Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival opens: Ray Chen inspires Lübeck!

Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival opens: Ray Chen inspires Lübeck!

The Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival started the summer season with an impressive start in the Lübeck Music and Congress Hall. On July 5, 2025, those present experienced a festive concert that more than met the high expectations of festival visitors. The top-class evening began with Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, followed by Anton Bruckner's majestic Symphony No. 7. The violinist provided the musical highlightRay Chen, who stepped in at short notice for Khatia Buniatishvili, who was ill, and drew stormy applause with his virtuoso playing. Der 1989 in Taiwan geborene Musiker spielte auf einer Stradivari-Violine aus dem Jahr 1714, die ihm von der Nippon Music Foundation zur Verfügung gestellt wurde. All in all, an evening that will go down in history.

The celebrated conductor took over the management of the NDR Elbphilharmonie OrchestraChristoph Eschenbach, who not only served as artistic director of the festival from 1999 to 2002, but has also served as Principal Conductor since 2004. Eschenbach even celebrated his 85th birthday during the festival and was able to look back proudly on his impressive career. The opening concert will be performed again on July 6th, with Prime MinisterDaniel Gunther(CDU) will attend the event.

A diverse program

This year's festival focuses on the music from Istanbul as well as the portrait artistFazil Say, who will present his own works in 17 concerts. In total, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival includes 203 concerts that take place at 71 venues in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, northern Lower Saxony and southern Denmark until August 31st. The region itself is enriched by the sounds of the festival.

The budget for the festival is around 14.5 million euros, with the state of Schleswig-Holstein contributing around 1.2 million euros to the financing. Five “music festivals in the countryside”, two children’s music festivals and the “Shipyard Summer” at the Gollan cultural shipyard in Lübeck are also planned. Such initiatives show how important cultural support is for the local community and how it brings both tourists and locals together.

The importance of music festivals in Germany

A survey by the Hessian State Statistical Office from 2016 shows that music festivals in Germany include a variety of styles and formats. Rock festivals are the most common category at 12.0 percent, followed by baroque and classical festivals. These statistical results demonstrate not only the popularity but also the cultural diversity that such events bring and shed light on the evolution of music experiences across the country.

Overall, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival shows that the love for music is unbroken and will once again meet great expectations this year. Anyone who doesn't want to miss the opportunity has until the end of August to enjoy the unforgettable sounds and performances and experience the cultural diversity of the region.

For further information and details about the concerts and artists, please visit the website The time, NDR and Destatis.