Corvey Summer Concerts

UNESCO World Heritage Site as a Concert Hall

Corvey Castle, located on the eastern edge of Ostwestfalen-Lippe near Höxter, directly on the Weser river, is one of North Rhine-Westphalia's most important cultural monuments. The former Carolingian imperial monastery, founded in 822, was elevated to UNESCO World Heritage status in 2014 – due to its Carolingian Westwork, considered a unique example of medieval architecture. The baroque wing of the castle houses the magnificent Kaisersaal (Imperial Hall), a two-story hall with 17th-century wall paintings. This is precisely where the Corvey Summer Concerts take place.

Chamber Music with World Heritage Acoustics

The concert series is designed to be intimate: four concerts between May and July, each on Sundays at 5:00 PM. The artistic director is Andreas Kunze, Intendant of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (Northwest German Philharmonic), based in Herford – the main orchestra for the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region. Kunze sees the series as a platform for young soloists and chamber music ensembles emerging from German music conservatories and leading orchestras.

Four Concerts in 2026

The 2026 program is characterized by a clear range: the Anima Quintet with saxophonist Sandra Rijavec to open the season, the Ensemble Prisma with violinist Nathalie Lewis (Mozart, Beethoven), the Cello Ensemble of the Northwest German Philharmonic with soprano Leonor Amaral, and concluding with the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen with cellist Luka Coetzee. Four concerts, four different ensembles – from a quintet to a specialized string ensemble to a chamber orchestra.

The World Heritage Site and the Music

The combination of Imperial Hall architecture, acoustic quality, and World Heritage atmosphere makes the concerts more than just classical evenings. Attendees walk through the former monastery buildings, see the Carolingian Westwork crypt, enter the hall beneath wall paintings depicting festive scenes and allegories – and then listen to two hours of chamber music in this very space. In recent years, the organizers have gained a loyal regular audience from Ostwestfalen-Lippe and nearby Lower Saxony through this combination.

Ostwestfalen — Bridging the Cultural Gap

Within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region is often overlooked culturally, situated between the Rhine-Ruhr axis and the major cities of Lower Saxony. Series like the Corvey Summer Concerts precisely fill this gap – offering classical music fans from the Höxter district and the wider region (Bielefeld, Detmold, Paderborn) a high-caliber event series without the need to travel to Cologne or Hanover. Tickets are sold centrally via the portal klassik-in-owl.de.