Featuring the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, a first-class ARD orchestra, the Mainz Music Summer will open on Saturday, July 11, in front of the Chagall stained-glass windows at St. Stephan’s Church, marking what is already the most successful festival season in terms of attendance since its founding in 1999. Six of the eleven concerts are already sold out. 

Ata Delbasteh, the new head of the City of Mainz’s Department of Culture, can report a success right from the start of his tenure with the Mainz Music Summer, as the festival has developed in recent years into a highly successful event with nationwide appeal. All visitors are cordially invited to get to know Mainz from this special musical perspective. 

Those who wish to attend this summer still have five concerts to choose from, taking place at a variety of attractive venues—some of which are only accessible on the respective concert evening—such as the Seminarkirche or the Fürst-von-Bismarck-Saal at the former Kupferberg sparkling wine cellar. 

The festival’s broad artistic spectrum includes concerts featuring recorder player Dorothee Oberlinger (Friday, July 17), who, with imagination and tonal precision, brings the world of the Baroque to the Seminarkirche together with her trio; the wind ensemble Harmonic Brass (Thursday, July 30), which, with Daniel Beckmann as a perfect partner at the cathedral organ, will present an evening featuring, among other works, pieces for brass and organ. 

At the “Wild Norway” concert (Saturday, August 8), the Rota Trio—led by Hardanger fiddle player and violinist Ragnhild Hemsing—will perform lively dances and folk tunes on the Kupferberg. Here, the festival builds a bridge to the symphonic Mainz Master Concerts with this celebrated Norwegian artist: “On December 13, Ragnhild Hemsing will captivate the audience with her emotional power and inspiration, performing some of the world-famous melodies from the Peer Gynt Suites in a sensational arrangement for Hardanger fiddle, violin, and full orchestra,” says Alexandra Hodapp of Konzertdirektion Mainz Klassik.

For 27 years, the Mainz Music Summer has been drawing people from across the Rhine-Main region to Mainz with its musical highlights, and since its founding in 1999, it has been jointly sponsored by the state capital of Mainz and Südwestrundfunk (SWR) in partnership with the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. 

Since 2015, the Villa Musica State Foundation has also been a partner in the chamber music program. Since 2004, the festival has been organized by the concert agency “Mainz Klassik.” In 2026, the festival will take place at St. Stephan and its cloister, the Seminarkirche on Augustinerstraße, St. Ignaz, the Traubensaal, and the Fürst-von-Bismarck-Saal at the former Kupferberg sparkling wine cellar. 

After a hiatus, St. Martin’s Cathedral is also returning as a concert venue. New additions to the program include exclusive guided tours of the historic venues and attractive festival subscription packages.

Information, festival subscriptions, and individual tickets:

www.mainz-klassik.de (opens in a new tab)  

06249 - 80 57 77 4
and at all major ticket outlets.

Single tickets:

19–45 euros

Festival passes:

165–216 euros

Discounts: 

High school students, college students, apprentices, and those in financial need pay only 25%. 

Free ticket for children: 

One accompanying child (up to age 16) is admitted free per concertgoer.