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| Bach Festival Lübeck | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bach Festival Lübeck |
| Location | Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany |
| Years active | 1951–present |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Founders | Günter Wand; Emil Plail; Wilhelm Furtwängler |
| Genre | Classical music; Baroque music; Sacred music |
Bach Festival Lübeck
The Bach Festival Lübeck is an annual classical music festival in Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, dedicated primarily to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. The festival links traditions of North German organ culture, the legacy of the Lübeck Cathedral, and the Hanseatic patronage network with modern performance practice, international ensembles, and historically informed interpretation. It brings together performers, scholars, institutions, and audiences from across Europe, Asia, and the Americas for concerts, lectures, masterclasses, and recordings.
The festival was established in 1951 in the aftermath of World War II, drawing on the musical heritage of Lübeck and figures associated with the city such as Jakobikirche organists, the North German organ school, and the broader legacy of the Baroque era linked to Hamburg and Leipzig. Early supporters and artistic advisors included conductors and pedagogues connected to the German orchestral tradition, with ties to figures like Wilhelm Furtwängler, Günter Wand, and Karl Richter; sponsors ranged from municipal authorities of Lübeck to cultural foundations in Schleswig-Holstein, the Hanseatic League's modern civic institutions, and broadcasters like Norddeutscher Rundfunk and Deutscher Fernsehfunk. Across the Cold War and European integration periods the festival expanded its remit to include works by Dieterich Buxtehude, Georg Philipp Telemann, Heinrich Schütz, and contemporaries influenced by Bach such as Felix Mendelssohn and Max Reger, while engaging musicologists and performers associated with institutions like the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.
The festival's governance has combined municipal oversight, cultural foundations, and advisory boards featuring directors from the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and ensembles such as Camerata Salzburg and Concerto Köln. Artistic directors and guest curators have included conductors, organists, and harpsichordists with links to the Academy of Ancient Music, La Scala Concerts, Konzerthaus Berlin, and the Salzburg Festival; these leaders coordinated collaborations with orchestras like the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and ensembles such as Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Les Arts Florissants. Administrative partners have included the Lübeck Rathaus, Lübecker Dom, Musikhochschule Lübeck, and the Kulturstiftung des Bundes, while funding and media partnerships have involved institutions such as the Goethe-Institut, European Union cultural programs, BBC Radio 3, and Arte.
Performances take place in historic venues including Lübeck Cathedral, St. Mary's Church, Jakobikirche, the Musik- und Kongresshalle Lübeck, and the Lübeck Rathaus, with satellite events in venues associated with the Hanseatic Circle, such as the Buddenbrookhaus and museums dedicated to Thomas Mann and Günter Grass. The festival programs chamber series, orchestral concerts, solo recitals, organ cycles, choral services, and family concerts, often presented in collaboration with ensembles like the Monteverdi Choir, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and Collegium Vocale Gent. Site-specific projects have linked performances with institutions such as Staatsoper Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival venues, and international churches like St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, and Westminster Abbey when guest residencies occur.
The repertoire centers on the sacred and secular output of Johann Sebastian Bach, including cantatas, passions, masses, motets, keyboard works, and orchestral suites, and extends to works by Dieterich Buxtehude, Georg Böhm, Georg Philipp Telemann, Nicolaus Bruhns, and Heinrich Schütz. Festival cycles have showcased the St Matthew Passion, St John Passion, Mass in B minor, Brandenburg Concertos, Well-Tempered Clavier, Goldberg Variations, and the Christmas Oratorio, alongside Baroque passions by Telemann, Handel's oratorios, and Romantic reappraisals by Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Reger. Contemporary programming has juxtaposed Bach with composers such as Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, Sofia Gubaidulina, Wolfgang Rihm, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, commissioning new works that dialog with Baroque forms, and featuring performances by historically informed specialists from the Royal Academy of Music, Juilliard School alumni, and conservatoires across Europe.
The festival has commissioned and premiered compositions from living composers affiliated with Darmstadt School, the Internationalen Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, and academic centers like IRCAM, with composers including Arvo Pärt, Sofia Gubaidulina, Wolfgang Rihm, Klaus Huber, and Helmut Lachenmann among those whose works have been presented. Partnerships with ensembles such as Ensemble InterContemporain, Ensemble Modern, and the Lucerne Festival Strings have facilitated world premieres that reinterpret Bachian structures, while resident composers in collaboration with the Hochschule für Musik und the Bach-Archiv Leipzig have produced cantatas, organ works, and choral pieces premiered in Lübeck.
Education initiatives involve masterclasses, workshops, lecture-recitals, and youth concerts organized with the Musikhochschule Lübeck, Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, Royal College of Music, Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia, and community organizations including school music programs in Schleswig-Holstein. Scholarly symposia feature researchers from the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Deutsches Musikarchiv, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, and universities such as University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, University of Oxford, Harvard University, and the University of Cambridge. Outreach collaborates with youth orchestras, community choirs, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival's education department, and institutions like Save the Music Foundation and El Sistema-inspired programs to broaden access to choral singing, organ study, and historical performance practice.
The festival draws an international audience comprising scholars, performers, and tourists connected to cultural tourism circuits including the Hanseatic League itinerary, UNESCO World Heritage visitors, and attendees of the Salzburg Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and Lucerne Festival. Reviews and coverage have appeared in publications and media outlets such as Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The New York Times, Süddeutsche Zeitung, The Guardian, and cultural programs on ARD and ZDF, often highlighting collaborations with ensembles like the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Monteverdi Choir, Philharmonia Orchestra, and soloists from Conservatoire de Paris and Royal Academy of Music. Audience responses reflect interest in historically informed performance, contemporary commissions, and the festival's role in sustaining the musical heritage associated with Bach, Lübeck, and the North German tradition.
Category:Bach festivals Category:Music festivals in Germany