Early music festivals are a generic term for musical festivals focused on music before Beethoven, or including historically informed performance of later works. The increase in the number of music festivals specializing in early music is a reflection of the early music revival of the 1970s and 1980s. Many larger festivals, such as the Aix-en-Provence Festival, also include early music sections, as do, inevitably, festivals of sacred music, such as the Festival de Música Sacra do Baixo Alentejo, in Portugal. Although most early music festivals are centered on commercial performance, many also include workshops. This article includes an incomplete list of early music festivals, which may overlap with topics such as the list of Bach festivals, list of maritime music festivals, list of opera festivals, and in some cases, list of folk festivals.
List of festivals by country
Note that this list includes festivals that are annual unless otherwise listed. Festivals which were notable, producing radio-broadcasts and recordings, but now defunct, are listed with an indent at the end of each country listing; for example, Gottorfer Barockmusiktage, Germany. Festival Opera Barocca
Australia Brisbane Baroque - previously Hobart Baroque, ran until 2016 MIFOH Melbourne International Festival of Organ and Harpsichord, founded by Sergio di Pieri in 1971 and run by an entirely voluntary group until the last concert in 2007. A further series of annual concerts running on the same framework (of concerts, visiting distinguished overseas musicians, and masterclasses) was operated by Professor John Griffiths from 2007-2010, a long-time participant in MIFOH
Austria Resonanzen Konzerthaus, Vienna. Trigonale Festival der Alten Musik, Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia. Sept. Internationale Barocktage, Stift Melk. May/June. Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik. July/August. Donaufestwochen im Strudengau. July/August Salzburg Whitsun Festival. May/June
Bolivia Festival de Chiquitos
Belgium Festival van Vlaanderen, section Musica Antiqua Bruges, July/AugustMAfestival - Festival van Vlaanderen Laus Polyphoniae - Festival van Vlaanderen Antwerp August Festival van Vlaanderen, Gent. Sept/October. Festival de Musique Ancienne en Wallonie Baroque Music at Chateau of Chimay, Hainaut. Festival Les Nuits de Septembre - Festival de Wallonie, Liège
Brazil Festival de música colonial brasileira e música antiga. July. Festival de Música Coral Renascentista Gil de Roca Sales.
Canada Montreal Baroque. June. Vancouver Early Music Festival. August. Pacific Baroque Festival, Victoria, B.C., February/March Lamèque International Festival of Baroque Music, July
Croatia Rovigno Baroque Music Festival Varaždin Baroque Evenings (Varaždinske barokne večeri), Baroque Festival since 1971. Dubrovnik Summer Festival (Dubrovačke ljetne igre), since 1950. Korkyra Baroque Festival (Korčulanski barokni festival). Musical Evenings in St Donat (Glazbene večeri u sv. Donatu), since 1960.
Czech Republic Festival of early music at Český Krumlov Letní slavnosti staré hudby (Summer festivities of early music), Prague. Opera Barocca, Prague.Festival Opera Barocca Summer School of Early Music Prachatice
Denmark Copenhagen Renaissance Music Festival. October–November. Copenhagen Baroque Festival , September Baroktoberfest, Oktober
Finland BRQ Vantaa. August. Sastamala Gregoriana, Sastamala. July. Since 1995.
