From the palaces of Stockholm to the abbeys of Slovenia, from the Baltic shores to the royal theatres of Scandinavia, early music traces a summer route through Northern and Eastern Europe. Baroque operas, Renaissance polyphony, intimate festivals, and major international gatherings bring heritage, spirituality, and creativity into dialogue, at the heart of landscapes long absent from the major musical maps of Europe. 
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The 10 festivals are presented in order of their opening dates, from June to September. The table of contents below lists them and provides direct access to each festival profile, where you can discover the dates, venues, artists and main highlights. Have a wonderful summer of music!
Contents
NORTHERN EUROPE
June 3-June 7 – Stockholm Festival
Stockholm Early Music Festival (Sweden)
A Quarter-Century
From June 3 to 7, 2026
The Stockholm Early Music Festival (SEMF) will celebrate its 25th anniversary from June 3 to 7, 2026. The largest early music festival in the Nordic countries, it takes place in the medieval churches and historic venues of Stockholm’s Old Town, from the historic district of Gamla Stan, and offers evening concerts, lunchtime recitals, lectures, and masterclasses. Founded by Peter Pontvik, the festival has welcomed many of the biggest names on the international early music scene over the past two decades, including Jordi Savall, Les Arts Florissants, Philippe Jaroussky, Freiburger Barockorchester, and Ton Koopman. The 2026 edition will notably feature the ensembles The Sixteen, Cappella Neapolitana, Opera Omnia, as well as the French ensemble Il Caravaggio. Among the announced highlights is the world premiere of the singspiel Bacchi Tempel by Carl Michael Bellman (1740–1795), a major figure in eighteenth-century Swedish culture. The heart of the festival remains Stockholm’s German Church, Tyska kyrkan, a Gothic jewel in Gamla Stan, whose intimate atmosphere contributes greatly to the distinctive identity of SEMF.
Official website: www.earlymusicsweden.se
June 13-June 20 – Stenbroen Baroque Days
Stenbroens Barokdage (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Encounters and Collective Celebration
From June 13 to 20, 2026
In mid-June, Copenhagen hosts the 5th edition of the Stenbroens Barokdage festival. Based in the heart of the brokvarterer—the popular and creative districts of the Danish capital—the festival embraces a deeply urban, welcoming, and accessible approach to early music. For this anniversary edition, the British vocal ensemble I Fagiolini, directed by Robert Hollingworth, will present its programme We’re Not Dead Yet, celebrating the ensemble’s fortieth anniversary through a blend of Renaissance polyphony, British humour, and vocal virtuosity. The Portuguese ensemble Quarto Tom Ensemble and the Danish vocal collective Cantus Avium Copenhagen are also among the featured artists. Audiences will likewise be able to discover a musical promenade through the district of Nørrebro with the Høxbro Duo, bringing together flautist and specialist in Nordic traditions Poul Høxbro and his daughter, Silene Høxbro, in a programme centred on tunes drawn from historic Danish collections. In keeping with this spirit of openness, Stenbroens Barokdage combines early music with close-up, participatory experiences: children’s concerts, masterclasses, festive evenings, wine tastings, and meetings with the artists all contribute to the festival’s distinctive identity. Today, Stenbroens Barokdage embodies a new Nordic way of thinking about early music—less academic, more social, and one in which the baroque once again becomes an art of encounter and collective celebration.
Official website: www.stenbroensbarok.dk
July 23-July 26 – Haapsalu Festival
Haapsalu Early Music Festival (Estonia)
Between the Baltic and the Hanseatic World
From July 23 to 26, 2026
Founded in 1994 in the small seaside town of Haapsalu, on the Baltic coast of western Estonia, the Haapsalu Early Music Festival is one of the major early music events in the Nordic region. Set between the medieval walls of Haapsalu Cathedral and the intimate surroundings of St. John’s Church, the festival has cultivated a scholarly identity for more than thirty years, against a backdrop of the Baltic Sea and Hanseatic heritage. Organised by Studio Vocale, the 2026 edition reflects a distinctly European outlook, featuring the Dutch ensemble Cappella Pratensis in the monumental Missa Maria Zart by Jacob Obrecht, British tenor Guy Cutting accompanied by the ensemble Floridante, the duo formed by André Lislevand (viola da gamba) et Jadran Duncumb (theorbo, baroque lute, guitar), as well as the Scottish choir Joshua. The programme also highlights the younger generation through the “Ancient Music – Young Players” project, remaining true to the festival’s educational mission.
