The annual festival of Schubert and his contemporaries celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and, in 6 programs spread over two distinct performing spaces, brings the sound world of Schubert alive.
The Schubertiade (named after the evenings in Schubert’s house) in 2026 will be performed on the following schedule:
Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg Dominic Kummer – Bregenzerwald Tourismus
SCHUBERTIADE HOHENEMS, Markus Sittikus Hall
29 April – 3 May 2026 (reconstruction of the programme of the first Schubertiade in 1976)
29th – 31st May 2026
16th – 19th July 2026
1st – 4th October 2026
SCHUBERTIADE SCHWARZENBERG, Angelika Kauffmann Hall
19th – 24th June 2026
21 – 26 August 2026
Starting first with lieder recitals, piano, and chamber music, over the past 50 years, the festival has expanded to cover Schubert’s orchestral works on a few rare occasions. The expansion of the first concerts from solely the music of Schubert to include other composers (Schubert’s predecessors, contemporaries, and successors) to place Schubert and his unique lyrical talents into a context.
The performers this year include the top lied singers and, just as importantly, the top lied accompanists. Lieder recitals will be given by Ilker Arcayürek, Erika Baikoff, The Erlkings, Patrick Grahl, Alexander Grassauer, Samuel Hasselhorn, Nikola Hillebrand, Christiane Karg, Konstantin Krimmel, Patricia Nolz, Mauro Peter, Christoph Prégardien, Julian Prégardien, Sophie Rennert, Andrè Schuen, David Steffens, women’s choir ‘Vocalis’ with pianists Kristian Bezuidenhout, Ammiel Bushakevitz, Julius Drake, David Fray, Daniel Heide, Malcolm Martineau, and Joseph Middleton.
Aerial view of Hohenems © Szymon Nitka/Vorarlberg Tourism
To look at a couple of special programmes, you can hear tenor Ilker Arcayürek with pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz perform the song cycle Die schöne Müllerin on 2 May, and later in the month, on 30 May, hear tenor Julian Prégardien perform with Kristian Bezuidenhout on a period piano. The Erlkings (baritone, guitar, cello, tuba, percussion) also take up the cycle in English on 18 July for a non-traditional version.
Andrè Schuen and Daniel Heide © Christoph Köstlin / DG
Another duplicate song cycle is Winterreise, first on 2 May with baritone Andrè Schuen and pianist Daniel Heide, on 22 June with tenor Christoph Prégardien and pianist Julius Drake, and on 25 August with mezzo-soprano Sophie Rennert accompanied by Joseph Middleton on piano.
Franz Schubert: Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 – No. 13. Die Post (Andrè Schuen, baritone; Daniel Heide, piano)
Bass-baritone Alexander Grassauer and pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz will give a programme of Schubert’s last publication: Schwanengesang in October.
Piano recitals will be given by some of today’s leading interpreters, including David Fray, Marc-André Hamelin, Adam Laloum, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Igor Levit, Paul Lewis, Francesco Piemontesi, and duo pianists Yaara Tal & Andreas Groethuysen.
Franz Schubert: 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 94, D. 780 – No. 5 in F Minor: Allegro vivace (David Fray, piano)
Franz Schubert: 4 Impromptus, Op. 142, D. 935 – No. 1 in F Minor (Elisabeth Leonskaja, piano)
Chamber music concerts include a world of string quartets and piano quintets from the Alinde Quartet (Schubert), Aris Quartet (Beethoven and Schubert), Armida Quartet (Brahms and Schubert), Goldmund Quartet (Haydn, Schubert, and Brahms), Javus Quartet (Haydn, Schubert, and Mendelssohn), Kuss Quartet (Janacek, Beethoven, and Schubert), Mandelring Quartet, Minetti Quartet, Pavel Haas Quartet (Dvořák) , and the Quatuor Danel (Schubert and Schumann).
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 12 in C Minor, D. 703, “Quartettsatz” (Mandelring Quartet, Ensemble)
Franz Schubert: Rondo in D Major, D. 608 (Duo Tal and Groethuysen, Ensemble)
In June, the Hagen Quartet will give their final European concerts at the Schubertiade, after which they will disband.
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, D. 810, “Death and the Maiden” – I. Allegro (Hagen Quartet, Ensemble)
Hagen Quartet © chamberfest.com
Chamber concerts include performances of Schubert’s Octet, piano and string quintets by Schubert, clarinet quintets by Mozart and Brahms, string sextets by Dvořák , piano trios by Liszt, Haydn, and Schubert, with the quartets listed above and also with performances by Guillaume Bellom, Adrian Brendel, Lorraine Campet, Renaud Capuçon, Gérard Caussé, Karel Dohnal, Veronika Eberle, Tobias Feldmann, Till Fellner, Tomás Frantis, Boris Giltburg, Julia Hagen, Viviane Hagner, Stefan Heinemeyer, Manuel Huber, Victor Julien-Laferrière, Harriet Krijgh, Pavel Nikl, Petr Ries, Matthias Schorn, David Seidel, Lukas Sternath, Premysl Vojta, Ivan Vokác, Dominik Wagner, and Jörg Widmann.
Schubert’s choir music will also be given in concert at the Pfarrkirche St. Karl by the Kammerchor Feldkirch, with baritone Konstantin Krimmel, members of the Vorarlberg Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Hämmerle on organ, under the baton of Benjamin Lack. The programme will include Schubert’s Deutsches Requiem, D. 621 and his Deutsche Messe, D. 872.
For those of you who want more information about this amazing and ground-breaking festival, the Austrian channel ORF will be broadcasting a documentary on The Magic of the Schubertiade (Der Zauber der Schubertiade).
The world of the Schubertiade is a world of immersion in perfection: you are listening to the best musicians in outstanding venues performing the music of a beloved composer. By placing the music of other composers in Schubert’s world, you can better hear their associations, influences, and how Schubert’s gift for melody and musical detail was passed on to his heirs.
Official website: https://www.schubertiade.at/en/home/index.html
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