France Festival d'Ambronay, Ambronay. Since 1980. Festival de Beaune July. Festival de l'Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud, Fontevraud Abbey. Since 1975. Festival de Musique Ancienne de Saint Sevin, Saint Sevin. August. Musiques à la Chabotterie, Vendée. Since 1997. Marseille March.Festival Mars en Baroque - Marseille (French) Nantes Spring. May/June Musique ancienne, Maguelone, Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone June. Haut-Jura June. Aix-en-Provence Festival July. Le Festival Renaissances, Bar-le-Duc. July. Musique ancienne de Callas, Callas, Var. July. Musique et Mémoire, Faucogney-et-la-Mer. July. Rencontres de Musique Médiévale du Thoronet. Le Thoronet AbbeyProgramme (French) Festival de musique de Conques. July–August. Festival Baroque de Tarentaise, Albertville. August. Le Festival International de Musique Ancienne de Simiane, Simiane-la-Rotonde. August. Festival de Sablé, Sablé-sur-Sarthe. August Academie Bach, Arques-la-Bataille. Aug. Festival de musique de La Chaise-Dieu, Auvergne. Aug-Sept. Festival Les Riches Heures de La Réole. Septembre Festival baroque de Pontoise. Sept-Oct. Festival de Lanvellec. Oct. Marseille Autumn.Baroque Marseille (French) October- December Festival Paris Baroque, Paris. November–December Saint-Michel en Thiérache, Saint-Michel, Aisne.Festival de Musique et Ancienne et Baroque de Saint-Michel en Thiérache (French) Viola da gamba festival Asfeld. Orléans Bach Festival
Germany
Bachwoche Ansbach, Ansbach summer. Arolser Barockfestspiele. Bad Arolsen. May. Bach-Biennale Weimar. Since 2008, biennial in July. Festival alter Musik Bernau, Berlin.Festival alter Musik Bernau (German) Festival Güldener Herbst, Thuringia; in Weimar, Erfurt, Meiningen, Rudolstadt, Sondershausen, Eisenach, Kühndorf, Suhl and Molsdorf. October Händelfestspiele Handel Festival, Halle (June) Handel Festival, Göttingen (May) Händel-Festspiele Karlsruhe (February) Magdeburger Telemann-Festtage, MagdeburgMagdeburger Telemann-Tage (German) Tage Alter Musik, Berlin Oct. Landshuter Hofmusiktage, Landshut Bachtage, PotsdamBachtage Potsdam (German) Bachfest Leipzig, Leipzig. June Montalbâne festival of Medieval music, Schloss Neuenburg, Freyburg. June. Musica Viva, Osnabrück Land. Schloss Bad Iburg, Schloss Gesmold, Schloss Königsbrück, various churches and monasteries. September. Tage Mitteldeutscher Barockmusik. Tage Alter Musik Herne, Herne. November. , Regensburg, Whitsun Tage Alter Musik im Saarland (TAMiS), Saarbrücken, March/April Sanssouci, Potsdam June Thüringer Bachwochen, Thuringia. March/April. Bayreuth BaroqueBayreuther Barock (German) Sept. Zeitfenster - Biennale Alter Musik, Berlin. Biannual in April.Biennale Alter Musik (German) Internationales Heinrich-Schütz-Fest. Moves location, biannual. Gottorfer Barockmusiktage, ran from 2002-2006.
Hungary Early Music Festival at Palace of Arts (Budapest). Since 2015, first quarter of the year.Early Music Festival: Philippe Herreweghe’s public rehearsal on 24 January Early Music Days at palace of Eszterhaza - Fertőd June/July, since 1984
Iceland
Skálholt Music Festival, Skálholt, summer festival since 1975 Reykjavík Early Music Festival, since 2024
Ireland East Cork Early Music Festival Galway Early Music FestivalGalway Early Music Festival. May. Sligo Festival of Baroque Music
Israel Bach in Jerusalem Festival
Italy Grandezze & Meraviglie, Festival Musicale Estense, Modena. September/November Since 1998 Settimane barocche di Brescia, Brescia. Festival di Cremona Claudio Monteverdi, Cremona. May. FIMA - Festival di Musica Antica, Urbino. July. FTMA - Festival Toscano di Musica Antica. Pisa. Festival Galuppi, Venice.Festival Galuppi Collegio Ghislieri di Pavia - Primavera Barocca. March–June. Since 2003.Article in French Classique News Musica Antica a Magnano, Magnano July/Sept. Mousiké - Festival di musica antica del Mediterraneo, Bari Musica Antica in Sicilia, Associazione Antonio il Verso, Palermo. December Piccola Accademia di Montisi, Tuscany. Workshops for harpsichordists. July.Festival Montisi Garda Trentino International Early Music Weeks, Riva del Garda.Garda Trentino International Early Music Weeks on Facebook Oct. Major festivals with some early music events: Stresa Festival. Stresa, Lake Maggiore. Some early music events.Stresa Festival Lago Maggiore (in Italian) Ravenna Festival. Some early music events. June/July. Bolzano Festival. Some early music events. Alessandro Scarlatti Festival, Palermo, Sicily, ran 1999-2002
Latvia Senās mūzikas festivāls, every July in the Rundāle Palace.Homepage Baroka mūzikas dienas Rēzeknē (Baroque Music Days Rezekne), every September 2005 – 2016 in Rezekne city, Latgale region and Riga.
