Herbstgold Festival brings top musicians to Eisenstadt

The tenth Herbstgold Festival opens at Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt on Wednesday, with star tenor Rolando Villazon among the prominent guests, ORF reported. Julian Rachlin is serving as artistic director for the sixth time.

The programme runs from September 16 to 26 and includes orchestral concerts, chamber music, an evening of words and music, tango, operetta and performances by internationally acclaimed soloists.

Villazon will perform two concerts and appear with the Janoska Ensemble. British tenor Ian Bostridge will take part in the evening of words and music with actress Victoria Trauttmannsdorf. She will read poems by Friedrich Rückert while Bostridge sings works by Robert Schumann and Clara Schumann.

The opening concert will feature Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrandez. Pianist Gabriela Montero, known for her improvised performances, will also appear in Eisenstadt. Twenty-four-year-old pianist Alexander Malofeev will make his debut in the Haydnsaal.

The festival’s orchestral programme includes a concert by the Bamberg Symphony, with Rachlin appearing as both conductor and violinist. The Vienna Singverein and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe will also perform an evening featuring Mozart’s Requiem.

Two further concerts are dedicated to chamber music.