Other great festivals
Maggio Musicale 2 May – 26 June
Aribert Reimann’s Lear headlines Italy’s oldest festival, which also stages Bellini’s
La straniera alongside more popular fare. Tel: +39 (0)55 200 1278
Web: www.maggiofiorentina.com
Holland Festival 29 May – 23 June Amsterdam mounts a generous portion of Stockhausen’s seven-opera cycle Licht, plus choreographs Bach’s Brandenburgs. Tel: +31 (0)20 523 7787
Web: www.hollandfestival.nl
Festival of Saint-denis 3 June – 3 July Antonio Pappano conducts mezzo Joyce Didonato and Rome’s St Cecilia Orchestra in Rossini’s rare cantata Joan of Arc.
Tel: +33 (0)1 4813 0607
Web: www.festival-saintdenis.com Istanbul Music Festival 11-30 June ‘Darkness of Being, Lightness of Being’ is 2019’s leitmotif. Turkish delights include Akademie für alte Musik and Shanghai Phil. Tel: +90 (0)216 556 9800
Web: www.muzik.iksv.org/eng
Granada Festival 21 June – 12 July Granada doffs its cap to the centenary of Falla’s ballet The Three-cornered Hat, premieres Eötvös, and honours Berlioz.
Tel: +34 958 221 844
Web: www.granadafestival.org
Kuhmo Chamber Music 14-27 July
The Finnish festival celebrates its 50th with a packed programme including Aulis Sallinen and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. Tel: +358 8 652 0936
Web: www.kuhmofestival.fi
‘Contemporary Classics’
Composers’ Festival 1-10 November
The Armenian State Symphony Orchestra’s enterprising end-of-year ten-composer contemporary focus includes Penderecki (see p34), Qigang Chen and Giya Kancheli. Tel: +373 10 581171
Web: www.armsymphony.am