Music is born of passion and conveys passion. This holds true once again this year for many of the concerts at the südtirol festival merano. In 2026, from 20 August to 22 September, the festival offers 26 concerts across eight distinct formats at venues in the spa and thermal town of Merano, as well as in the castles and churches of the surrounding area – and at the heart of the festival is the “classic” symphonic series in the magnificent Art Nouveau setting of the Kursaal.
The festival opens on 20 August with the Kammerorchester Basel, conducted by Bar Avni, and the pianist-composer Fazıl Say. They are followed by a stellar line-up of internationally acclaimed orchestras and artists: the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck, with pianist Alexandre Kantorow; the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jaap van Zweden, with violinist Bomsori Kim; the Constellation Orchestra and Constellation Choir under Sir John Eliot Gardiner; the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Teddy Abrams, with pianist Yuja Wang; the Staatskapelle Dresden under Daniele Gatti, with pianist Beatrice Rana; the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk, with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes; the Camerata Salzburg, joined by the piano duo Lucas and Arthur Jussen; and, finally, the Baltic Sea Philharmonic under Robert Treviño, with the young cellist Charlotte Melkonian.
At the matinée concerts, the stage is exclusively female: with the Quatuor Zaïde, cellist Anastasia Kobekina and pianist Claire Huangci, and with programmes that largely feature works by women composers. “This heavenly place”: many of the women whose works are performed at the Pavillon des Fleurs and the Stadttheater; among them Fanny Hensel, Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, Teresa Carreño and Delphine von Schauroth - spent time in South Tyrol, Tyrol and Trentino as travellers or spa guests.
In 2026, the südtirol festival merano also presents innovative concert formats and unusual reinterpretations of the classical repertoire. Highlights include a staged fusion of the Harry Potter universe with Purcell’s Baroque opera “Dido and Aeneas”, performed by the O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra Stockholm together with the Voces8 Scholars Ensemble. Mozart’s “Requiem” will be presented in the parish church of Niederlana in a chamber arrangement for just eight performers (Theatre of Voices & Meta4). The programme is further enriched by an encounter between Bach and samba, featuring violinist Linus Roth and Brazil’s Orquestra Johann Sebastian Rio – a vibrant, richly flavoured musical cocktail, naturally con passione.