For this new edition of the Colmar International Festival, I wanted to continue sharing a programme of the highest artistic quality with as many people as possible. I use the word ‘share’ in the sense of ‘creating bonds with others, getting closer, listening to others and hearing them’. We are living in complicated times, with endless international conflicts, constant questioning of science and isolationism gaining ground all over the world. I am convinced that these great moments of music that we will experience together in Colmar will allow our hearts and minds to escape a little and dream alongside our artists.
This year, we will of course welcome the great names of classical music, but also the younger generation, who are shaping the music of tomorrow. For example, we will have the pleasure of seeing the Argos duo, formed by Julien Beautemps and Sothiris Athanasiou, who both appeared as young talents in previous editions.
The return of the Brussels La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Mulhouse National Orchestra and the Ô'Celli, clearly demonstrates the spirit of loyalty that is so dear to me. At the same time, we invite you to discover the excellence of European orchestras, such as the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the B'Rock Orchestra, all of which are new to Colmar.
For me, the Colmar International Festival is also a story of friendship. I am therefore very happy to be reunited with my dear colleagues Renaud Capuçon, Edgar Moreau and Natalie Dessay, who will also be coming to the Festival for the first time.
Beyond the concerts, we are continuing our mission of openness.
The Colmar Symphonic Mob©, which has become a real highlight eagerly awaited by the whole city, perfectly illustrates this idea of an open, unifying, generous and accessible orchestra.
The outreach activities, the meetings, the Young Talents cycle and the family concert extend this commitment: to provide guidance, to arouse curiosity and to accompany the first steps towards music.
I am therefore delighted to invite you to join us for the 2026 edition, to share these moments of emotion, discovery and joy, and to make Colmar, during the festival, a place where music is experienced fully, simply and together.
It was in 1979 that a classical music festival was created for the first time in Colmar under the artistic direction of German conductor Karl Munchinger. At the time, Munchinger was Principal Conductor of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, and his role in German musical life in the 1970s was comparable to that of Herbert von Karajan. "Why did I want to hold a music festival in Colmar? For ten years or so, concerts were held mainly in the church and cloister of the Dominicans, and the festival's ambition was to become "one of the leading centres for dialogue between French and German music".
In 1989, the festival opened a new chapter in its history, becoming an international festival, with the arrival of the world-renowned Russian violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov as artistic director. Under his direction, 32 prestigious editions and more than 700 concerts were held, each of them a tribute to a great musician. Maestro Spivakov has invited the greatest soloists and orchestras to perform at the Festival, which has since moved on to other major heritage sites in Colmar: the Koïfhus, the church of Saint-Matthieu and the chapel of Saint Pierre, as well as the Parc des Expositions. In July 2010, Valdimir Spivakov, accompanied by soloists from the Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra and soprano Anastasia Belukova, performed at the Musée Unterlinden in the very heart of the chapel, in front of the Issenheim Altarpiece. From Jessy Norman to Mistislav Rostropovitch; from Yehudi Menuin to Martha Argerich, the list of great performers who have accepted the invitation to Colmar is objectively impressive. Vladimir Spivakov, a great humanist and talent scout, also opens the doors of the Festival to future great names in classical music: Evgeny Kissin, Edgar Moreau, Maria Dueñas... to name but a few. The event has become a must-see in the European festival season for classical music lovers.
In 2023, after an absence of three years, the Colmar International Festival continues its great and beautiful history by starting a new collaboration with the French conductor, also world-renowned, Alain Altinoglu.
Artistic rigour is the link between these different pages.
1983, Karl Munchinger dans l'église des Dominicains
Vladimir Spivakov
