FESTIVAL GUIDE 2024

It's that time of year again... Spring has finally sprung, and along with the promised sunshine we welcome a brand-new season of glorious summer music.

- PAUL RILEY

Welcome!

This year, festivals around the world have pulled out all the stops to offer a wonderful range of repertoire, from the crowd-pleasing to the obscure, featuring an even more dazzling line-up of artists. 

Among the highlights, the UK cathedrals of Norwich and Gloucester host atmospheric performances, while the US mountain ranges of Colorado and Idaho draw such top names as Yo-Yo Ma and Renée Fleming. Not to be outdone, the historic cities of Prague and Amsterdam each muster 50 pianos to stage Georg Friedrich Haas's 11,000 Saiten. And not forgotten are this year's birthday boys - Holst, Puccini and Bruckner - who, from Granada to Matsumoto, receive due celebration. Charlotte Smith Editor

United Kingdom

Tectonics

Glasgow, 4, 5 May

tectonicsfestival.com 

Anchored by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Tectonics returns to the Old Fruitmarket and City Halls at the start of a second decade of genre-bending brio. Co-curated by conductor Ilan Volkov and Alasdair Campbell, it throws down a gauntlet on behalf of the new, with an international line-up that includes Japanese experimental rock band leader Koichi Makigami, New York vocalist Ka Baird and the world premiere of a piece for orchestra and tape by Charles Uzor. Plus, violinist Ilya Gringolts gives the UK premieres of works by Sciarrino and Mirela Ivičevič.

Brighton Festival

Brighton, 4-26 May

brightonfestival.org