About
The Grafenegg Music Festival 2026 celebrates its 20th anniversary with a season of extraordinary artistic excellence, transforming the magnificent grounds of Grafenegg Castle into one of Europe’s most captivating destinations for classical music. From 14 August to 6 September 2026, audiences are invited to experience world-class performances beneath open summer skies, surrounded by historic gardens, elegant architecture, and the unique atmosphere of Lower Austria’s cultural landscape.
For two decades, Grafenegg has redefined the summer music festival experience by bringing together internationally celebrated orchestras, conductors, and soloists in venues where nature and music exist in perfect harmony. The iconic Wolkenturm open-air stage, the intimate Auditorium, and the newly opened Rudolf Buchbinder Hall create an artistic setting that feels both grand and deeply personal.
The 2026 anniversary edition presents an exceptionally rich programme of classical concerts, ranging from symphonic masterpieces and concert opera to chamber music, vocal recitals, and contemporary premieres. The festival opens with a monumental evening featuring the Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru. Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder joins soprano Nikola Hillebrand, tenor Nicholas Phan, and baritone Germán Olvera in a festive programme featuring Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and Orff’s Carmina Burana.
Throughout the festival, some of the world’s leading orchestras take the stage, including the Vienna Philharmonic with conductor Tugan Sokhiev, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali, the Münchner Philharmoniker led by Lahav Shani, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra with Yuja Wang and conductor Teddy Abrams.
Among the festival’s major highlights is a concert performance of Korngold’s Die tote Stadt with soprano Camilla Nylund, tenor Eric Cutler, and baritone Samuel Hasselhorn under conductor Axel Kober. Wagner’s Parsifal also appears in a special concert presentation with the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado and starring tenor Andreas Schager.
The festival’s chamber and recital programme is equally distinguished. Confirmed artists include Martha Argerich, Daniil Trifonov, Joyce DiDonato, Gautier Capuçon, Martin Fröst, Jörg Widmann, Asmik Grigorian, Piotr Beczała, Víkingur Ólafsson, and violinist Sergei Dogadin.
What makes Grafenegg truly unforgettable is its atmosphere. Here, audiences walk not across red carpets, but across green lawns, surrounded by vineyards, summer air, and music of the highest artistic level. Every evening becomes a celebration not only of classical music, but of beauty, nature, and shared human experience.
The Grafenegg Music Festival 2026 is more than a festival — it is an invitation to experience classical music in one of Europe’s most enchanting cultural settings.
About the Grafenegg Music Festival
The Grafenegg Festival is one of Europe's most important orchestra festivals. Music, nature and architecture blend into an all-embracing work of art. The artistic director is pianist Rudolf Buchbinder. The festival's program consists of symphonic and chamber music as well as recitals. International guest orchestras are performing as well as the Austrian Tonkünstler Orchestra, which serves as orchestra in residence. The first festival started on 23 August 2007 and lasted until 9 September 2007.
The annual festival takes place on the grounds of Grafenegg Castle. Two venues have been built particularly for the festival in the park of the castle: The open-air stage Wolkenturm (capacity 2,000 in total, opened 2007) as well as the new concert hall Auditorium (capacity 1,372, opened 2008).
High-calibre classical concerts against a wonderful backdrop: Grafenegg, situated between Vienna and the Wachau valley, has risen within the space of a few years to be a festival venue of international renown, delighting people from all over the world season by season with its unique atmosphere. In the middle of the enchanting castle park stands the impressive Wolkenturm (Pillar of Clouds) open-air arena, rated one of the best outdoor stages in the world for its acoustics. Grafenegg matches this excellence with the region’s best wines, like Grüner Veltiner, and dishes. These can be tasted at various locations on the Grafenegg estate, such as the new garden pavilion «Wolke 7» (Cloud 7) and the Wine Lounge or at a picnic in the castle park.
Alongside a full summer programme of classical and modern music, beginning in mid-June with the star-studded Midsummer Night’s Gala and ending in mid-September with the Grafenegg Festival, Grafenegg is an all-year-round venue for a wide variety of events attracting more than 150 000 people annually to the romantic castle campus. For decades now, the «Grafenegger Advent» has been one of Austria’s liveliest Christmas markets; with its «Schlossklänge» cycle, the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria provides orchestral concerts throughout the year. The highlights are the festive concerts for Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Easter.
