The Ludwigsburg Festival (''Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele'', also ''Internationale Festspiele Baden-Württemberg'') is a culture festival with programs in music, dance, theatre and literature. The festival is held in

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...

annually between May and July. Founded in 1932, the festival is among the oldest festivals in German-speaking countries. Many events are held at the

Ludwigsburg Palace Ludwigsburg Palace, nicknamed the "Versailles of Swabia", is a 452-room palace complex of 18 buildings located in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its total area, including the gardens, is the largest palatial estate in the country. T ...

History

founded the Ludwigsburger Mozartgemeinde in 1931 and a year later began chamber music concerts at the palace.

Wolfgang Gönnenwein Wolfgang Gönnenwein (29 January 1933 – 26 July 2015) was a German conductor and an academic teacher. Biography Born in Schwäbisch Hall, Wolfgang Gönnenwein studied music and German studies at the University of Heidelberg and the University ...

, who was the artistic director from 1972 to 2004, developed the festival to an event of three months with around 100 events. The state

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

made the festival a state event with a new official name from 1980. From 2005 to 2009 it was directed by

Wulf Konold Wulf Konold (29 June 1946 – 24 June 2010) was a German musicologist, dramaturge and theatre director. Life Born in Langenau near Ulm, From 1966 to 1973 Konold studied musicology, German studies and History at the Christian-Albrechts-Universit ...

and the conductor

Michael Hofstetter Michael Hofstetter (born 6 September 1961) is a German conductor and academic. He was chief conductor of the festival Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele from 2005 to 2012, and has been Generalmusikdirektor of Gießen since. He has worked internation ...

, who initiated a series of rarely performed operas, including the premiere of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1807 singspiel ''

Liebe und Eifersucht ''Liebe und Eifersucht'' (''Love and Jealousy'') is a ''Singspiel'', an opera with spoken dialogue, in three acts by the German composer and author E. T. A. Hoffmann, composed in 1807 on his own libretto based on the translation by August Wilhelm ...

'' in 2008. has been director from 2009.

References

External links

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Alles zur Organisation Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele
Südwest Presse {{authority control Classical music festivals in Germany Recurring events established in 1932 Festivals established in 1932 Music festivals established in 1932