Magical start: Blomstedt inspires at the festival anniversary in Wismar!

Magical start: Blomstedt inspires at the festival anniversary in Wismar!

The Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Festival celebrated their 35th anniversary in the sold-out Georgenkirche Wismar on June 13, 2025 in the sold-out Georgenkirche Wismar. A highlight of the evening was the 98-year-old conductor Herbert Blomstedt, who led the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra to the sound of Beethoven's 2nd Symphony. The atmosphere was magical, and the concert goers describe the appearance as historical and full of magic, a real festival for the senses. Matthias von Hülsen, the founder of the festival, was more than satisfied with the impressive development of this cultural highlight.

Blomstedt, who is the oldest even active conductor of international format, has had a long and impressive career. Born in 1927 in Springfield, Massachusetts, as the son of Swedish parents, he studied conducting and worked with many famous orchestras worldwide. The Hamburg NDR orchestra is one of his earlier work facilities, while he also conducted the world's most famous orchestra, including the Vienna Philharmonic. In addition to the concert in Wismar, he recently received a great honor for his 90th birthday in the sold -out concert church in Neubrandenburg with Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 5.

diverse program items

director Ursula Haselböck announced an abundance of events for the entire duration of the festival. These offer music lovers a rich buffet of music events - often two concerts a day. Among the talents that will fill this year's festival summer, the cellist Anastasia Kobekina, which will be present with over 20 concerts. Another highlight will be the ensemble quator level that will occur in Parchim.

A look at the family offers shows that younger visitors will also get their money's worth. A children's and family festival takes place at Hasenwinkel Castle, while a jazz concert with Afra Kane and her combo is on the program in the new “Mecki” venue in Hagenow. The festival runs until September 14, 2025 and promises to become a real festival for the senses.

The premiere of a setting of the "Hohleied der Liebe" by three students from the Rostock University of Music and Theater, performed by the chamber choir there, represented another special moment of the evening. Soprano Regula Mühlemann took the audience with her performance of a Bach cantata and made the evening even more unforgettable. With all these magical moments, the festival has already left a lasting impression.

The creation and the long-term commitment of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania festival clearly show that the cultural life of the region will take up a permanent place here and will continue to be very popular in the future. Visitors should not miss the many offers and embark on a musical journey full of surprises and emotions.

Overall, this year's festival already makes a promising impression, and it remains exciting what highlights will still have the coming weeks.

For more information about the festival, you can read the detailed reporting on NDR, World or the profile of Herbert Blomstedt on Wikipedia.

Read more on NDR , Welt or learn from the extraordinary career of Herbert Blomstedt .