19. AUGUST – 09. SEPTEMBER 2023

Arp-Schnitger-Festival

Since 2010, the Musikfest Bremen has been focusing on the legacy of the legendary organ builder Arp Schnitger (1648 - 1719) and organising unique concerts in the organ paradise around Bremen. In the era around 1700, no one else built such magnificent and beautiful-sounding organs. Whether Bach, Handel or Buxtehude, the most respected composers admired and appreciated his instruments, which are considered the Stradivaris among organs. More than 100 new organs, plus numerous rebuilds and renovations, enriched congregations throughout northern Germany and the Netherlands, and some of the precious instruments even found their way to Spain, Portugal and Brazil. Important organs were also built in the workshops of Joachim Kayser, who had a difficult time as a contemporary due to Arp Schnitger's monopoly position, or by subsequent organ builders such as Erasmus Bielfeldt, who presumably learned from the master and is thus attributed to Arp Schnitger's school. The 34th Bremen Music Festival will bring all these impressive examples of incomparable northern European organ culture to life. For more information about Arp Schnitger please click here