Conference

Identities, roles and challenges of classical music festivals

Insights from the new German Festival Study

A 2025 government-funded study by the cooperation partners Initiative Musik with the Bundesstiftung LiveKultur and the German Music Information Centre provides a comprehensive cross-genre analysis of Germany’s music festival landscape.

A 2025 government-funded study by the cooperation partners Initiative Musik with the Bundesstiftung LiveKultur and the German Music Information Centre provides a comprehensive cross-genre analysis of Germany’s music festival landscape.

Presenting findings from a full survey of c.1,800 German music festivals, this session explores the complexities of the landscape and the role of classical music festivals in a changing cultural context. Hosted by German and international festival organisers, they examine the artistic, economic, ecological, and social roles, as well as the representation of various genres, including classical, early, and contemporary music; and in dialogue with the audience, they discuss the identities, roles and challenges of classical music festivals in Germany and beyond.

Stephan Schulmeistrat
Stephan Schulmeistrat, Musiker, Portraits, Koeln, 18.07.2017, pictures taken by Stephan Pick
Vala Halldors
Timo Varelmann (Photo: Christian Liepe)
Natalia Oszkó Jakab (Photo: Kelemen Gergely)
Dorothea Heinze (Photo: Sebastian-Madej)

Chaired by

Stephan Schulmeistrat (Germany)
Director, German Music Information Centre

with

Dorothea Heinze (Germany)
Künstler*innen- und Projektmanagerin, fast forward classical
Timo Varelmann (Germany)
Statistics Officer, Deutscher Musikrat gGmbH / German Music Information Centre (miz)
Vala Halldors (Iceland)
Cultural manager, Crescendo
Natalia Oszkó Jakab (Hungary)
Festival Director, Valley of Arts

Venues

Gleimstraße 33, 10437 Berlin — phone: +49 30 921095624
Gethsemanekirche
Stargader Str. 77, 10437 Berlin
Holzmarktstraße 25, 10243 Berlin — phone: +49 30 47361686
Holzmarkt 25, Holzmarktstraße 25, 10243 Berlin
Franz. Str. 33D, 10117 Berlin — phone: +49 30 47997411
Holzmarkt 25, Holzmarktstraße 25, 10243 Berlin — phone: +49 175 2914719