The musical mecca of Grafenegg

The highlight of the summer festivals in Lower Austria: Grafenegg summer of music and its spectacular open-air theatre in Wolkenturm will provide a musical treat.

International stars and orchestras come to perform in the theatre and at the open-air theatre in Wolkenturm throughout the year. The Grafenegg Festival in August and September promises to once again be a highlight of the musical summer of culture in Lower Austria.

Since summer 2007, the Grafenegg Festival has been held in the park of Grafenegg Palace under the artistic direction of the pianist Rudolf Buchbinder. There are concerts and events happening before and after the festival: Alongside the intense summer programme, the middle of June begins with the star-filled summer evening gala and ends in mid-September with the Grafenegg Festival, Grafenegg is also the location for spring events and Easter events, that attract more than 150,000 people to the castle area. 

Summer concerts in Wolkenturm

Viennese waltz? Latin sound? Musical and film scores? Or do you prefer baroque music and brass? The Tonkünstler orchestra and other top ensembles will be performing summer concerts from 27 June to 8 August 2020 with excellent solo musicians from around the world: The John Wilson Orchestra will transport you to Hollywood’s musical dream factory with Gerschwin classics, Juan Diego Flórez will pay homage to the music of Latin America and the Tonkünstler Orchester conducted by Clemens Schuldt will showcase the whole range of instruments in the trumpet gala – from baroque to jazz trumpets. Our tip: The summer evening gala on 18 and 19 June, where the Lower Austrian musicians under the conductor Yutaka Sado will play their hearts out at an exciting gala evening featuring guest vocalist Rachel Willis-Sørensen, one of the most exciting voices around today, Javier Camarena, the Bel canto star from Mexico and the young saxophonist Jess Gillam.

The Grafenegg Festival

The Grafenegg Festival, which is scheduled to take place from 14 August to 6 September 2020, has a high quality line-up and is certain to be highlight of the cultural summer programme in Lower Austria. During Beethoven's 250th anniversary, there will be a musical summit on the opening weekend: A concert production of ‘Fidelio’ with Jonas Kaufmann in the starring role follows a performance of Beethoven's ‘Missa solemnis’. The St. Petersburg Philharmonic conducted by Yuri Temirkanov will take you to the world of ‘One Thousand and One Nights’ – Rimski Korsakow's ‘Scheherzade’ and the ‘Aladdin Suite’ by Carl Nielsen are scheduled to take place on the second weekend of the festival. Host Rudolf Buchbinderis a big fan of chamber music: Together with the London Symphony Orchestra and its soloists, he will be playing the masterpieces by Schumann and Dvořák on 30 August. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Gustavo Dudamel, will close the festival weekend with a performance of Prokofjiew and Beethoven’s Symphony No.2 in D major.