Overview 6/7
After a wonderful Barockoper:Jung premiere, we’ve now reached the final week of the Festwochen – with seven concerts and two opera evenings still to come. We’ll be returning to the Spanish Hall and the Kammerspiele twice each, and make a final visit to the Pavillon in the Hofgarten, a church dome, an industrial hall and to the gold of Innsbruck’s iconic landmark.
Above all, though, this week belongs to the Cesti-Wettbewerb: from Wednesday to Sunday, the Großer Saal at the Haus der Musik Innsbruck will once again make it abundantly clear why the Innsbrucker Festwochen need not worry about the future of Early Music.
Come and savour the final days of the Festwochen! They’re going to go out with a bang!
'Atalanta' by George Frideric Handel
On Tuesday and Wednesday, it’s off to Arcadia once again!
With the Barockoper:Jung 'Atalanta', the final opera performances of this anniversary summer are coming up. The journey into this wonderland is already sold out – taking us right into a world where love must face more than a few trials before it can finally be enjoyed to the full.
'Bach&Söhne'
A musical family reunion awaits us on Thursday, 27 August, with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Francesco Corti. The programme features works by the extraordinary Bach family. Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons – from Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel to Johann Christian – reveal just how differently the next generation carried on the musical legacy of their famous father. This concert is already sold out!
Early Music from Tyrol – and far beyond: in the unique setting of St. Bartlmä, the young ensemble Cardinal Points, the Quartet Vierhalbiert and lutenist David Bergmüller showcase just how diverse and vibrant Tyrol’s Early Music scene is. From Baroque music and Biber’s Rosary Sonatas to electronic reinterpretations and contemporary works, the evening brings together three very different musical worlds – all, of course, 'Made in Tirol'.
A limited number of tickets for the concert on 28 August are still available here.
The final concert in the Spanish Hall on 29 August is also a journey back to the early days of the Festwochen: Ottavio Dantone and star flautist Giovanni Antonini revisit a legendary concert by Gustav Leonhardt and Frans Brüggen, which took place in the same line-up at the Riesensaal of the Hofburg in 1981. At the same time, the two masters also look to the present day with other works on the programme.
Tickets are still available here!
The Cesti-Wettbewerb
Young talents from all over the world are currently making their way to Innsbruck to compete in the Cesti-Competition. Anyone who would like to follow them on their journey to the final is very welcome: the first two rounds, from Wednesday to Friday, are open to the public and free of charge. Find out who is singing when on our website on each day of the competition.
The Final
On Sunday evening, the stakes are high: the best singers will once again face the jury – while the Cesti-Finale will also provide the final note of the Innsbrucker Festwochen 2026. Tickets for the grand finale are still available here! The event will of course also be streamed live, and for the first time this year, viewers at home will be able to vote for the Audience Prize too.
Even in the final week of the Festwochen, there’s still plenty of free music to enjoy in a variety of locations: on Friday at 1pm, the 'Lunchkonzert' invites you to take a musical break at lunchtime. On Sunday at 9.30am, 'Musik im Gottesdienst' brings Early Music to the Christuskirche. And at 5.30pm, it’s time for 'Mit Pauken und Trompeten' once again: festive sounds from the balcony of the Golden Roof – a musical highlight to round off the Festwochen summer.
