Altenburg Music Festival

Classical Music and Organ Artistry between Thuringia and Saxony

The Altenburg Music Festival is one of the most significant classical music and organ festivals in the Central German region. For two weeks in August, it unites the culturally and historically outstanding venues of the Altenburger Land: the Castle Church with the world-famous 1739 Trost Organ, the Brüderkirche, the St. Bartholomäi Church, as well as other castle concerts and open-air stages in the Skatstadt region between the Thuringian Basin and the Saxon Vogtland.

The Trost Organ — A Sonic Monument from 1739

The centerpiece of the festival is the Trost Organ in the Castle Church of Altenburg Residential Palace. Built by Heinrich Gottfried Trost and completed in 1739, it is one of the few large Baroque organs that have survived in an almost original condition. Johann Sebastian Bach knew the instrument personally — a direct connection between the festival program and the cultivation of Bach in Central Germany. Castle Organist Daniel Beilschmidt oversees the instrument and shapes the artistic direction of the festival.

Young Artist Academies as a Hallmark

Three parallel academies make the Altenburg Music Festival unique: the 4th Youth Organ Academy, the inaugural Double Bass Academy in the Brüderkirche, and the 35th Thuringian Organ Academy. This combination of top-tier concerts and targeted promotion of young talent is rare in the German festival landscape. Young organists work on historical instruments for two weeks and perform alongside established soloists in opening and closing concerts.

Highlight: Bach's Mass in B Minor on the Trost Organ

The major musical event of the 2026 festival is the performance of Bach's Mass in B Minor by the Leipzig Ensemble Lachrymae together with Daniel Beilschmidt. As was customary in Bach's time, the grand Trost Organ takes on a continuo and solo function within the orchestra — a sonically authentic experience that makes the work's character from Bach's era immediately tangible. In addition, the program includes opera galas, organ romanticism programs, and open-air concerts (including in Treben).

Altenburg — Skatstadt and Residential City in Thuringia

Altenburg, in the district of the same name, lies at the transition between Thuringia and Saxony. The Skatstadt, with its distinctive Residential Palace, the playing card museum, and the Baroque Brüderkirche, is about a forty-minute drive from Leipzig and ideal for a festival visit. In 2025, the ECHO Chair (European Cities of Historic Organs) declared Altenburg the Center of European Organ Artistry — the music festival is the highlight of this cultural and political distinction.