Easter Festival

Easter Festival (Osterfestspiele)

Begins between March 15 and April 18 and ends between March 22 and April 26; Palm Sunday through Easter Monday

Salzburg's Easter Festival was founded by the famous conductor Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) in 1967 to honor the works of Richard Wagner (1813-1883), and it remains one of Europe's most elite and elegant music festivals. Those who attend pay top prices, but in return they get to hear some of the world's greatest performers. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is the festival's resident ensemble, and the chorus of the Vienna State Opera or the Choir of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna perform the choral works. Von Karajan himself conducted all of the concerts, which include the works of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), until his death in 1989. Now various conductors are invited. A full-scale opera is performed twice during each nine-day festival in the Grosses Festspielhaus (large festival hall), which is known for its unique acoustics and seats more than 2,000.

CONTACTS:
Salzburg Easter Festival
Herbert von Karajan Platz 9
Salzburg, A-5020 Austria
43-662-8045-361; fax: 43-662-8045-790
www.osterfestspiele-salzburg.at/en

SOURCES:
MusFestEurBrit-1980, p. 20

Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, Fourth Edition. © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc.