartet.
midsummersmusic.com

Minnesota Beethoven Festival
June 29 – July 20
This festival based in the city of Winona opens with a recital of Beethoven, Brahms and Fauré sonatas from violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Peter Dugan, followed the next night by a piano recital from Daniil Trifonov. The Minnesota Orchestra performs Beethoven, Brahms and Weber, and violinist Tessa Lark offers a programme based on her 2023 Gramophone Critics’ Choice album ‘The Stradgrass Sessions’.
mnbeethovenfestival.org

Montreal Chamber Music Festival
June 7-22
The Canadian festival presents noon-hour and evening concerts this year, before closing with an afternoon concert at the Maison Symphonique.
festivalmontreal.org

Music Academy of the West – Summer Music Festival and School
June 15 – August 9
Set against the stunning backdrop of Santa Barbara, CA, the summer festival this year is presenting more than a hundred one-of-a-kind performances showcasing international artists alongside the academy’s stellar young musicians and esteemed teaching artists.
musicacademy.org

Newport Classical Music Festival
July 4-22
This Rhode Island festival sets 29 intimate concerts within the grandeur of 11 iconic venues such as Newport mansion the Breakers. Pianists Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung perform this year’s opening concert. Soprano Karen Slack, the Attacca Quartet and the Galvin Cello Quartet all perform premieres. There’s also Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with violinist Stefan Jackiw, and pianist Inon Barnaton.
newportclassical.org

The Next Festival
June 6-19
Focused on emerging artists, this festival based around upstate New York and NYC provides early-career string players with an immersive experience combining mentorship, performance opportunities and multidisciplinary collaborations. Highlights include concerts with guest ensemble Kronos Quartet; a world premiere by Jungyoon Wie; and a collaboration with MATA (Music at the Anthology) at Gibney Dance Center, featuring composer Aaron Jay Kernis and choreographer Sidra Bell.
next-fest.org

96-Hour Opera Festival
June 17–21
The Atlanta Opera’s festival-shaped new talent incubator this year showcases the impact of its 10-minute opera competition by presenting an opera by its 2023 winners, composer Dave Ragland and librettist Selda Sahin: Steele Roots is about Carrie Steele Logan, a formerly enslaved woman who founded a home for orphaned children after the American Civil War. There’s also the judging of this year’s entries.
atlantaopera.org/competition

Ojai Music Festival
June 5-8
A different music director each year curates this Californian festival at Ojai Valley’s Libbey Bowl, founded in 1947 as a ‘Salzburg Festival of the West’. This year, it’s flautist Claire Chase, whose vibrant programme offers responses to Ojai’s natural and sonic environment. Her own performances include partnering with the Jack Quartet for Terry Riley’s The Holy Liftoff.
ojaifestival.org

Oregon Bach Festival
June 27 – July 13
This year’s edition invites audiences to celebrate Bach’s genius and influence through works such as the Mass in B minor, the Brandenburg Concertos, and a reconstruction of the lost Markus Passion. Held primarily in Eugene, Oregon, the festival also features Orff’s Carmina Burana, and music by Mozart, Beethoven, Telemann and Haydn.
OregonBachFestival.org

Music in PyeongChang
July 23 – August 2
Held in the beautiful mountainous Gangwon Province under the artistic direction of cellist Sung-Won Yang, with its festival orchestra musicians drawn from the world’s top ensembles, South Korea’s famous festival offers chamber and symphonic concerts, complemented by masterclasses and mentoring programmes. With its theme Inter Harmony, the 2025 edition features composers including Mahler and Britten, and conductor Jonathan Stockhammer among the visiting artists.
mpyc.kr

Ravinia Festival
June 6 – August 31
The 2025 season features the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s annual six-week residency under Marin Alsop. Highlights include Haymarket Opera Company’s festival debut with Alcina, new commissions from Malek Jandali and Joel Thompson, and performances by cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, pianist Lang Lang and Broadway stars Kelli O’Hara and Sutton Foster.
ravinia.org

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
July 11 – August 18
Highlights for 2025 at this festival set against the backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains include the return of the Escher Quartet, with one of their two programmes featuring the US premiere of a festival-commissioned work. There’s also pianist Orian Weiss playing Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and Colin Currie giving the festival’s first ever solo percussion recital.
santafechambermusic.org

Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Philadelphia Orchestra
August 6-23
The 2,400-acre Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs, NY, has hosted the Philadelphia Orchestra’s summer residency for the past six decades, with concerts held in its woodland amphitheatre. Eye-catching events this year include a Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and Still programme under Music Director Yannick Nézét-Séguin; also the Verdi Requiem, and visits from conductor Marin Alsop, soprano Renée Fleming and pianist Beatrice Rana.
spac.org

Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival
June 20 – August 1
Under the artistic direction of multi-Gramophone Award-winning violinist James Ehnes, the world’s largest chamber music party unfolds across Seattle at locations including Benaroya Hall, local parks and even a truck! Artists joining Ehnes include pianist Yulianna Avdeeva, violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley and cellist Sterling Elliott, performing music by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Ethan Soledad, John Novacek and others.
seattlechambermusic.org/concert_series/2025-summer-festival

Singapore International Piano Festival
June 26-29
Organised by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and based at Victoria Concert Hall, this festival was established in 1994 when solo piano recitals were a rare event in the country. Kate Liu plays the opening recital. Robert Levin gives a lecture recital plus the closing recital. Paul Lewis and Kyoko Hashimoto both give a recital and a masterclass.
sso.org.sg/sipf

Spoleto Festival USA
May 23 – June 8
Charleston, South Carolina, is the host town for this famous multi-arts festival. Among the classical highlights this year is cellist Alisa Weilerstein with her Fragments series: six unique recitals featuring Bach’s Cello Suites paired with newly commissioned works by 27 contemporary composers. In terms of opera, there’s Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and a concert staging of Massenet’s Thaïs.
spoletousa.org

Summer at Orchestra Hall
June 30 – August 1
This is the Minnesota Orchestra’s summer festival, based in and celebrating its home in the city of Minneapolis. Curated by creative partner and pianist Jon Kimura Parker, the 2025 festival explores lush orchestral music and piano concertos of the Romantic era, as well as offering a family concert, film performances, outdoor concerts and chamber music.
minnesotaorchestra.org

Sun Valley Music Festival
July 28 – August 21
Incredibly, this top-drawer symphonic programme led by Alasdair Neale at Idaho’s spectacular Sun Valley Pavilion is admission-free. Highlights include Gabriela Martinez in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 20, the string trio Time for Three playing Mason Bates’s Triple Concerto, Gautier Capuçon in Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and a Ravel 150th celebration. One further event (for which there’s a charge, as it’s a fundraiser) is Yuja Wang performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1.
svmusicfestival.org

Tanglewood
July 5 – August 24
Founded in 1937, the famed learning campus and summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra opens this year with an all-Rachmaninov programme under BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons, Daniil Trifonov the soloist in Piano Concerto No 3. Nelsons also leads a concert performance of Puccini’s Tosca and the world premiere of John Williams’s Piano Concerto performed by Emanuel Ax.
bso.org

Tippet Rise
August 15 – September 14
Set against Montana’s Beartooth Mountains on a 12,500-acre working ranch, Tippet Rise presents concerts that take place indoors in its Snape Maltings-inspired Olivier Music Barn, and outdoors around its collection of striking outdoor sculptures connected by walking and cycling trails, some of which are acoustically treated. There’s also a notable collection of Steinways, and pianists visiting this season include Sir Stephen Hough and Inon Barnatan.
tippetrise.org

Toronto Summer Music Festival and Academy
July 10 – August 2
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the event reflects on two decades of unforgettable festivals, community connections and remarkable growth. Cappella Mediterranea presents a concert performance of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea. Further visiting artists and ensembles include the Rosamunde, Calidore and New Orford quartets, pianists George Li and Jaeden Izik-Dzurko and tenor Franco Fagioli.
torontosummermusic.com

Vancouver USA Arts and Music Festival
July 31 – August 3
This multidisciplinary, all-age and free-entry celebration of the Pacific Northwest’s vibrant arts scene is presented by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the City of Vancouver, Washington. Gerard Schwarz and Salvador Brotons lead the orchestra in this year’s concerts in the park, their headline soloists soprano Renée Fleming, guitarist Sharon Isbin and Americana duo Mark and Maggie O’Connor.
vancouverartsandmusicfestival.com

Vivace International Music Festival
July 30 – August 10
Hosted in Wilmington, North Carolina, this festival run by the Vivace Music Foundation presents world-class concerts to music-lovers, featuring artists such as pianist Marc-André Hamelin, violinist Amy Schwartz-Moretti and cellist Mark Kosower, alongside a top teaching faculty from around the world offering learning opportunities for aspiring young musicians, regardless of their financial resources.
vivacemusicfoundation.org