"A Festival with a Mission": Aix Easter Festival 2026 announced
So the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival 2026! The official release is below, to which I would add a few highlights:
It is good to see Yuliana Adveeva on the books, a pianist who hs impressed in the past and who does not always get her full due.
... and what an opportunity to hear the great pianist Rudolf Buchbinder in Brahms' First Concerto! Not to mention Bertrand Chamayou playing the complete solo piano works by Ravel (starting at 830pm!)
Mao Fujita, last seen by Classical Explorer live in Gstaad, is joined by Kian Soltani and Renaud Capuçon in Schubert and Brahms and also gives a solo recital which includes some very rare early Alban Berg.
Other luminaries include Jodi Savall, Nadine Sierra, Martha Argerich, Lahav Shani, The festival finale is Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 (with Renaud Capuçon) and Brahms' Fourth Symphony: the Munich Philharmonic is conducted by Shani.
Here's the official release:
The CIC and the Easter Festival present the programme for the 2026 edition: an unmissable artistic event set to resonate throughout in Aix-en-Provence and the Région Sud from March 28 to April 12, 2026.
Daniel Baal, President of the CIC, Dominique Bluzet and Renaud Capuçon, respectively Executive Director and Creative Director, have officially launched the 13th edition of the Easter Festival. With over 900 artists, 21 paying concerts and up to 100 free musical events in Aix-en-Provence and the Région Sud, the 2026 edition is proud to affirm its artistic ambition and this year’s event will see the emergence of new initiatives as part of “Musique en Partage” the festival’s free of charge, solidarity-based outreach programme.
Over the past twelve years, the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival has become an unmissable event on the classical music calendar in Europe. The way the Festival combines entrepreneurial spirit, excellence and regional solidarity is mirrored by its founding partner the CIC.
2026 marks a new phase in the life of the Festival, in terms of its artistic ambitions and the solidarity-based outreach it has planned.
A renewed artistic ambition
In line with the Festival’s reputation for excellence, the programme of the 2026 edition promises audiences a fortnight of simply unforgettable music.
The roster of musical ensembles this year is second to none, from the residency of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Lahav Shani, to the Orchestre National de Lille directed by Joshua Weilerstein. The Orchestra and Chorus of the Zurich Opera led by Gianandrea Noseda will also take the stage, as will the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège with Lionel Bringuier and Emmanuel Pahud, Les Siècles orchestra, the Il Caravaggio ensemble, not to mention Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations.
And let’s not forget the exceptional soloists Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Bertrand Chamayou, Nadine Sierra, Mao Fujita, Gidon Kremer, Yulianna Avdeeva, as well as the emerging talents of Génération@Aix.
“Musique en partage”, the Easter Festival’s outreach programme
At the Easter Festival, music truly means something and has always been a community affair. It is the one art form that brings people together and is shared and passed down in all its forms.
Music resonates all the more when it is made available to people from all walks of life, starting conversations and fostering the transmission of art. The CIC, a major actor and facilitator in the region, fully supports the solidarity-based, inclusive “Musique en Partage” initiative by the Easter Festival.
In 2026, the Festival’s outreach will involve over one hundred free events in the towns and villages of the Région Sud, but also in hospitals, palliative care centres and schools.
Two events stand out among the initiatives being undertaken as part of the Festival’s outreach programme:
New in 2026: Music and the Sacred
The Festival is opening a new cycle of reflection around the ties that bind music to the sacred entitled “Penser, ne pas oublier (Think, do not forget)”. On Sunday March 29 2026, at Camp des Milles – a place of memory and learning – a day of events will bring together philosophers, artists, historians and religious representatives. Round table discussions and debates will take place during the day, punctuated by two chamber music recitals of music written in the Terezin Camp as well as pieces by J.-S. Bach.
La Petite Académie de Pâques (The Little Easter Academy)
Initiated in 2025, the Petite Académie de Pâques is taking things up a notch this year. 9 students from rural conservatoires in the Isère and Drôme departments, will be supported by three mentors and have a fully immersive experience of life at the Festival. A unique experience of transmission, excellence and wonder (cf. p. XX of the brochure attached).
For Daniel Baal, President of the CIC: “The Easter Festival is an exemplary entrepreneurial and cultural project, that serves the region and society as a whole. It is a very clear reflection of the commitments of the CIC to innovation, to opening up to all audiences, to fostering the careers of young musicians and making a positive and long-lasting impact.”
In 2026, more than just a festival, the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival is becoming a festival with a mission: the mission to nourish the region, to provide young talent with a springboard, to rethink the role of art and artists in a troubled world and finally, to imagine the audience of tomorrow.
Dominique Bluzet, Renaud Capuçon and Daniel Baal
The Easter Festival and the CIC invite you to join them in Aix-en-Provence from March 28 to April 12 2026.