Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) with the sponsorship of Borusan Holding, the 54th Istanbul Music Festival returns from 11 to 25 June. Centred around the theme ‘Here & Now’, this year’s festival explores the ephemeral nature of music, inviting audiences to experience unique performances that exist only in the now. Click to view the programme.
Hosting distinguished orchestras and renowned soloists from around the world in 22 concerts held at Istanbul’s most prestigious halls and very special venues, the 54th Istanbul Music Festival will present over 80 artists and ensembles to the audience. Highlights include major ensembles such as the Wiener Symphoniker, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra, and Aterballetto, as well as renowned soloists like Bruce Liu, Kian Soltani, Behzod Abduraimov, Lucas and Arthur Jussen, Ian Bostridge, and Iestyn Davies. The programme also features three world premieres, including the festival’s new commissions by Kaan Bulak and Donghoon Shin.
The Honorary Award of the 54th Istanbul Music Festival will be presented to composer Turgay Erdener, who brings together the traditional and the contemporary with a unique language and carries the sounds of these lands to the universal with great subtlety. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to the legendary pianist Maria João Pires, who views music not merely as technical mastery but as a form of existence.
Special Venues Across Istanbul
Festival concerts will be held in 14 different venues, including Arter, Atatürk Urban Forest, Atatürk Cultural Centre, Bahariye Mevlevihanesi, İBB Kadıköy Yoğurtçu Park, The Garden of the Consulate General of Italy, İş Towers Hall, Kadıköy Municipality Süreyya Opera House, Grand Bazaar, Crimea Memorial Church, Salon İKSV, Surp Asdvadzadzin Armenian Catholic Church, Üç Horan Armenian Church, and Yıldız Park.
Major Ensembles and Star Soloists
OPENING CONCERT: TEKFEN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA & BEHZOD ABDURAIMOV
The 54th Istanbul Music Festival opens with a concert by Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov, who uniquely and powerfully combines the tradition of the West, the depth of the East, and a boundless talent, and the Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Aziz Shokhakimov The programme features Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, a masterpiece of Romanticism, and Stravinsky’s dazzling The Firebird suite. The concert will take place at the Atatürk Cultural Centre Türk Telekom Opera Hall on Thursday, 11 June at 20.00 and the Tekfen Foundation is the performance sponsor with higher contribution.
WIENER SYMPHONIKER & BRUCE LIU
The Wiener Symphoniker is the guest of the 54th Istanbul Music Festival with a very special two-night programme to share the excitement of its 125th anniversary with Istanbulites. The Wiener Symphoniker will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, and Schubert’s Symphony No. 9, known as ‘The Great’ due to its magnificence, in the first evening.
The concert, in which the ensemble under the baton of its chief conductor Petr Popelka will accompany Bruce Liu, who rose to fame rapidly after winning the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2021, will take place on Tuesday, 23 June at 20.00 at Atatürk Cultural Centre, Türk Telekom Opera Hall with Aromsa as the performance sponsor with higher contribution.
WIENER SYMPHONIKER & KIAN SOLTANI
In the second and final concert of the Wiener Symphoniker at the festival under the baton of its chief conductor Petr Popelka, cellist Kian Soltani, who has gained a place in the hearts of music lovers all over the world with the depth and originality of his interpretations, technical virtuosity, and stage charisma, will accompany the orchestra. In this concert dedicated to Dvořák, his Symphony No. 9, one of the most colourful symphonic works of the Romantic period, subtitled ‘From the New World’, and his Cello Concerto in B minor, one of the most beloved works of the concerto repertoire will be performed.
The concert will be held at Atatürk Cultural Centre, Türk Telekom Opera Hall on Wednesday, 24 June at 20.00 with Mercedes-Benz Otomotiv as the performance sponsor with higher contribution.
KAMMERAKADEMIE POTSDAM & THE JUSSEN BROTHERS
Piano duo Lucas and Arthur Jussen, who turn every concert into a unique experience with their energetic and almost unified playing, extremely refined tones, and striking interpretations, will be guests of the festival with Kammerakademie Potsdam, one of Germany’s best chamber orchestras with its strong musical identity and high artistic quality. Their energetic programme spans from the classical elegance of Haydn and Mozart to the late Romanticism of Schreker and the modernism of Ravel.
The concert will be held at İş Towers Hall on Monday, 15 June at 20.00 with Türkiye İş Bankası as the performance sponsor with higher contribution.
