The Dresden Music Festival is dedicated to the fields of tension in music and society under the motto "SCHWARZWEISS" from 18 May to 18 June 2023. Between war and peace, pandemic and regained freedom, artistic director Jan Vogler and his team have put together a diverse programme of 63 events at 22 venues in Dresden. In the 46th festival year, special attention will be paid to the piano, which will be celebrated in 18 concerts and all its facets with the focus on "Keyboard Games". The centrepiece of this festival within the festival is the cycle of Beethoven symphonies in Franz Liszt's transcription for piano, interpreted by Louis Lortie and highly talented soloists from his piano class.
In addition, the Dresden Music Festival shows that music also connects people beyond the concert halls: On 27 May 2023, around 60 ensembles - more than ever before - will make eleven squares from Prager Straße to Neustädter Markt resound with the participatory project "Klingende Stadt". On 3 June, after a three-year break, the people of Dresden will once again be able to sing at the traditional "Dresden sings & musiziert" on Brühl's Terrace. And in cooperation with the Technical University of Dresden, the "Sound & Science" series on 1 June at the Sleep Concert in the German Hygiene Museum will be all about music & sleep. As a surprise encore, Jan Vogler will give a concert with the Youth String Orchestra of the music initiative Musaik - Grenzenlos musizieren e.V. on 18 June at the Heinrich Schütz Conservatory - an association that currently provides free access to music lessons for around 100 children and young people from 22 nations.
The Concert Walks format will be continued, in which members of the Festival team will escort concertgoers from the Frauenkirche (Entrance C) to the respective performance venue on seven evenings and provide insights into the work behind the scenes in conversation. Thanks to the combined ticket, every concert ticket is also valid as a ticket for local public transport (VVO).