Official website: www.studiovocale.ee
July 30-August 16 – Kretinga Festival
Kretinga International Early Music Festival (Samogitia, Lithuania)
A unique acoustic
From July 30 to August 16, 2026
The 10th edition of the Kretinga International Early Music Festival will take place from 30 July to 16 August 2026 in the Franciscan Church of Kretinga, Lithuania. Directed by Argentine flautist and cornettist Rodrigo Calveyra and mezzo-soprano Renata Dubinskaitė, the festival places particular emphasis on Renaissance and Baroque sonorities in the unique acoustics of a church housing one of Lithuania’s oldest organs. Highlights include a Venetian-themed opening concert by Les Cornets Noirs, a tribute to Cavalli by Canto Fiorito, and a recital by soprano Ana Quintans devoted to seventeenth-century Portuguese, French, and Italian music. Violinist Rodolfo Richter, organist Massimiliano Raschietti, and gambist Fahmi Alqhai with his ensemble Accademia del Piacere are also among the major guests of the 2026 edition. Between Italian influences, Iberian heritage and Bach reimagined for viol consort, Kretinga asserts an ambitious artistic identity at the crossroads of European traditions. In this small town in north-western Lithuania, the festival offers an immersion into the world of early music in an atmosphere that is at once intimate, international, and deeply rooted in heritage. One particularly attractive feature: all concerts are free of charge.
Official website: www.cantofiorito.lt
August 1-August 20 – Drottningholm Palace Theatre
Drottningholms Slottsteater (Stockholm, Sweden)
An Eighteenth-Century Stage and Machinery
From August 1st to 20, 2026
Just a few kilometres from Stockholm, the Drottningholm Palace Theatre is one of the legendary venues of European Baroque opera. Built in the eighteenth century and miraculously preserved with its original stage machinery, this court theatre (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) hosts a summer opera season entirely devoted to the Baroque and Classical repertoires performed on period instruments. The 2026 opera season at the Drottningholms Slottsteater will be dedicated to the great Italian Baroque tradition, with a new production of Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, performed from August 1 to 15, 2026 in the legendary eighteenth-century court theatre, preserved in its original state. Musical direction will be entrusted to Francesco Corti, the theatre’s current music director and one of the leading figures of the new generation of European Baroque musicians. The production has been entrusted to French stage director Benjamin Lazar, particularly renowned for his work on historical theatrical aesthetics, candlelit staging, and the rediscovery of Baroque performance practices. The production will be presented under the historical conditions for which the institution is internationally renowned: original stage machinery still operated by hand, painted scenery inspired by the eighteenth century, and the intact acoustics of the royal theatre built in 1766. Several lectures and concerts devoted to seventeenth-century music will accompany the production of Poppea. Also noteworthy are appearances by the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, directed by Paul O’Dette, in a Monteverdi programme on August 17 and 18, as well as two concerts by the Drottningholm Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Francesco Corti: Monteverdi’s The Combat of Tancredi and Clorinda on August 14, and Stradella’s oratorio San Giovanni Battista on August 22 and 23. Far more than a simple festival, Drottningholm today represents a genuine living laboratory of European Baroque opera. In this theatre, which has remained virtually unchanged since the Gustavian era, audiences discover not only early music, but also the way it was physically and visually experienced during the Age of Enlightenment.
Official website: www.dtm.se
August 7-August 13 – BRQ Vantaa Festival
BRQ Vantaa Festival (Helsinki, Finland)
“War and Love”
From August 7 to 13, 2026
Based in the city of Vantaa, north of Helsinki, the BRQ Vantaa Festival has established itself over the past fifteen years as Finland’s leading event dedicated to early and baroque music. The 2026 edition will take place from August 7 to 13 in several landmark venues across the region, notably the medieval Church of St. Lawrence in Vantaa and the modern Tikkurila Church, whose contrasting acoustics are one of the festival’s defining characteristics. The 2026 theme, “War and Love”, permeates the entire festival week through its music, stories, and atmosphere. International guests include the Basel-based harpsichordist and singer Elam Rotem and the Danish bass soloist Jakob Bloch Jespersen, who will perform alongside leading Finnish early music specialists, including the Finnish Baroque Orchestra. Duo Medieval will transport listeners into medieval soundscapes conducive to meditation, while Ensemble Nylandia will invite audiences into the heart of wedding celebrations. The festival will also present Pietari Brahe in Words and Music, and the family-friendly Don Quixote concerts will take place throughout the city of Vantaa. Laura Kolbe and Anssi Mattila will guide audiences through the concert programmes, while the much-loved guided walking tours will continue. The concert programmes will also see early music meet folk music and jazz.
