Utrecht Early Music Festival
At the end of summer, there's no better place to experience music from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque eras than in lovely Utrecht!
World's largest early music festival
The largest festival in the whole world that focuses on these genres, the annual Utrecht Early Music Festival (Festival Oude Muziek) hosts more than 200 concerts at beautiful venues in the historic city centre. Concerts are not the only part of the programme: the festival is a hive of activity, with lectures, exhibitions, a symposium and more.
With the TivoliVredenburg as the festival's heart, along with beautiful old venues such as the Domkerk, St. Catharinakerk, Pieterskerk and Geertekerk, the events are surely a must for any classical music fan!
Concerts are generally an hour, without an intermission, but there can be exceptions, especially in the concerts beginning at 8pm that tend to be longer.
Musicians performing at Utrecht Early Music Festival 2024
Here's an overview of some of the artists performing at Utrecht Early Music Festival 2024:
- Hespèrion XXI and friends
- Música Temprana
- Vox Luminis
- L'Arpeggiata
- ĀRT HOUSE 17
- La Tempête
- Camerata Trajectina
- Cantar Lontano
- and plenty more!
Plan your visit to Utrecht Early Music Festival
Utrecht has the busiest train station in the Netherlands, which means it is super easy to get here by public transport from any of the other Dutch cities! The compact city centre is ideal to wander around as you move from venue to venue, so leave the car at home.
Tickets are sold per event, so click on your chosen concert for ordering / price information. To see the entire list of festival performances, go to the Utrecht Early Music Festival website. The website is great for those who might be a bit new to the scene, with a "Tips from the Team" section, which lets you know which pieces even the organisers of the festival are excited about seeing!
The Netherlands caters well to classical music fans in terms of festivals and events, so why not take a look at some of the best other classical music festivals you might want to go to