About the Musikfest Bremen

© fotoetage

The Musikfest Bremen, founded in 1989 by artistic director Thomas Albert on the initiative of the Bremen Senate and leading business partners with the aim of strengthening the cultural appeal of the city, is a festival for the extraordinary.
Year after year, the programme deliberately embraces stylistic diversity and breadth – with artistic quality as the guiding principle! Whether opera, symphonic, choral and chamber music or solo concerts, the combination of historical and contemporary repertoire, up-to-date and authentic performances as well as both traditional and unconventional venues result in projects that make the Musikfest resonate and inspire its audiences. The Musikfest concept demonstrates a pioneering spirit and an unerring instinct for musical authenticity. In and through the Musikfest concerts, the seemingly familiar can be rediscovered time and again and insights into little-known musical territories can be gained – from classical music to jazz and world music to experimental sounds.

Since 2001, the festival has opened with the concert night »Eine große Nachtmusik« in venues around the market square, which is illuminated especially for the occasion. The central venue for the festival events in Bremen is the concert hall »Die Glocke«; around half of the programme is performed in a selection of venues throughout the north-west (Oldenburg, Jever, Löningen, Cloppenburg, Papenburg, Verden, etc.). Musikfest Bremen – three weeks at the end of summer packed full of music!

36th Musikfest Bremen

© Patric Leo

The 36th Musikfest Bremen will take place from 16 August to 6 September 2025. The full Programme will be launched at the same time as tickets go on sale on 13 March. If you buy tickets before 13 April, you can take advantage of our early-bird discount.

A wide variety of music spanning five centuries awaits you in all its thrilling, vibrant and energising glory. Once again, the Musikfest Bremen invites you to immerse yourself in the powerful emotions of the unrivalled live experience – with over 50 events in the Hanseatic city, the seaside town of Bremerhaven and a selection of venues across the northwest.

As is tradition now, the dazzling opening night »Eine große Nachtmusik« (A Great Night Music) kicks off the festival around Bremen’s festively illuminated market square with its UNESCO World Heritage town hall and Roland statue. This packed musical banquet offers 18 concerts in three timeslots at nine venues and includes a diverse range of eras, genres and artists, including Marc Minkowski & Les Musiciens du Louvre, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Cappella Mariana, the Alfredo Rodriguez Quintet and Ida Nielsen & the Funkbots.

Before it all kicks off, The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and star pianist Lang Lang will perform an extra concert under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. Other highlights of the three festival weeks include performances by the ensemble Il Caravaggio & Camille Delaforge, Dhafer Youssef & Band, Kandace Springs & WDR Big Band, Le Concert Spirituel & Hervé Niquet, Lea Desandre & Ensemble Jupiter, Pene Pati & Il Pomo d'Oro and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra & Anastasia Kobekina. In addition, the Arp-Schnitger-Festival concert series in the northwest (19 to 24 August) and three Musikfest Ateliers, international academy projects for young musicians from all over the world, are also part of the festival again.