Official website: www.brq.fi
EASTERN EUROPE
July 16-August 5– Summer Festivities of Early Music
Summer Festivities of Early Music (Prague, Czech Republic)
In the Palaces and Gardens of Prague
From July 16 to August 5, 2026
The leading early music festival in the Czech Republic, the Summer Festivities of Early Music cultivates an immersive aesthetic that combines music, theatre, and baroque dance. Under the direction of Jana Semerádová and Collegium Marianum, the programmes bring together music, dance, and staging in Prague’s palaces and gardens: Lobkowicz Palace, the Church of Saints Simon and Jude, Strahov Monastery, and Troja Château. This year’s programme features bass-baritone Andreas Wolf with Collegium Marianum; Stile Antico in The Veneration of Saints in Renaissance Polyphony; Orfeo ed Euridice performed by Scherzi Musicali and Nicolas Achten; Miriam Hontana and her ensemble OBNI in Objeto Barroco No Identificado; and the concert Metamorfosi. Dialogue of Voices Between East and West will bring together Lucile Boulanger (viola da gamba), Waed Bouhassoun (oud and voice), Kiya Tabassian (setar and voice), Vojtěch Semerád (violin and voice), and Lambert Colson (flute and cornett), alongside a programme devoted to the golden age of English viol consorts with Vittorio Ghielmi.
Official website: www.letnislavnosti.cz
August 7-August 21 – Seviqc Brežice
Seviqc Brežice (Slovenia)
Music and Slovenian Heritage
From August 7 to 21, 2026
For more than forty years, the Seviqc Brežice Festival has established itself as one of the leading early music events in Central Europe. Its name, Seviqc — “SEmper VIva Quam Creata”, meaning “always alive as it was created”—reflects its guiding philosophy. Its programme is conceived with respect for historically informed performance practices and takes place exclusively in Slovenian cultural heritage sites. Today, the festival is primarily based in Celje and at several heritage venues across the country. The 2026 edition, taking place from August 7 to 21, will feature the Swiss ensemble The Pleasure Garden, the Slovenian ensemble OperArija, the Spanish groups Qvinta Essençia and Bach Collegium Barcelona, the UK-based Duo Jiménez Stegmann, Portuguese harpsichordist Tiago Matias, the Serbian ensemble Musica Antiqua Neoplantensis, and Hungary’s Savaria Baroque Orchestra. Seviqc favours intimate formats and direct exchanges with artists, with talks preceding every concert. The festival also affirms its cross-border vocation by fostering dialogue between the musical traditions of Central Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Balkans.
Official website: www.seviqc.si
August 31-September 18 – Korkyra Baroque Festival
Korkyra Baroque Festival (Dalmatia, Croatia)
On the Island of Korčula
From August 31 to September 18, 2026
On the Dalmatian island of Korčula, Croatia, the Korkyra Baroque Festival has established itself since its founding in 2012 as one of the Adriatic region’s leading early music events. It combines musical excellence with an exceptional heritage setting: churches, cloisters, palaces, squares, and hidden courtyards across Korčula and the Pelješac Peninsula become open-air stages for the baroque repertoire each summer. Since 2015, artistic direction has been entrusted to violinist Laura Vadjon, who also leads the Croatian Baroque Ensemble, the festival’s resident ensemble. The 2026 edition continues this distinctly Mediterranean yet international identity with around ten thematic programmes bringing together Croatian artists and guests from England, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Scotland, and Finland. Among the featured artists are British harpsichordist Julian Perkins, Austrian oboist Andreas Helm, the Italian ensemble I Bassifondi directed by Simone Vallerotonda, the ensemble Concerto Scirocco, as well as several Croatian singers, including Marin Čargo, Josipa Bilić, and Lucija Ercegovac. The 2026 edition will also be marked by the unveiling of a new two-manual Croatian harpsichord built by the Pavlinić & Depolo workshops.
Official website: www.korkyrabaroque.com
September 3-September 13 – Wratislavia Cantans
Wratislavia Cantans (Lower Silesia, Poland)
Pilgrimage Through Life
From September 3 to 13, 2026
Founded in 1966, the major vocal festival Wratislavia Cantans remains a cornerstone of musical life in Central Europe. It is distinguished by its large-scale choral frescoes, often performed in the churches of Silesia and at the National Forum of Music. Among the artists appearing in 2026 are Giovanni Antonini and Paul McCreesh, both former artistic directors of the festival. With the Gabrieli Consort & Players, Paul McCreesh presented A Venetian Coronation 1595 at the 32nd Wratislavia Cantans in 1997. Giovanni Antonini, together with Il Giardino Armonico, will revisit a recording made more than thirty years ago in the concert Sì dolce è ’l tormento. In both cases, according to Andrzej Kosendiak, the concerts also represent a pilgrimage through life, the underlying theme of the 2026 festival, inspired by the writer Joseph Conrad. Also appearing will be Ottavio Dantone and Accademia Bizantina in a concert performance of Dido and Aeneas, as well as Tomasz Dobrzański and Ars Cantus in a programme of motets and ballades by Guillaume de Machaut.
Official website: www.nfm.wroclaw.pl
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