Båstad Chamber Music Festival 2024

Båstad Chamber Music festival, now in its 32nd year, takes place between the 24th and the 29th of June.

A very warm welcome to our new artistic leaders Messiaen Quartet Copenhagen with this year’s ingenious programme The World of Yesterday – a Central European kaleidoscope inspired by Stefan Zweig´s masterpiece "The World of Yesterday -Memoires of a European". The book describes the time when all forms of creative art were thriving and Central Europe was a cultural hotpot with Vienna and Budapest as the most important hubs for creative development.

Our composer in residence, German based Márton Illés, is one of the most sought after composers of his generation. His avant-garde and innovative music will be played by Messiaen Quartet Copenhagen and the French string quartet Quatuor Diotima. There will be two further string quartets; the international London based Marmen Quartet and the Swedish-Finnish Zilliacuskvartetten. We will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg by performing several of his works during the week. The mezzosoprano Signe Asmussen, one of Denmark’s most extraordinary singers, will sing the poems from Pierrot Lunaire. The Soloist Prize-winner, soprano Kathrin Lorenzen, will give a concert with the pianist Oskar Ekberg.

We will start every day of the week with a refreshing dip in the bay for which you are very welcome to join us, followed by breakfast conversations at the Barn accompanied by some delightful music. Lajos Sárközi Orchestra invites us for a traditional Czardas evening with Romany music and the best goulash west of the puszta made by top chef Péter Sárvári. We are also happy to be joined by a number of international woodwind- and brass players at several concerts during the week. On the final day of the festival we welcome the whole family to a concert for all ages where you get to know Familjen Stråke, (The String Family) violin, viola, cello and double bass. In collaboration with the University of Lund there will also be Masterclasses showcasing string instruments and composition.

It is its importance to the local community, which makes the Båstad Chamber Music Festival an enduring success. Organised, managed and run primarily by a team of over 50 volunteers, this is a significant cultural event for the local community, as well as for Sweden. All the concerts take place in venues across the beautiful Bjäre peninsula and over the course of the festival we will listen to about 60 brilliant musicians playing music by more than 35 exceptional composers from Bach to Illés.

Read about the festival and all the musicians in more detail on our homepage: www.bastadkammarmusik.se.