Eleventh edition of Bach festival starts on Sunday

Written by Rainer Ackermann

The extraordinary music festival, which offers more than 400 Bach-related programmes in 270 locations in the Carpathian Basin and around the world, starts on 16 March.

From the famous concert halls of the Academy of Music or the Royal Castle of Gödöllő to music schools, churches and open-air concerts, the 11th “Bach for All” festival offers everyone a piece of Johann Sebastian Bach’s rich oeuvre. Festival director and founder of the initiative, Zalán László Kovács, really wants to bring the giant of classical music closer to everyone, because he ascribes a spiritual healing power to Bach’s works. Most of the programmes take place around the birthday of the great composer, about whom Beethoven said that his name should not be Bach but Meer. However, as every year, the series of events extends into the Advent season. There will also be mini-concerts in hospitals to encourage patients to recover.

The opening concert on 16 March at the Budapest Academy of Music will be performed by the festival director together with Mihály Boros on the piano and the Australian organist Peter Guy. All events can be attended free of charge, but registration is required for concert halls.