Barocktage Stift Melk

Monasteries have always been places of spirituality and music. This also applies to Melk Abbey, where the monastic cultivation of music reached its peak in the 18th century. Prof. Helmut Pilss' idea, developed in 1978, of establishing a series of concerts tailored to the baroque rooms of the monastery for the Pentecost holidays takes up this tradition again. After a few years of a broad classical concert program, the decision was made in 1991 to specialize in the music of the Baroque period and its reinterpretation in terms of historically informed performance practice. In 1992 the first International Baroque Days at Melk Abbey took place; Umberto Eco held the opening speech and, in addition to Ton Koopman and Bernhard Kleber with the Salzburg Bach Choir, the style-defining ensemble Il Giardino Armonico was also a guest. In the years that followed, the International Baroque Festival developed into a meeting point for the up-and-coming European baroque music scene, and as early as 1993 the Johann Heinrich Schmelzer Competition for young soloists and ensembles took place for the first time. Thanks to the long-standing collaboration with Prof. Dr. Bernhard Trebuch and the cultural broadcaster Ö1 were able to anchor the International Baroque Days in the Austrian festival landscape and to document highlights of the concert events in numerous recordings and CD editions. From the very beginning, the International Baroque Days at Melk Abbey were very concerned to combine a musical program at the highest level with a willingness to experiment and great sensitivity to the uniqueness of the venues. The current Artistic Director KS Michael Schade also sees himself in this tradition when he says: "We want to present ourselves as a festival that makes the baroque cosmos tangible and tangible and emphasizes the interplay of music and the baroque jewel that is Melk Abbey." KS Michael Schade OC was appointed artistic director of the International Baroque Days at Melk Abbey in 2013. The Baroque Days took place for the first time in 2014 under his programming. His artistic direction was extended in 2017 until the programming of the 2022 festival.