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!
37th Musikfest Bremen
© Patric Leo
The 37th Musikfest Bremen will take place from 15 August to 4 September 2026. Tickets will go on sale at the same time as the launch of the programme on 15 April. If you decide quickly and buy tickets before 10 May, you can take advantage of our early bird discount.
Embark on a fascinating musical journey and discover a wide range of eras, styles and genres, featuring famous stars and the best up-and-coming talent from around the globe – the 37th Musikfest Bremen promises an exciting array of events that will captivate audiences. There will be over 45 concerts exploring music from the Renaissance to the present day – in Bremen, Bremerhaven and a selection of venues across north-west Germany (including Cloppenburg, Cuxhaven, Ganderkesee, Grasberg, Oldenburg, Papenburg, Verden and Worpswede).
Our popular opening night »Eine große Nachtmusik« (A Great Night Music) around Bremen’s atmospherically illuminated market square with its UNESCO World Heritage town hall and Roland statue will once again offer a glamorous festival start after the summer break. Eighteen concerts at nine venues, spread across three time slots, offer an exciting mix of repertoires and genres, featuring an impressive line-up of renowned artists, including the Frankfurt Radio Symphony & Alain Altinoglu with Fazıl Say, the Ensemble Matheus & Jean-Christophe Spinosi, the Boston Early Music Festival Vocal & Chamber Ensembles and the Roberto Fonseca Group.
The programme for the next three weeks of the festival is equally compelling: The Quatuor Ebène will perform all 16 of Beethoven's string quartets over six evenings in their Beethoven cycle. Further highlights include performances by star tenor Rolando Villazón & L'Arpeggiata, Kurt Elling & the hr-Bigband, Jakub Józef Orliński & Il Pomo d'Oro, Anna Lapwood, Richard Galliano's New Viaggio Trio and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra & Sir Simon Rattle. The Arp-Schnitger Festival in the north-west (18–23 August) and two Musikfest Ateliers – international academy projects for young musicians from around the world – will also be part of the festival again this year.