Båstad Chamber Music Festival 2019

One of the largest classical music festivals in Sweden and now in its 27th year, Båstad's Chamber Music Festival is renowned both internationally and nationally for the quality, diversity and ambition of its musical events. We are delighted to have an extraordinarily talented Artistic Director, Roland Pöntinen, himself a concert pianist of international renown, with a new vision for developing the scope of the festival, pushing musical and cultural boundaries and attracting new audiences.

New directions in last year’s programme explored the role of music in the films of Ingmar Bergman, a delightful opera collaboration with the Birgit Nilsson Museum, and a highly popular concert with the well-known jazz singer, Rigmor Gustafsson. The programme for 2019 has a strong Latin influence and will feature works by well-loved composers such as Turina, Granados, Ravel and Respighi. Highlights of this year’s festival include performances by world famous artists Paul Lewis, Katarina Karnéus, Agneta Eichenholz, Sueye Park, the Vertavo Quartet and Musica Vitae. Masterclasses are offered in collaboration with Malmö Musikhögskola.

The week-long festival takes place in a diverse variety of event venues across this beautiful area of south Sweden, and attracts an enthusiastic audience of over 5,000 every year. It offers opportunities for new works, young artists and composers as well as established artists, and features masterclasses and lectures in addition to performances which would appeal to the whole family. To encourage younger audiences to develop and explore their interest in classical music, tickets to all our events are free for under-18s.

The festival is unique in Sweden to benefit from coverage by Sveriges Radio together with interest from other national media, with at least one of the concerts to be broadcast nationally. This is a major cultural event both for the local community and for the whole of Sweden, and we are grateful for the continued support of over 100 volunteers and sponsors without which the festival could not take place.

Artists for 2019 include:

Paul Lewis, Roland Pöntinen, Pontus Carron, Katarina Karnéus, Agneta Eichenholz, Sueye Park, the Vestavo Quartet, Musica Vitae, Christian Bergqvist, Bobo Stenson Trio