The Baltic Sea Festival is a festival for musical experiences and inspirational talks where emotions and the power of thought meet. This year's festival takes place Berwaldhallen, Stockholm and online between 9 and 18 September.
The Baltic Sea Festival is one of Europe’s largest and foremost classical music festivals with world-class artists, orchestras and conductors from the Baltic Sea region. In collaboration with libraries and other cultural venues around the Baltic Sea region, the organisers present discussions between high-profile individuals within the fields of music, politics and environmentalism, moderated by journalists from Swedish Radio.
Through the 2021 Baltic Sea Festival, the theme of rebirth runs between the programme and connects music and talks. The festival will be opened tomorrow (9 September) by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra with its Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen. A talk between the author Carsten Jensen and Berwaldhallen’s Josef Beltzikoff about Jensens latest book, Øvelser i afsked: en coronakrønike (Exercises in Saying Goodbye: a Corona Chronicle) will be broadcasted from Denmark’s national library.
A livestream discussion on culture and democracy in the Baltic Sea Region will take place on 12 September, organised by the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) and the Swedish Institute (SI). The event will revolve around culture, cultural diplomacy and transparent democracies. Three key speakers from fields of culture and politics will catalyze the discussion by presenting their viewpoints, experiences, and specific perspectives. The full programme can be found here.
The first Baltic Sea Festival took place in 2003 with the mission of uniting the audience around world-class classical music and at the same time – together with partner organizations – focusing on the Baltic Sea environment and the leadership required to create a sustainable future.