6 Classical Music Festivals in Burgenland, Austria

Every year on the New Year’s Day, I enjoy watching the Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Concert, broadcasted live from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. In 2021, due to the ongoing high rates of COVID-19 infection, the concert took place without an audience, under the baton of the Italian conductor Riccardo Muti. Listening to the beautiful music of Johann Strauss II and other Austrian composers, I learned that, in 2021, the state of Burgenland would celebrate 100 years from when it became part of the Republic of Austria.

This beautiful landlocked Alpine country is bordered by a total of eight countries: Germany to the northwest, Czechia (Czech Republic) to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. It is made up of nine federated states: Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Tyrol, Carinthia, Salzburg, Vorarlberg and Burgenland. Although I have visited Austria quite a few times in my life, I’ve never visited this easternmost state.

Last summer, however, inspired by the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, which despite the pandemic took place from 2 to 11 July 2020, I published the post ‘A classical music to Austria’. In that post, I wrote about some of the classical music festivals that take place every year in Austria. Many of these festivals, including the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, take place in Burgenland.

Today, I am going to focus on those which are scheduled to take place in Burgenland this year. Let’s only hope that they will go ahead.

Music festivals in Burgenland

Liszt Festival Raiding (3 March, 10-20 June, 15-24 October 2021)

Even though Franz Liszt was born in the now Austrian city of Raiding (in the state of Burgenland), he is considered Hungarian rather than Austrian. As a matter of fact, he’s probably the most famous Hungarian composer.

The Liszt Festival Raiding normally takes place three times a year, in March, June and October. Unfortunately, last year’s concerts were cancelled. There is currently one event scheduled for March 2021, and many more scheduled for June and October 2021.

Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival (8-17 July 2021)

The Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival (Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus) turns 40 this year; it is due to take place from 8 to 17 July. Located in the state of Burgenland and close to the Hungarian border, Lockenhaus is 115 km (1.5-hour drive) from Vienna and 250 km (2.5-hour drive) from Budapest, The town was actually part of Hungary until a hundred years ago. The festival was founded in 1981 with the concerts taking place in the Church of Saints Nicholas (Pfarrkirche zum Heiligen Nikolaus) or inside a medieval castle, known as the Ritterburg or simply the Burg.

Seefestspiele Mörbisch (8 July to 14 August 2021)

Seefestspiele Mörbisch is an operetta festival due to take place from 8 July to 14 August 2021. Mörbisch am See is a town located on the shore of Lake Neusiedl, in the state of Burgenland and very close to the Hungarian border. The stage is directly on Lake Neusiedl and is the largest open-air opera stage in the world.

Opera in the Quarry (14 July to 21 August 2021)

This unique opera festival did not take place last year, but will hopefully go ahead in 2021. Opera in the Quarry (Opernfestspiele St. Margarethen) is ractually due from 14 July to 21 August 2021, when Giacomo Puccini’s opera ‘Turandot’ will be performed at the 1st-century Sankt Margarethen Quarry. The town of Sankt Margarethen is located in the state of Burgenland, near Eisenstadt, and close to the Hungarian border.

Haydn Festival (4-16 August 2021)

Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, an Austrian village near the border with Slovakia. He spent most of his life in Vienna, but also lived for a few years in London. When he returned to Vienna, he settled down in a suburban house, which is nowadays known as Haydnhaus (Haydn House) and serves as a museum.

Haydn’s remains are located in Eisenstadt, the capital of the state of Burgenland, where he spent quite a few summers. Nowadays, Eisenstadt hosts an annual classical music festival. Unfortunately, the 45th edition of the festival, due in August 2020, was cancelled. It will now take place from 4 to 16 August 2021.

If you can’t make it to Austria this summer, you may want to check out the English Haydn Festival. It will take place the week commencing on 14 June 2021 in Bridgnorth, a town in Shropshire.

classic.Esterhazy (TBA)

The Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt, the capital of the state of Burgenland, is home to a series of classical music concerts taking place throughout the year. The dates for 2021 are yet to be announced.

Music and mental health

When Muti addressed the online audience during the Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Concert, his words deeply resonated with me:

‘So music is important not because it is an entertainment – many times we see everywhere music considered as entertainment. Music is not only a profession but is a mission. That is why we do this work. A mission to make society better. To think about the new generation that in one complete year has been deprived from deep thinking, thinking all the time about health, health is the first most important thing, but also the health of the mind. And music helps.’

As a Psychiatrist and a blogger, I have previously written about the positive effects of art, culture and music (and particularly classical music) on a person’s mental (and physical) wellbeing.

In fact, many research studies provide evidence in support for the beneficial role of music (classical, as well as some other types of music) on both physical and psychological symptoms. For example, a systematic review indicated that listening to music might have a beneficial effect on physiological parameters (such as blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate), anxiety, and pain in people with coronary heart disease. Another systematic review concluded that music interventions might have beneficial effects on anxiety, pain, fatigue, and quality of life in patients with cancer.

Music therapy

The health benefits of listening to music can often be seen in the context of music therapy. This is an umbrella term for evidence-based interventions that use music in a therapeutic context. There are two types of music therapy: receptive (listening to music), and active or expressive music therapy (playing or creating music). Music therapy has been evaluated in many different physical and mental conditions, including dementia, and the results are positive.

The Mozart Effect

The ‘Mozart Effect’, named after the famous Austrian composer, refers to the positive effect that classical music has on cognitive skills. Researchers found that listening to the Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K. 448 by Mozart improved spatial reasoning skills (part of the widely used Stanford-Binet IQ test). It is rather unclear whether this effect is specific to this particular piece of music or applies to classical music in general. Music composed by Yanni (‘Acroyali/Standing In Motion’) was also found to have a similar effect. It may be that the positive effect on cognitive abilities is mediated by musical patterns shared by Mozart’s and Yanni’s compositions.