{{more citations needed, date=June 2014 The Bayreuther Osterfestival is an

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

held at Bayreuth in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It has the three aims of raising money for cancer charities, providing experience and opportunities for young musicians, and the promotion of international understanding. It is connected with the work of the International Youth Orchestra Academy, and was founded in 1994.

History

The Bayreuther Osterfestival was founded by Prof. Dr. Ulrich S. Schubert and Dr. Andreas Göldel in co-operation with director Prof. August Everding and the Australian conductor

Sir Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engli ...

. The Festival, with its charity concerts for the benefit of children who suffer from cancer, takes place every year at Easter. The festival started with the symphonic concerts of the Internationale Junge Orchesterakademie and now its program ranges from symphonic and chamber orchestra concerts to organ music, festival brass, jazz and salonorchestra concerts. In 2007 the genre opera has been added to the festival’s program for the first time, with Antonio Salieri’s “

Prima la musica e poi le parole (First the music and then the words) is an opera in one act by Antonio Salieri to a libretto by Giovanni Battista Casti. The work was first performed on 7 February 1786 in Vienna, following a commission by the Emperor Joseph II.Christoph Ulrich Meier. The opera, the symphonic concerts and the festival brass (directed and conducted by

Bob Ross Robert Norman Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He was the creator and host of '' The Joy of Painting'', an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on ...

) take place at the

Margravial Opera House The Margravial Opera House (german: Markgräfliches Opernhaus) is a Baroque opera house in the town of Bayreuth, Germany. Built between 1745 and 1750, it is one of Europe's few surviving theatres of the period and has been extensively restored. ...

in Bayreuth (Germany). Musical director of the festival is Prof. Dr. Ulrich S. Schubert. Responsible body of the Bayreuther Osterfestival is the social- and cultural foundation Internationale Junge Orchesterakademie. Administrative centre of the foundation is Playstein (Germany). Besides the Bayreuther Osterfestival and the Osterfestival Nördliche Oberpfalz the foundation presents and organizes also the Internationale Junge Orchesterakademie, a range orchestra of young musicians from all over the world who, in a two weeks workshop, study a symphonic program and since 2007, with a smaller orchestra, an opera. With this program the young musicians go on tour. In the last years the orchestra of the IJOA had guest performances in Bayreuth (

), Weiden (Max-Reger-Halle), Selb (Rosenthal-Theater), Leipzig (

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) und Bielefeld (Neustädter Marienkirche). Since 2004 Miguel Gómez-Martínez conducts the IJOA orchestra. Sponsoring makes it possible for the Bayreuther Osterfestival to donate all the proceeds of the concerts for the benefit of children suffering from cancer at the children’s hospital in Bayreuth (Germany). Main Sponsors of the Bayreuther Osterfestival are the VR Bank in Bayreuth (Germany), Motor Nützel Group Bayreuth (Germany) and the Arvena Congress Hotel. Furthermore, the Bayreuther Osterfesival Society supports the festival. To make the festival public the festival has local (Radio Mainwelle, Nordbayerischer Kurier, TMT Multimedia-Productions) and national (

Bayerischer Rundfunk Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...

Studio Franken, Bayern 4 Klassik, Crescendo, Deutschlandradio Kultur, Müller Verlag) media partners. Until now the charity concerts raised €200,000 which could be donated to the children’s hospital in Bayreuth.

Selection of pieces played by the IJOA at the Bayreuther Osterfestival

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

, Symphony No 1,4,5 and 8 *Mahler, Symphony No 2 (debut performance) *Symphony, No 4 *

Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germa ...

, Symphony No 7 * Tschaikowsky, Symphony 4, 5, and 6 * Dvořák, Symphony 8 and 9 * Mendelson, Violin Concerto *Wagner, prelude and overture to Parsival, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser and Fliegender Holländer * Grieg, Holbein Suite *

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...

, Four Seasons * Mozart, Violin Concert A major *

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

, Brandenburgische Konzerte

CD Recordings

12 Classic CDs and one popular CD (Jazz and Salonorchestra)

External links

Bayreuther Osterfestival

Sources

Kultur- und Sozialstiftung Internationale Junge Orchesterakademie Music festivals established in 1994 Classical music festivals in Germany