Quedlinburg Music Summer

46 Years of Church Music in the World Heritage Site

Since 1981, the Quedlinburg Music Summer has transformed the historic churches of the World Heritage City into a stage for classical and sacred music for three months. The 46th edition in 2026 is themed "Longing" — combining an emotional thread with an ambitious concert calendar ranging from Baroque music and Romantic symphonies to experimental Bach interpretations.

Four Churches as Venues

The venues are the most important sacred buildings in the UNESCO World Heritage City: the Marktkirche St. Benedikti with its striking double-tower facade, the Romanesque Stiftskirche St. Servatii on the Schlossberg (one of Germany's most important Romanesque structures), the Nikolaikirche, and the Aegidiikirche. Occasionally, special venues like the Julius Kühn Institute are also used. The acoustics of these centuries-old spaces make every concert a unique experience.

New Artistic Director: Alexander Kuhlo

An important turning point marks the 2026 season: from mid-March 2026, Alexander Kuhlo will take over as cantor and director of the Quedlinburg Music Summer. The official season opening with program presentation will take place on May 9, 2026, in the Nikolaikirche — an important date for all long-time festival attendees.

From Symphony Orchestra to Specialized Ensemble

The 2026 program combines symphonic grandeur with specialized ensembles. The opening concert will be performed by the Staatskapelle Halle — one of Central Germany's largest symphony orchestras — on June 20 in the Marktkirche St. Benedikti. July will feature a Baroque program with soprano Katrin Küsswetter (Handel, Giordani) and an experimental Bach interpretation by the Trio Belli-Fischer-Rimmer (trombone, piano, percussion). In August, the Landesjugendchor Sachsen-Anhalt and the renowned Bach ensemble Ælbgut will perform.

World Heritage City in Summer

Quedlinburg is located on the northern edge of the Harz Mountains, in the district of the same name. The Music Summer coincides with the peak tourist season — the World Heritage City, with its over 2,000 half-timbered houses, the Schlossberg, and the Stiftskirche, attracts particularly many visitors during this time. Those who attend the festival multiple times often combine concert evenings with hikes in the Harz Mountains, visits to Wernigerode or Halberstadt, or trips on the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway.

Atmosphere

Highly concentrated, sonically overwhelming, historically embedded. It is the combination of first-class music in spaces that are themselves a first-rate cultural heritage that makes the Quedlinburg Music Summer one of the most important classical festivals in Saxony-Anhalt. Anyone who has experienced the Staatskapelle Halle in the Marktkirche or Bach in the Romanesque Stiftskirche will not soon forget it.