Website: http://www.festivaldecanarias.com/en

Date: January 10 to February 19, 2012
Country: Spain

The opening year of the Festival de Música de Canarias declared the ‘European year of music’ and commemorated the tercentenary of Bach, Haendel and Scarlatti. The festival was a personal initiative of the then president, Jerónimo Saavedra in 1985 and the tradition began with European opera companies making good use of their stopovers at the Canary Islands on the way to South America by offering their recitals and performances. Although the Canary Islands, which are a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean located off at the northwestern coast of Mainland Africa, Morocco and the Western Sahara, are known for the picturesque archipelago beaches, pleasant climate and natural attractions such as Mount Teide (the third largest volcano in the world), the Festival de Música de Canarias takes pride in the talent it showcases instead. Enriching the cultural environment of the region that has a long tradition in contemporary music has been one of the primary goals of the festival since the beginning, and guarantees to keep improving on it. Every year classical music lovers are invited to unite with performances by internationally known orchestras and artists in Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

2012 marks the 28th anniversary of the festival once again premiering prominent artists’ works. The orchestras lined up for this year’s festival include; Philharmonia Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg under Ivor Bolton, Orquesta de la Generalitat de Valencia under Zubin Mehta and Mahler Chamber Orchestra with Monteverdi Choir under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. This year guests can also enjoy the skills of a wide variety of soloists. Starting at the age of four, Murray Perahia has mastered playing the piano and has performed in many international events. Known for his interpretations of the classical repertoire, Paul Lewis will be performing along with South Korean pianist, Jinsang Lee, Viennese clarinettist, Daniel Ottensamer and many more.

Website: http://www.hk.artsfestival.org/en/

Date: January 28 to March 8, 2012
Country: China

The Hong Kong Arts Festival not only showcase top artists from around the world, but also exhibits the best of Asian and local talents alongside them. Since 1992 the Young Friends Scheme (YFS), an integrated arts education and audience development programme, has been bringing a wide range of events ranging from classical genre to other innovative and invigorating art forms to the world’s most vertical city. Along with the mind-blowing skyscrapers Hong Kong has to offer to, the YFS enhances appreciation of classical music culture with various workshops, talks, meet-the-artist sessions, exchange programmes, exhibitions and backstage tours.

The 40th Hong Kong Arts Festival has returned with over 200 performances and events within a period of just 39 days. In 2012 guests will have the opportunity to experience 13 new works, one world premiere, a festival symposium and eight Asian premieres in addition to the extraordinary talents and events. Some of the Festival highlights include, Mozart’s questioning of women’s fidelity, Cosi Fan Tutte, with the Bavarian State Orchestra and a twist on Mozart’s Magic Flute staged by Theatre des Bouffes du Nord. Two nights of masterpieces from the Austro-German classical repertoire will be presented by The Bavarian Radio symphony under Daniel Harding during their Hong Kong debut while The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra takes the audience on a journey from Weber’s Overture to Der Freischütz via Mendelssohn’s beloved Violin Concerto to Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, under Myung-whun Chung. Karita Mattila, Kun Woo Paik, Nigel Kennedy and Janine Jansen will also be present amongst many other soloists.

Website: http://www.oik.no

Date: February 2 to 18, 2012
Country: Norway

Translated as the opera weeks, Operafestukene is a 17-day opera gala hosted along the western coast of Norway during the month of February. The festival takes place in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county in the small town of Kristiansund which is the administrative center of the municipality. Known as a recognized opera city, Kristiansund congregates Norway’s oldest opera festival, which was established in 1928 by Edvard Bræin, a Norwegian choir and orchestra composer and conductor. Each year several of Norway’s most dedicated musicians come together with local talented artists resulting in full-scale opera, operettas and musicals. Not only does this city offer free performances in cafes, restaurants and shopping malls in addition to the concert events but also a candid picture of exceptional coastal architecture that survived bombings from World War II.

In 2012, guests are invited to not only enjoy concerts with local mezzo and tenors but also experience the music of Nils Olaf Dolven in the premiere of The Alchemist, an opera in two acts based on the famous book by Paulo Coelho about a man who is not ready to settle down just yet. Another spotlighted opera to be performed in the 2012 edition of the Kristiansund Opera Festival is Charles Gounod’s Faust, a German legend about a dissatisfied successful scholar who makes a deal with the devil.

Website: http://www.albustanfestival.com/

Date: February 21 to March 25, 2012
Country: Lebanon

The Al Bustan Festival has been presenting five weeks full of concerts and performances, showcasing diverse cultural performances ever since the foundation in 1994. The annual event that offers an audacious selection of music and artists was established to help revive Lebanon’s cultural life after 17 years of war. While the programme is mainly dedicated to chamber music, the festival also includes opera, choral music, orchestral concerts in addition to other artistic talents. This unique and unprecedented tradition of Lebanon presents more than 30 astonishing performances in a relaxing environment, on a hillside overlooking the beautiful city of Beirut and the Mediterranean in the winter.

Taking on the name of the festival ‘Al Bustan’, Arabic for ‘The Garden’, most performances take place in the Emile Bustani Auditorium and the Crystal Garden Conservatory of the five-star Al Bustan Hotel, located in the village of Beyt Meri. However, events are not limited to those locations, visitors can experience performances in some of the olden and historic churches and halls around Lebanon too.

Each year focuses on a theme or salutes the culture of a particular country. Along with the talented performances, the Festival also organizes master classes and workshops, with the participating artists at the National Conservatoire in Beirut and other institutions across Lebanon.

Themed upon ‘Music From Latin America’, the 2012 edition welcomes the collaboration of soprano Eglise Guttierez and The Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra under Ligia Amadio’s baton. Piazolla’s Oratorio will be performed by The Antonine University mixed choir and The Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra under Gianluca Marciano’s baton, with soloists Guadaloupe Jimenez and Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi. Armenian conductor Davit Harutyunyan will lead Orquesta Sinfonica de Guayaquil from Equador in collaboration with Lebanese violinist Jorge Saadé to present works by Ecuadorian and Mexican composers. Soloists Gianluca Marciano, Cristina Ortiz, Linda Bustani, Maurizio Nader, Alexander Ghindin, Luis Bacalov and more will also be under the spotlight.

Website: http://www.mozarteum.at

Date: January 27 to February 5, 2012
Country: Austria

Since January 1956 the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation has invited visitors from all around the world to explore the cultivation and dissemination of Mozart’s musical heritage. The prolific composer of the classical era is celebrated every year around the time of his birthday in Salzburg, where his talent was first discovered during his early childhood. The non-profit organization brings together distinctive Mozart interpreters, orchestras and ensembles in the countryside with unique natural attractions, such as the Hohe Tauern National Park and the Baroque Jewel of the old town centre.

In 2012, the Mozartwoche is back and is posing a new question: can there be artistic forms, apart from the classic concert format, in which Mozart and contemporary music are also elements of staged and performative work? Explore the outcomes with orchestral, chamber, and soloist concerts by world-renown artists. András Schiff, Christian Gerhaher, Mitsuko Uchida, Emanuel Ax, Radu Lupu, Fazil Say and Daniel Barenboim will be performing along with many more endowed artists. Experience breath-taking recitals by Wiener Philharmoniker under Pierre Boulez, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Camerata Salzburg under René Jacobs.