Lovers of baroque music will be delighted to hear Vivaldi's Il Tamerlano (or Bajazet), featuring one of the most sought-after sopranos of recent years, Julia Lezhneva and the ensemble Les Accents. The world-famous English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir bring Bach’s St John Passion to the Bartók Spring. The first Passion Bach wrote in Leipzig for Good Friday – two years before the better-known St Matthew Passion – will be conducted by Peter Whelan, a young but already very successful conductor who captivates audiences with his dynamic and charismatic style.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner, another pioneer in the performance of Baroque and classical music, will also perform at the festival. The multi-Grammy award-winning conductor, a leading figure in British music, will arrive in Budapest at the helm of The Constellation Choir & Orchestra (CCO), which he founded in 2024. Their programme includes Bach’s cantatas for the second day of Easter, as well as the large-scale Easter Oratorio, which occupies a unique place in the church music oeuvre of Bach.

Entitled On the loud day of Easter…, the joint concert of Márta Sebestyén and Judit Andrejszki reveals the extraordinary richness of the traditions associated with Easter, and the religious festival will provide a good opportunity to present again the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble’s show, His Cross Blossomed.

One of the most important and best-known companies of contemporary dance theatre returns to Hungary after 15 years, much to the delight of lovers of the genre. On three consecutive nights, Müpa Budapest will host the Tanztheater Wuppertal, who will perform Vollmond, an iconic masterpiece by their founder, Pina Bausch, which focuses on the complexity of human relationships and emotions.

The Innermost Room, the production of the Székesfehérvár Ballet Theatre, treats the room in question metaphorically in a series of dreamlike scenes, which offer a truly cathartic experience with music composed by Félix Lajkó.

The new production of the Yvette Bozsik Company explores crucial stages in the inner development of a person through the different perspectives of three choreographers. The performance probes how confronting the childhood self can lead to deep emotional insights.

The show of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet looks at defining moments and tragedies in the life of Vaslav Nijinsky, an icon of modern ballet and dance. The legendary Russian dancer and choreographer stood out from his contemporaries with his virtuoso movements and inimitable stage presence, but the last three decades of his life – which he spent largely in Budapest – were overshadowed by mental illness. The production recalls the life and artistic significance of Nijinsky with the help of music by Chopin and Debussy.

The Hungarian premiere of Sindbad, the Omani Sailor promises to be a unique experience, as the encounter of cultures unfolds before our eyes and ears. The music of the opera was written by Hisham Gabr, its libretto by Nader Salah El-Din, and it was directed by Csaba Káel. Together, the melodies and the visuals take the audience on a magical journey through the story of the famous adventurer.

György Selmeczi based his new one-act opera on a novel by Thomas Mann, while for his, János Vajda turned to another giant of German-language literature, Friedrich Dürrenmatt. János Vajda’s The Verdict and György Selmeczi’s Royal Highness are splendid additions to this year’s festival programme.

The Bad Plus, which recently announced its retirement after 26 years of pushing the boundaries of jazz, rock, pop and contemporary music, also come to Budapest. The two founders will arrive at the Bartók Spring with Chris Potter and Craig Taborn, and a programme that pays tribute to Keith Jarrett’s legendary quartet.

At Gerendás Generations, a concert at the House of Music Hungary, Péter Gerendás, who is one of the most distinctive artists of Hungarian pop music, and has never stopped reinventing himself, joins forces with his children, who are all building international musical careers, to show how talent is passed on from one generation to the next.

The Akvárium Klub presents one of the most eclectic formations of international electronica. Red Axes combine club music with an attitude of psychedelic rock, post-punk and indie, creating a distinctive sound that is free of clichés and works equally well in club spaces and on the big stage.

The new production of the Pure Source series is directed by Gábor Mihályi, and applies a multi-arts approach to Bartók’s collections in the Balkans and Hungary. Featuring Söndörgő, the Ballet Company of Győr and the dance troupe and orchestra of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, among others, the show now focuses on Serbian folk music.

The Bartók Spring would be incomplete without visual art. Ludwig Museum draws on its own collection for Black Mirror – The Long Shadow of the Future, to reflect on the greatest challenges of our time through contemporary artists’ dystopian visions from the past few decades. With Dolce Vita – The Italian Experience in Two Centuries of Hungarian Art, the Hungarian National Gallery traces the inspirational power of the Italian way of life from the 19th century to the present.

Our multi-arts festival in April will also host a number of professional meetings. Presented in Budapest as part of the Bartók Spring, the 2026 edition of Classical:Next will bring together key players of the international classical and contemporary music scenes at various professional events.

The concerts and professional programme of this year’s Budapest Ritmo will once again highlight the diversity of world music and explore its big questions, while the 15th edition of the Margó Literary Festival will feature the most important authors and genres of contemporary Hungarian literature.