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Eleven weeks of music lie ahead when the 38th Rheingau Music Festival opens at the end of June in the basilica of Eberbach Monastery. Eleven weeks full of musical diversity and enjoyable conviviality. We think it's a good reason to celebrate! In 2025, the opening concert of the Rheingau Music Festival will feature a wide range of diverse sounds: works by Maurice Ravel, whose 150th birthday the music world and we too are celebrating this year, by Pablo de Sarasate, Franz Waxman, and Charles Gounod—namely, his solemn "Cecilia Mass"—will immerse the monastery in musical color this evening. In keeping with tradition, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, under its chief conductor Alain Altinoglu, will take to the stage, bringing the unique architectural monument to life in rich musical splendor at the opening of this year's Rheingau Music Festival.

This concert is all about the lively music of the famous waltz and polka king Johann Strauss Jr., his brothers, and his father. The young audience can look forward to some musical surprises: Who has ever sung the "Tritsch-Tratsch Polka"? And who has heard the cuckoo call of the "Krapfenwaldl Polka" and immediately imitated it? Who thinks of pizza rather than plucking strings when they hear the "Pizzicato Polka"? And who has ever waltzed to the melody of "The Beautiful Blue Danube"? We invite everyone to sing and dance along!

When the Kurhaus Wiesbaden opens its doors to the magnificent Friedrich-von-Thiersch Hall at the end of June, we are particularly delighted that this year it will once again be the venue for the second opening concert of the Rheingau Music Festival. Not only will we be welcoming the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra to this concert once again, but we will also be taking the opportunity to let you revel in the multifaceted sounds of this year's featured composer, Maurice Ravel, and to present you with a wonderful pianist: Beatrice Rana, together with the orchestra and Alain Altinoglu, will perform Maurice Ravel's sensitively and excitingly orchestrated Piano Concerto in G major. And when the MDR Radio Choir envelops the Kurhaus in very special sounds with Charles Gounod's famous "Cecilia Mass" in the second half, nothing will stand in the way of a successful second opening concert.

"This oratorio far surpasses anything of its kind that has ever been performed in this or any other kingdom," wrote the newspapers when George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Messiah" premiered in Dublin in 1742. Indeed, it is not difficult to imagine the profound impression this work must have made on the Irish audience at its premiere. Even today, it is easy to be overwhelmed by this oratorio, which is as powerful in sound as it is multifaceted. With fresh musicality, soloists, the Chamber Choir of the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, and the Cappella Academica Frankfurt will bring this monumental work to life in June in the Basilica of Eberbach Monastery.

The string quartet – a purely classical-romantic affair? The members of the Quatuor Ébène were never convinced of this. The first jam sessions took place in their university's rehearsal room at the end of the 1990s. And it developed into much more than a bit of a diversion: improvising together on jazz standards and pop songs has become the trademark of the French quartet. Their award-winning recordings of great masterpieces of string quartet literature are now joined by albums that look far beyond the confines of classical music. And the four members of the Quatuor Ébène regularly bring performers from entirely different musical worlds on board. The quartet shares a close artistic friendship with Catriona McKay and Chris Stout. They first met the two Scots in 2012, and since then they have embarked on several joint journeys to the border regions of classical and folk music. In 2025 we will embark on the next exciting excursion.

This year we are celebrating the debut of a jazz legend: Fred Wesley, the internationally acclaimed trombonist and former musical director of James Brown's band, will bring funky grooves to the Cuvéehof courtyard of Schloss Johannisberg in his concert. Together with the impressive singer Martha High, who also performed with James Brown for 30 years, and the band The New JB's, he will bring the legacy of funk to the stage with new energy. The ensemble captivates audiences with its powerful music – a blend of funk, R&B, and soul – and its thrilling live performances. With classics like "Pass the Peas" and "I'm Black and I'm Proud" as well as new interpretations of well-known hits, these exceptional musicians guarantee an unforgettable evening of concerts against the backdrop of Schloss Johannisberg.

Not just summer, sun, and sunshine, but flamenco, rhythm, and guitar sounds: Spain's culture has so many treasures to offer that this year's country focus is turning our attention to Southern Europe and celebrating music and dance with a Spanish Night. In this concert project, presented exclusively at the Rheingau Music Festival, Linus Roth and Anabel Montesinos present well-known works by Spanish composers. And, of course, one thing cannot be missing from a Spanish Night: flamenco. It will be diverse and passionate when Rocio Osuna and Juan Carlos Sánchez bring this cultural heritage to the stage, lending the Rheingau a southern European flair.

The 1920s and 30s can rightly be described as a golden age in cultural terms – and many people look back with longing to the Roaring Twenties, at least in a musical sense. These times offered great divas, exuberant celebrations, and world-class hits – and they have not lost their appeal to this day. In their program "In Women's Paradise," the Divertimento Viennese orchestra transports the audience into the atmosphere of the entertainment theaters between Vienna and Berlin with original arrangements from the era and salon orchestra tradition. Singer Ethel Merhaut slips into the role of the divas: their diverse repertoire ranges from romantic arias to swinging dances to frivolous hits. Stefano Bernardin, the impresario who is closely connected to the eccentric divas, will host the evening as the concert's impresario.

Till Brönner has long been a familiar face at the Rheingau Music Festival. And this year, the internationally acclaimed jazz trumpeter returns to the picturesque wine region with other great musicians. Together with guitar star Torsten Goods and singer Kim Sanders, who achieved international fame with the band Culture Beat, the multiple ECHO winner and Grammy nominee impresses with his virtuoso jazz sounds. This top-class lineup is complemented by percussionist Alfonso Garrido from Chile, drummer Christian Lettner, composer and double bassist Christian von Kaphengst, and Jan Miserre on piano – a musical summit in this formation.

"María Dueñas is one of the most exciting and promising talents of her generation." With these words, the Spanish violinist was awarded the LOTTO Prize of the Rheingau Music Festival in 2021. Now she returns to the Rheingau region and, together with the Orquesta Nacional de España and our featured artist Andrés Orozco-Estrada, brings fiery passion to the Kurhaus Wiesbaden. With Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and Édouard Lalo's Symphonie espagnole, this evening combines French refinement with Spanish temperament—a concert that takes the audience on a musical journey to this year's featured country, Spain.