Heidelberger Frühling
The 2026 Heidelberger Frühling Musikfestival will take place from 14 March to 19 April under the motto ‘Back forward’ and celebrates the festival's return to the concert hall Konzerthaus Stadthalle Heidelberg after almost seven years of renovation. For this fourth edition, with pianist Igor Levit as co-artistic director alongside artistic director Thorsten Schmidt, 112 events are scheduled between March and April, 74 of which will take place at Konzerthaus Stadthalle.
Highlights include the opening weekend with pianist and conductor Fabian Müller, his orchestra The Trinity Sinfonia and Igor Levit as soloist, a three-day residency by the Swedish chamber orchestra O/Modernt with conductor Hugo Ticciati, a USA Day to mark the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence and a day in honour of Wolfgang Rihm.
Other artists appearing at the festival include Nicolas Altstaedt, Iveta Apkalna, Avi Avital, John Eliot Gardiner, Augustin Hadelich, Julia Hagen, Barbara Hannigan, Angela Hewitt, Steven Isserlis, René Jacobs, Magdalena Kožená, Grigory Sokolov, Lukas Sternath and internationally renowned ensembles and orchestras such as Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Freiburger Barockorchester, Bridges Chamber Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, The Constellation Choir & Orchestra, Jazzrausch Bigband, Leonkoro Quartet and the Jerusalem Quartet. The young musicians of the Festivalcampus will perform 19 concerts with programmes they have curated themselves – including some of the 15 re:start concerts in Heidelberg's districts, which are free of charge.
The 2026 Heidelberger Frühling Streichquartettfest from 22 to 25 January will also focus on the USA and its 250 years of independence. In total, Heidelberger Frühling will offer around 160 events in the 2025/26 season in the festivals, concert series and the Liedakademie.
Tickets for the 2026 Heidelberger Frühling Musikfestival and the Streichquartettfest will be available from Monday, 20 October 2025, 10h00, online at www.heidelberger-fruehling.de/en, by telephone on +49 (0)6221 584 00 44 and at all known booking offices in Germany.
‘Back forward’ is the title of the Heidelberger Frühling Musikfestival‘s return to the Konzerthaus Stadthalle Heidelberg. This principal idea is a plea for continuity through renewal, for a return to values such as curiosity, openness and a love of discourse, which have underpinned the festival since its beginning. The return to the Konzerthaus Stadthalle will be celebrated on the first weekend of the festival. The Heidelberger Frühling has deliberately placed the programme in the hands of Fabian Müller – whose career has been shaped not least by the Chamber Music Academy of Heidelberger Frühling with Igor Levit as artistic director – and his chamber orchestra The Trinity Sinfonia, which brings together many other alumni from the Heidelberger Frühling’s programme for promoting young talent. After the opening concert on Saturday with The Trinity Sinfonia, Fabian Müller and Igor Levit as soloist, the audience can spend the whole of Sunday (re)discovering all the halls of the renovated building under the title ‘Open Concert Hall’. The works from the opening concert will be performed. Four re:start concerts will be given by smaller musical ensembles from the orchestra.
On a USA Day marking the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence, the Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut Heidelberg and the Heidelberger Frühling are looking across the Atlantic under the title ‘The Other 50%’. Words – including those of German writer Daniel Kehlmann – and sounds complement each other in a contemporary reflection on the ideals and realities of the country.
The Swedish O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra and its conductor Hugo Ticciati have been invited to perform five concerts at the Konzerthaus Stadthalle. For this residency, entitled ‘Hausbesetzung’, the artists are creating musical experiences that interweave masterpieces of modern and pop music.
Based on the festival motto, the 25 young musicians of the Festivalcampus develop their own concert and programme concepts. The artists present themselves as an ensemble or in smaller formations in 19 concert programmes and a public rehearsal, and also again as central performers in the re:start concerts in Heidelberg's districts. Opened in 1903, the Stadthalle Heidelberg has been the main venue and home of the Heidelberger Frühling since its birth in 1997. It has been closed since 2019 for extensive renovation, which was made possible thanks to the generous support of Heidelberg entrepreneur and honorary citizen Wolfgang Marguerre, his family and his company Octapharma.
The last Heidelberger Frühling Musikfestival in the Stadthalle took place in 2019. For the years 2022 to 2024, the auditorium of Heidelberg University's New University building was used as an interim venue, along with many other venues throughout the city. The 2026 music festival now celebrates its return to the Konzerthaus Stadthalle as its main venue. Other venues include the auditorium of Heidelberg University's Old University, the Karlstorbahnhof, the Heiliggeistkirche, the Jesuitenkirche and Metropolink's Commissary.
The 21st Heidelberger Frühling Streichquartettfest will take place from 22 to 25 January 2026 at the Alte Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg. The festival looks across the Atlantic and back to Joseph Haydn, who established the quartet genre in the very years when the 13 founding states of the American East Coast fought for their independence – in 1776, 250 years ago. Czech music and genuine rarities from the repertoire form a bridge between times and places. Guests will include the Fibonacci Quartet, the Javus Quartet, the Kleio Quartet, the Quartet Integra, the Schumann Quartet, and workshop leaders Christiane Wiesenfeldt and Oliver Wille.