Lithuania Banchetto Musicale early music festival, every September in Vilnius, since 1989
Malta Valletta Baroque Festival
Netherlands Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht.nl.wikipedia entry (in Dutch)Radio listing (English) Geelvinck Early Piano Festival, Amsterdam.
Norway Festival, Bergen. Festival, Larvik. St.Olav Festival, Trondheim.Ringve International Summer Course
Poland ANNUM festival Tarnowskie Góry, Chorzów Maj z Muzyką Dawną - May with Early Music, Wrocław Jarosław Early Music Festival, Jarosław Misteria Paschalia, Kraków. Easter Mikołaj Radomski (Early Music Festival), RadomMiędzynarodowy Festiwal Muzyki Dawnej im. Mikołaja z Radomia (Polish) International Festival Wratislavia Cantans, Wrocław Forum Musicum, Wrocław Early Music Academy, Wrocław
Portugal Encontros de Música Antiga de Loulé - Francisco Rosado, EMAL-FR, every October since 1999, Loulé West Coast Early Music Festival, Oeiras, Lisbon SIMA - Série ibérica de Música Antiga, Castelo Branco Festival Internacional de Música Barroca de Faro, FIMBF, Faro Fora do Lugar - Early Music(s) International Festival, Idanha-a-Nova (UNESCO Creative City of Music) CásterAntiqua - Ovar Early Music Festival, Ovar
Romania Bucharest Early Music Festival, Bucharest Miercurea Ciuc Early Music Festival, Miercurea Ciuc
Russia Sankt Petersburg International Early Music Festival, Saint Petersburgфестиваль старинной музыки (in Russian)
Serbia Belgrade Early Music Festival
Slovakia "Dni starej hudby" - Days of early music, Bratislava.
Slovenia Radovljica Early Music Festival, Radovljica, Velesovo and Ljubljana. August. Seviqc Brežice – Festival Brezice, Brežice.
Spain Festival Jordi Savall, Catalonia, since 2021. Festival de Música Antigua de Barcelona, Barcelona, since 1977. Festival de Música Antigua Iberoamericana "Domingo Marcos Durán". Cáceres. Festival de Música Antigua de Daroca, Zaragoza, since 1979. August. Festival de Música Antigua de Sevilla, Seville. Festival de Música Antigua, Gijón. Festival de Música Antigua de Úbeda y Baeza. Úbeda and Baeza since 1997. Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada Música Antigua Aranjuez, Aranjuez. Musica Antigua Aracena, Aracena. Trobadories d'en Guillem de Bergueda, Berga, Berguedà. Named after Guilhem de Berguedan. ran 2006-2007 Festival de Música Antigua de Sant Martí Vell, Gironès. Festival Internacional de Música Antigua de Xàtiva, Valencia
Sweden Drottningholm Palace Theatre August. Göteborg International Organ Academy. August.Göteborg International Organ Academy NoMeMus. Nordic festival for Medieval music. During Söderköpings Gästabud. August/September. Palladium Baroque. Malmö. Feb. Stockholm Early Music Festival. The largest international event for historical music in the Nordic countries. First week in June since 2002. Söderköpings Gästabud. Medieval fayre in Söderköping. August/September.Söderköpings Gästabud Trollhättans TIDIG MUSIK-dagar. Early music days in Trollhättan. May.
Switzerland Early Music Festival - La Folia. Rougemont. May/June. Festival Alte Musik Zürich. March. Nox Illuminata, Basel, cf. Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Festival Bach de Lausanne. Oct/Nov.Festival Bach de Lausanne (in French) Festival Musikdorf Ernen. Ernen, Switzerland. July. Bachwochen Thun, Thun, August/September Cantar di Pietre. Lugano, Switzerland. October–November.https://www.cantardipietre.ch/
United Kingdom Medieval Music in the Dales, Yorkshire. September.Medieval Music in the Dales. Retrieved 28 Feb 2025. Birmingham Early Music Festival. Brighton Early Music Festival, Oct/Nov. English Bach Festival (ran from 1963 to 2009)McCarthy, Peter (8 July 2012). "Obituary: Lina Lalandi" The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2016. Leicester Early Music Festival. June.