Quincena Musical de San Sebastián (The Donostia-San Sebastián Musical Fortnight)

The Donostia-San Sebastián Musical Fortnight is the longest standing classical music festival in Spain and one of the most time-honoured in Europe

It began in 1939 as fruits of the entrepreneurship and zest of the city innkeepers and merchants —in the same way that the International Film Festival was to be launched some years later— willing to enrich the tourism offer over the summer season. To this end they took the baton of the ancient musical tradition already existing in the city from the end of the 19th century and early in the 20th: the foundation of the Orfeón Donostiarra, the Grand Casino orchestras, the great European artists who sought refuge against the Second World War in the Victoria Eugenia Theatre…

Opera, ballet, the great symphonic orchestras, the small chamber groups, the romantic organ, the choral groups, contemporary composers, local promises, the great names of the international scene, the shows for children… all of them have a place in this Festival that beyond its main headquarters at the Kursaal Palace and the Victoria Eugenia Theatre resounds in many and singular spaces, not only in Donostia but also in Gipuzkoan territory.

The Musical Fortnight has reached a maturity stage that allows it to look forward to an even brighter future with excitement, ambition and firmness. So, the Festival embarks to the conquest of new audiences, a challenge it shares with the whole of classic music festivals. It wants to consolidate the support to musical creation and education, in close coordination with Musikene, the Basque Country Higher Music Centre, and the Summer Courses at the University of the Basque Country. It aspires to integrate in its performances schedule the new music spaces being planned in the city, such as the new homes of the Orfeón Donostiarra and Musikene. Furthermore, it is willing to strengthen its cross-border relations, especially with Toulouse and Bordeaux, among other challenges and projects.