BERLIN SOLOISTS & IESTYN DAVIES
Award-winning countertenor Iestyn Davies, celebrated for his vocal elegance and intelligent interpretation, meets the Berlin Soloists, consisting of four members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, they will present a poetic programme tracing the path of voice, love, and loss through the centuries. The ensemble features Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Noah Bendix-Balgley, Hande Küden, Diyang Mei, and Knut Weber.
The concert, which will also feature the world premiere of Donghoon Shin's new work, a joint commission of the Istanbul Music Festival, Wigmore Hall, and Chamber Music Northwest, will take place on Sunday, 14 June at 20.00 at Kadıköy Municipality Süreyya Opera House with Berrin Erengül and Elvan Tuğsuz Güven as co-sponsors.
BIPO: MORRICONE - THE SOUND OF CINEMA
In the BIPO: Morricone - The Sound of Cinema concert, where the most iconic works of Ennio Morricone will be performed, the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Dirk Brossé will join forces with distinguished musicians. In the concert, Morricone’s musical universe will come to life again on stage with the contributions of Koro Istanbul, the impressive interpretation of young soprano Nazlıcan Karakaş, and the accompaniment of flautist Veronika Vitazkova, known for her Morricone and Hans Zimmer projects, and Pierre Planas, Nurkan Renda, and Tunca Olcayto.
The concert will take place on Tuesday, 16 June at 20.00 at Atatürk Cultural Centre, Türk Telekom Opera Hall with Borusan Holding as the performance sponsor with higher contribution.
A WORLD PREMIERE: MAISON LÂLE
Maison Lâle brings together Kaan Bulak and his ensemble with soprano Sarah Aristidou in an immersive concert. Drawing on references that span from Anatolia’s ancient seasonal rites of death and rebirth to the tulip mania that swept 17th-century Europe, this new commission of the Istanbul Music Festival searches for a fleeting new home for a beauty once bound to impermanence, perhaps in the city’s most unsettling nocturnal corners.
This unique musical experience will take place on Thursday, 25 June at 20.00 at Kadıköy Municipality Süreyya Opera House.
ATERBALLETTO
Italy’s internationally renowned contemporary dance company Aterballetto presents a triple bill featuring works by the leading choreographers of the global contemporary dance Angelin Preljocaj, Crystal Pite, and the duo Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich. Accompanied by live performances of masterpieces by Beethoven and Brahms, as well as music by Gershwin and Jones, this captivating stage performance resonates deeply with the human body, spirit, and memory. The evening is elevated by live musical accompaniment from cellist Dorukhan Doruk and pianist Korkmaz Can Sağlam.
The first event, which will be held on Friday, 12 June at 20.00 at Atatürk Cultural Centre Theatre Hall, will be realised with the show co-sponsorship of Bell Şirketler Topluluğu and Organik Holding. The second event, which is supported by the ENKA Foundation, will be held on Saturday, 13 June at 20.00 at Atatürk Cultural Centre Theatre Hall.
FESTIVAL ENCOUNTER
One of the Istanbul Music Festival’s most cherished series, Festival Encounter unites legendary tenor Ian Bostridge and his regular collaborator, the renowned pianist Saskia Giorgini with Feride Büyükdenktaş, a rising artist of the new generation distinguished by her rare vocal colour spanning mezzo-soprano and lyric contralto. The concert will take place on Monday, 22 June at 20.00 at Kadıköy Municipality Süreyya Opera House with Işıklar Holding as the performance sponsor.
Special Projects
MUSIC ROUTE: BEYOGLU
This year’s Music Route celebrates the heritage of Beyoğlu across three venues. The journey begins at Surp Asdvadzadzin Armenian Catholic Church with the duo of Julia Łopuszyńska (flute) and Zofia Neugebauer (harp), continues to Surp Yerrortutyun Armenian Church with the Lusavoriç Choir, and concludes at the Crimea Memorial Church with the Turumtay Zarić Duo. The route will take place in Beyoğlu on Saturday, 13 June, organised with the performance sponsorship of MEKE.
CLASSICAL DISCO
Classical Disco unites lute and electronics in a genre-defying live encounter. Innovative electronic music producer Janus Rasmussen and visionary lutenist David Bergmüller will blur the lines between concert and club, before Rasmussen’s DJ set turns Salon İKSV into a dance floor. The event will take place on Thursday, 18 June at 21.00, sponsored by STONELINE.
