Finsterwalder Chamber Music Festival 2026 — Longing

Longing — Motto and Idea 2026

Six concerts, three weeks, one question: What moves us when we long — for a loved one, a distant place, a bygone era, a melody yet unheard? Under the motto "Longing", the 2026 Finsterwalder Chamber Music Festival from March 6 to 22 places this question at its core. Longing as the driving force of Romanticism, as the common thread in Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, as a subtle subtext in Debussy and Liszt — and as a present-day emotion connecting the audience with the works.

Six Concerts at the Kulturweberei

The venue is the Kulturweberei Finsterwalde at Oscar-Kjellberg-Straße 9, a carefully restored textile factory that has received the Brandenburg Building Culture Award. The festival opens on March 6 with the Sinopoli Quartet performing works by Dvořák, Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and Ravel. This is followed on March 8 by a musical city walk and the Duo Jost Costa at the piano for four hands (Schubert, Debussy, Liszt). On March 13, the accio piano trio will present works by Mozart and three female composers — Cécile Chaminade, Lili Boulanger, and Mel Bonis — alongside Murphy. The Quatuor Blanc will play Dvořák and a world premiere by Hans-Christian Jaenicke on March 15; on March 16, it will host two children's concerts. A song recital on March 20 is dedicated to Schumann, Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Brahms, Strauss, Schubert, and Wolf. The Weimar Piano Quartet will conclude the festival on March 22 with works by Fanny Hensel, Dora Pejačević, and Robert Schumann.

City of Singers — Festival with Tradition

Finsterwalde, the "City of Singers," boasts over a century of history as a center for choral music. Founded in 1996 by music enthusiasts, the Finsterwalder Chamber Music Festival continues this tradition in intimate chamber music settings. Every March, it brings renowned soloists and ensembles to South Brandenburg, proving that sophisticated classical music is not confined to the metropolises.

Children's Concerts and City Tour

The festival explicitly caters to young listeners: On March 16, the Quatuor Blanc will offer two children's concerts at 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM, playfully explaining the string quartet. The musical city walk on March 8, running from 11 AM to 7 PM, winds through the historic old town — unfortunately, it's already fully booked, but it's an indicator of the enthusiasm the festival sparks in the city each year.

Travel and Tickets

Finsterwalde is accessible by train from Berlin Hbf in about 90 minutes via RE 3 or RE 7 (transfer in Berlin-Schönefeld or Doberlug-Kirchhain). The Kulturweberei is about 800 meters from the train station. Tickets are available through the festival website and Eventim, with the nearby Kulturweberei box office as an additional point of sale.