The Salzburg Whitsun Festival was founded by Herbert von Karajan and has been a permanent highlight on the Salzburg events calendar since 1973.
Herbert von Karajan brought the original Whitsun Concerts to life back in 1973, in order to assuage the demands of potential subscribers to the Easter Festival. Until 1982, three orchestral concerts were performed on Whit Saturday, Whit Sunday, and Whit Monday by the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan.
After the death of Karajan, guest concerts by the international orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra were added to the program. In 1998, it was taken over by the Salzburg Festival, which was the Whitsun Festival. Riccardo Muti became artistic director of the Whitsun Festival in 2007, while Italian singer Cecilia Bartoli succeeded him. Since 2012, the festival is also performed during the Summer Festival.
Picture: Bastian Achard
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