RELAXED CONCERT: FAMILIAR TUNES, GENTLE SOUNDS
For the first time, the festival presents a ‘Relaxed Concert’ at Süreyya Opera House featuring familiar, lyrical works from the Baroque to the Contemporary era. Designed for comfort and accessibility, this performance by Lepidus Ensemble offers gentle sound, flexible listening, and an inviting atmosphere for all audiences, including neurodivergent individuals.The concerts will take place at Kadıköy Municipality Süreyya Opera House on Saturday, 20 June and Sunday, 21 June at 15.00. These performances are realised with the contributions of İKSV Accessible Arts Partner DenizBank.
FLEETING BEAUTIES
Set in the historic Grand Bazaar, a place shaped by centuries of commercial and cultural exchange, ‘Fleeting Beauties’ invites listeners to experience music as something fragile, shared, and alive in the moment. Bringing together Renaissance Italy with Ottoman and Persian traditions, the renowned ensemble Constantinople will create a space where sounds meet, transform, and briefly exist – only to leave behind a lasting trace. The event will be held on Sunday, 21 June at 19.00 at the Grand Bazaar with Nobel İlaç as the performance sponsor.
IN THE PATH OF NEFES
In the evocative setting of the Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge, ‘In the Path of Nefes’ traces Turkish music from the 17th century to the Republican era. Specially created for the festival’s theme, Here & Now, the programme brings together sacred and secular works, where breath, sound, and meaning intertwine in an intimate and timeless musical experience. The concert will take place on Saturday, 20 June at 20.00 at Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge with the performance sponsorship of Beyza Uyanoğlu and in collaboration with the Music Education Foundation (Musıki Eğitim Vakfı).
‘IMPROCLASSICA’ A MOSAIC OF SOUNDS AT THE PALAZZO DI VENEZIA
Improclassica brings Bach, Schumann, Satie, Milhaud and Debussy into the present through Enrico Pieranunzi’s lyrical, imaginative fusion of classical music and jazz. Joined by his long-standing trio and clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi, Pieranunzi transforms iconic themes into vibrant, unrepeatable sound mosaics, where composition and improvisation meet on stage. The concert will be held at the The Garden of the Consulate General of Italy on Friday, 19 June at 21.00 with Biofarma İlaç as the performance sponsor with higher contribution.
Children & Youth at the Festival
‘WOMEN STARS OF TOMORROW
‘Launched in 2018 in collaboration with the Istanbul Music Festival and the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB) to support the female musicians of the future, the Women Stars of Tomorrow: Young Female Musicians Support Fund concert will feature renowned flautist Aslıhan And Say accompanying this year's young stars. The concert, realised with the contributions of Education Support Fund Sponsor TSKB, will take place on Wednesday, 17 June at 20.00 at Kadıköy Municipality Süreyya Opera House.
‘FIRST STEPS IN ART ‘NATURE’S MUSIC’
‘Organised by İKSV Alt Kat, with the contributions of İKSV 2026 Festivals Children and Youth Workshops Sponsor Alarko Holding, the First Steps in Art programme brings children together with music in the heart of nature with Nature’s Music workshops as part of the 54th Istanbul Music Festival. In the program designed for the 7-12 age group, children will embark on an exploration-filled nature walk in Atatürk Urban Park accompanied by Aslıhan Niksarlı and Yeliz Ergöl from the Roots & Shoots Türkiye team, learning to listen to and observe nature. The journey will be accompanied by a live performance by flute artist Beste Yalı. The events will be in Turkish.
Pre-Concert Talks
Designed to enrich the festival experience, Pre-Concert Talks bring together speakers from various disciplines with music lovers in conversations touching upon the concert themes and the lives of the artists with Rana Gediz İren as the workshop sponsor. Held face-to-face at festival venues, the talks will feature Lucas & Arthur Jussen, İris Şentürker, İlkay Nişancı, Yeşim Burul, Aydın Büke, and Murat Cem Orhan. Details of the programme, curated by Asuman Kafaoğlu-Büke and Aydın Büke, are available on the web site.
Tickets
Tickets for the 54th Istanbul Music Festival will go on general sale on Tuesday, 17 February at 10.30. Festival tickets can be purchased from Passo, the Passo mobile application, and Passo retail points. With the support of İKSV Founding Sponsor Eczacıbaşı, a limited number of Eczacıbaşı Youth Tickets will be 50 TL for students at the festival.