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The Week in Germany: Culture June 29, 2007 Germany’s Summer Festivals: Music Wafts through Sultry German Vineyards Summer music festivals in Germany bridge a gap in entertainment when state-salaried orchestras and opera companies close down for two months or more. Top events draw visitors from distant parts of Europe and sell out well in advance. The following summer music festivals are some of the finest in Germany:
Rheingau: As the sightseeing boats slide along the Rhine, snatches of music may float downwind to them through the green vineyards on hot, sultry evenings this summer. The annual Rheingau Music Festival has already begun, taking place in one of Germany's prettiest landscapes, centered at ancient Eberbach Abbey, where classical music will echo through cloisters, crypt and basilica on two Mozart concert nights. The abbey, now the center of a state wine estate west of Frankfurt, is surrounded by picture-perfect Riesling vineyards and the chateaux like Johannisberg, another of the 40 venues. The hilltop palace was the home of Princess Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg, the late festival chairman, who died last year. The Rheingau, thanks to its southwards slope and valley heat, has always been one of Germany's best places to grow grapes and enjoy the good life. The view of the river, the wine, fine food and the music make it irresistible when summer comes. Many of the 149 events scheduled through September 1 will take place outdoors, including the conversion of the 3-kilometre-long wall of the Steinberg Vineyard into a picnic table where the audience quaffs wine while listening to strolling jazz musicians. The 54-euro (72-dollar) entrance charge includes a half-liter of wine and canapes. The major orchestral concerts take place in the nearby city of Wiesbaden. Bayreuth: Bayreuth is a festival that rewards patience. People who began applying back in 1998 may finally obtain seats at this year's Bayreuth Festival devoted exclusively to operas by Richard Wagner (July 25 to August 28). In evening dress, they will reverently take their seats for the first time in the 19th-century festival theatre, and after such a wait, who would dare complain at the lack of air-conditioning? Schleswig-Holstein: At the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, with 146 events between July 14 and September 2, all the tickets for major concerts had sold out in March, but others are still bookable. Prime venues in Schleswig-Holstein, a rural state next to the Danish border, include the Baur family's Stocksee estate, where guests can feast under spreading oaks on farm-grown raspberries before concerts in a 2,000-seat former warehouse. Stocksee: Stocksee will host the July 21-22 Musika Paprika weekend. The title is a reference to the theme nation for this year's festival, Hungary, which has not only given the world paprika but also great composers such as Bela Bartok. A week later the venue will be privately owned Wotersen Palace, where guests can picnic in style on the lawn before four piano concerts in a converted equestrian hall. Run until 1995 by its founder Justus Frantz, the festival this year will
also feature performances in nearby cities August 3-5 of Bartok's difficult
Second Piano Concerto by Chinese pianist Lang Lang. (dpa) Links: |
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