Bach Festivals & Cantata Series
Wiesbadener Bachwochen

Name:

Wiesbadener Bachwochen (Wiesbaden Bach Weeks)

Location:

Wiesebaden, Hesse, Germany

Venues:

The Wiesbadener Bachwochen (Wiesbaden Bach Weeks) primarily host their events, lectures, and choral concerts across several prominent churches and civic venues in Wiesbaden, Germany.
The main venues for the festival include:
Marktkirche: The central market church and the largest Protestant church in Wiesbaden, frequently used for large-scale choral and orchestral performances.
Lutherkirche: Located in the Westend district, known for hosting massive choral events and oratorios.
Bergkirche: A beautiful neo-Gothic church frequently used for church music, lectures, and chamber concerts.
St. Bonifatius: The main Catholic parish church in the city center, hosting festival choir and requiem performances.
Christophoruskirche: Located in the Schierstein district, often used for early music, chamber choirs, and cantatas.
Kurhaus Wiesbaden: The city's grand event hall, utilized occasionally for larger symphonic or orchestral concerts.

Years:

Since 1975 (Biennial Festival)

Months:

Until 2003: October-December
Since 2015: December-January

Artistic Director:

Martin Lutz (since 1975)

Ensembles:

The Wiesbadener Bachwochen rely on a core group of resident ensembles alongside various prominent guest artists. The resident choir and orchestras heavily involved in the festival include:
Schiersteiner Kantorei: The primary chorus of the festival, known for their vocal mastery of sacred choral music and J.S. Bach's major oratorios.
Bach-Ensemble Wiesbaden: An elite chamber orchestra made up of leading musicians from Rhein-Main area orchestras and music academy faculty. They perform as both a symphonic chamber orchestra and a specialized period-instrument baroque orchestra.
Barockensemble Parnassi musici: A highly regarded period-instrument ensemble that frequently collaborates with the festival's artistic director and world-renowned soloists like counter-tenor Andreas Scholl.

Website:

Bach Wiesbaden

History & Mission:

The Wiesbadener Bachwochen is a biennial classical music festival in Wiesbaden, Germany, dedicated to the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. Founded in 1975 by church musician and conductor Martin Lutz, its mission is to celebrate J.S. Bach's sacred music as a transcendental and emotionally moving experience.
History
The festival was established in 1975 by Martin Lutz, who also launched the supporting organization, the Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Gesellschaft. Over the decades, it has grown into a major cultural staple in the Hessian state capital, typically drawing around 4,000 visitors to various concert venues across the city, such as the Marktkirche and the Kurhaus.
Mission
The core mission of the Wiesbadener Bachwochen is to make J.S. Bach's compositions vibrant, accessible, and deeply spiritual. Operating under the motto "faith turned into music" (Musik gewordener Glaube), the festival highlights the transcendental dimensions of the composer's works. It fulfills this mission through:
Concert Series: Showcasing a blend of local ensembles (such as the Schiersteiner Kantorei) and internationally renowned guest musicians.
Education & Outreach: Providing historically informed performances and pre-concert lectures to deepen audience understanding.
The Bach Prize: Hosting an international organ competition during the festival where the city awards the Bachpreis der Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden to the winning organist.

Recent Festivals:

16^th Festival Oct 19-Dec 3, 2005
17^th Festival: Oct 18-Dec2, 2007
18^th Festival: Oct 23-Nov 21, 2009
19^th Festival: Oct 29-Nov 25, 2011
20^th Festival: Nov 3-Dec 5, 2013

21^st Festival: Nov 6, 2015-Jan 16, 2016
22^nd Festival: Oct 27, 2017-Jan 13, 2018
23^rd Festival: Nov 3, 2019-Jan 11, 2020
24^th Festival: Nov 5, 2021-Jan 8, 2022
25^th Festival: Nov 4, 2023-Jan 13, 2024
26^th Festival: Nov 2, 2025-Jan 16, 2026

Logo: