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Bach Festival Leipzig

Bach Festival Leipzig 2022

09 - 19 June 2022

Every year in June the city of Leipzig honours its important Thomas Cantor Johann Sebastian Bach with the Bach Festival. It pursues a tradition which Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy had already established.

 

2022 Bach Festival: "BACH - We Are Family"

In the 2022 season, Leipzig will be celebrating a very special Bach Festival: Under the slogan »BACH – We Are Family«, at least 20 Bach choirs, societies, festivals and associations from six continents will be travelling to the city, in order to commemorate the composer in the place where he did most of his life’s work. They will thus be following in the footsteps of the many branches of the Bach musical family, who in the 17th and 18th centuries used to meet at a particular location in Thuringia once a year, in order to make music together. Renowned ensembles from all around the world, including the St. Thomas Boys Choir and the Gewandhausorchester, will be taking part in over 100 events in eleven days.
Performances will include all 52 cantatas of the 1724/1725 "annual cycle of cantatas" at Bach’s original places of work, spread across 18 concerts and various church services.

Venues

Leipzig
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Schumann House

The former home of the Schumanns includes a permanent exhibition informing about the life of the two famous musicians. You will gain a comprehensive insight into the great importance of the house as an international meeting place for artists.
View of the facade of the Mendelssohn House which is a location on the music trail of the music city of Leipzig and in which there is a museum, cultural institution, sights
Leipzig
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Mendelssohn House Leipzig

The Mendelssohn-Haus Leipzig is both a museum and a music salon. Visit Mendelssohn's study and listen to enchanting concert matinees.
View of the illuminated St. Thomas Church in twilight, where the famous St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig perform, and which constitutes one of Leipzig, the Music City's most prominent attractions, cultural venue

St. Thomas Church

The St. Thomas Church is a house of worship, place of music, home of the St. Thomas Choir and final resting place of Johann Sebastian Bach. It is, after the St. Nicholas Church, the second-most central church in Leipzig's city centre.
View of the Mende fountain and the Gewandhaus on Augustusplatz, where the famous Gewandhaus Orchestra plays and which is a true Leipzig landmark, cultural institution
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Leipzig

Leipzig Gewandhaus

The Gewandhaus is located on Augustusplatz opposite Leipzig Opera House and is home to the famous Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
View of Edvard Grieg's stele at the Edvard Grieg memorial which is a station of the Notenspur in Leipzig, city of music, monument, cultural institution

Edvard Grieg Memorial and Social Centre

The memorial and social centre documents the life of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg with a permanent exhibition on his work in Leipzig. Admission to the museum is free.
View of the Old St. Nicholas School façade at the St. Nicholas Church, which boasts both a restaurant and a museum about Richard Wagner, gastronomy in Leipzig, cultural institution, city of music

Alte Nikolaischule – Old St. Nicholas School

Leipzig's first community school is today one of the most important cultural monuments in the city. The permanent exhibition on Richard Wagner documents the life of one of its most famous students.
View of the façade of the University of Music and Theatre Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, where one can study, cultural venue, education
Leipzig
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University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy"

Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, this is the most traditional music school in Germany and one of the most renowned conservatories in Europe.
Blick auf den Eingang zum Gebäude gegenüber der Thomaskirche in dem sich das Bach Museum und Bach Archiv mit Ausstellungen über den Komponisten befinden, Musikstadt Leipzig, Kultureinrichtung, Sehenswürdigkeiten
Leipzig
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Bach Museum

The museum gives you a deep look into the Leipzig-based life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach with its permanent exhibition. Learn about Bach across an exhibition area of 450 m².

Bach Festival Leipzig

Interior view of the St. Nicholas Church during a Leipzig Bach Festival concert in the Music City, cultural venue, sights
St. Nicholas Church is only one of the Bach Festival's venues. © Gert Mothes

The first Bach Festival took place in Leipzig in 1908. It was organized for the unveiling of the "New Bach Monument".

Selected pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, who lived and worked in Leipzig from 1723 to his death in 1750 as the St. Thomas choirmaster, are performed.

Around 100 different events take place every year as part of the Leipzig Bach Festival.

Save the date - Upcoming Bach Festivals in Leipzig

08 - 18 June 2023

07 - 16 June 2024

13 - 22 June 2025

Podcast - Welcome to Leipzig

Titelbild des Podcasts "Willkommen in Leipzig - Der Podcast für deine Leipzig-Reise" für Reisebegeisterte und Touristen, Freizeit, Sehenswürdigkeiten, Kultur, Musikstadt Leipzig

Bach-Museum: Celebrating diligence

A white wig and a stern look in his eyes: That’s how we know one of Germany’s most brilliant composers, organists and choirmasters Johann Sebastian Bach. One of only two portraits of him can be found at the Bose-house right next to St. Thomas Church in the city center of Leipzig. This place, which Bach himself once frequented, was built into a museum that Lukas and Paula will explore with you today. Discover fascinating historical instruments, learn more about Bach’s life and find out what hidden message lies behind Bach’s famous portrait.

View of the illuminated St. Thomas Church in twilight, where the famous St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig perform, and which constitutes one of Leipzig, the Music City's most prominent attractions, cultural venue

St. Thomas Church

The St. Thomas Church is a house of worship, place of music, home of the St. Thomas Choir and final resting place of Johann Sebastian Bach. It is, after the St. Nicholas Church, the second-most central church in Leipzig's city centre.
Bach stands on a pedestal in the green space on Dittrichring

The old Bach Monument, St. Thomas Church

The world's oldest Bach monument has stood close to the St. Thomas Church since 1843.
Blick auf den Eingang zum Gebäude gegenüber der Thomaskirche in dem sich das Bach Museum und Bach Archiv mit Ausstellungen über den Komponisten befinden, Musikstadt Leipzig, Kultureinrichtung, Sehenswürdigkeiten
Leipzig
Regio

Bach Museum

The museum gives you a deep look into the Leipzig-based life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach with its permanent exhibition. Learn about Bach across an exhibition area of 450 m².

Bach Competition

Award winners at the Bach competition with flowers, Leipzig, city of music, concert, events, festivals, culture
The Bach competition honours outstanding musicians. © Gert Mothes

The world's most important Johann Sebastian Bach competition for young interpreters was launched in 1950. Since 1996, it has been taking place every other year in June in three alternating subjects: piano, harpsichord and violin. 

The competition is open to instrumentalists and singers between the ages of 16 and 33.