International Music Festival

The 43rd International Music Festival of the Wiener Konzerthaus ranges from a complete performance of Richard Wagner’s »Der Ring des Nibelungen« to a concert by the Vienna Philharmonic to mark the 100th anniversary of Herbert Blomstedt’s birth. And it is not only in Wagner’s »Ring« that the theme of the pursuit of power and possession—whose ruinous consequences can only be overcome by selfless love—serves as a unifying thread. This theme is also explored in depth in several other high-calibre projects at the festival. For instance, our honorary member Patricia Kopatchinskaja focuses on the mythological figure of Prometheus: by stealing fire from the gods, Prometheus brings civilisation to humankind, but must also bear the devastating consequences of the plundering of the planet.