Rheingau Musik Festival

Classical Music in a Wine Landscape

The Rheingau Musik Festival combines two cultural heavyweights of southern Hesse: classical music of the highest international standard and the wine landscape of the Rheingau, one of Germany's most renowned Riesling-growing regions. Since 1988, the festival has moved year after year through former monastery complexes, castles, wine cellars, and open-air stages – with 158 concerts in the 2026 edition, it is one of Germany's most concert-dense festivals.

26 Venues — The Rheingau as a Festival Park

Instead of concentrating on a single concert hall, the Rheingau Musik Festival utilizes the region's cultural and historical substance: Kloster Eberbach (the Cistercian monastery where "The Name of the Rose" was filmed), Schloss Johannisberg with views over the vineyards, Schloss Vollrads, the Erlöserkirche in Bad Homburg, and the Kurpark Wiesbaden with the Hessenbühne. New venues are being added in 2026: the Tattersall in Wiesbaden and other locations.

Artist in Residence 2026: Hayato Sumino

The focus of the 2026 festival is the Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino – a phenomenon who has achieved international stature through social media (millions of followers) as well as classical concerts. Sumino combines classical repertoire expertise with jazz improvisation and his own compositions. He can be heard as Artist in Residence in seven festival concerts – including an opening concert on June 21 at the Kurhaus Wiesbaden and a "Mozart Total" evening with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Country Focus 2026: Great Britain

Each year, the festival dedicates a special program focus to a country or region. In 2026, it's Great Britain's turn. Guests include VOCES8 and the famous The King's Singers vocal ensemble, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Tenebrae Choir, and the American-British violinist Joshua Bell. The programs range from Tudor Renaissance and English Romanticism (Elgar, Vaughan Williams) to contemporary British composers.

Opening on June 20 at Kloster Eberbach

The festive season opening 2026 takes place on June 20 at Kloster Eberbach – the monastery complex, which is one of the most beautiful monastic buildings in Central Europe. On stage: French trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary with the hr-Sinfonieorchester, performing works by Borodin, Arutjunjan, and Elgar. Both opening concerts (June 20 and 21) are already sold out.

Scale and Substance

With a budget of around 8 million euros and over 130,000 tickets, the Rheingau Musik Festival is a major cultural event with European appeal. The programming alternates between classical focuses (Brahms and Mozart cycles in 2026), chamber music, jazz, and pop, as well as programs for children – the breadth of offerings is one of the festival's hallmarks.