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The 54th Istanbul Music Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) with Borusan Holding as sponsor, will take over the city from 11 to 25 June with 22 concerts across 14 venues.
The event is bringing over 80 artists and ensembles to stages ranging from major concert halls to historic sites and outdoor parks.
Shaped around the theme “Here & Now,” the festival is being put on with support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and is set to welcome internationally recognized orchestras and soloists alongside leading ensembles based in Istanbul.
Across the program, the festival will be featuring prominent visiting ensembles such as the Wiener Symphoniker (Vienna Symphony Orchestra), Kammerakademie Potsdam, and the Italian contemporary dance company Aterballetto, while also bringing in Istanbul mainstays, including Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (BIFO) and Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra.
The solo roster is set to include pianist Bruce Liu, cellist Kian Soltani, piano duo Lucas and Arthur Jussen, pianist Behzod Abduraimov, tenor Ian Bostridge, and countertenor Iestyn Davies, among others.
At the festival launch event at Borusan Music House, IKSV Chairman Bulent Eczacibasi pointed to the festival’s long-running continuity since 1973 while saying that youth-focused work is being expanded this year as well. The festival is set to keep offering conservatory students free access to selected concerts, and it will continue running the Eczacibasi Genc Bilet scheme to help younger audiences get in.
Eczacibasi also said IKSV is stepping up work around accessibility, framing it as part of a broader push toward more inclusive arts events in Türkiye.
The festival is set to host three world premieres, including new commissioned works by Kaan Bulak and South Korean composer Donghoon Shin (a joint commission). The program also includes the world premiere of the Turkish-language performance of another anonymous work.
This year’s Honorary Award is set to be presented to composer Turgay Erdener, while the Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to pianist Maria Joao Pires.
The festival is set to open on June 11 at Ataturk Cultural Centre (AKM) with Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Aziz Shokhakimov, joined by Behzod Abduraimov, in a program that includes Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Stravinsky’s The Firebird suite.
Wiener Symphoniker is set to visit with a two-night program marking its 125th anniversary, with Bruce Liu featured on the first evening and Kian Soltani on the second, both at AKM.
Aterballetto is set to appear with a triple bill built around works by Angelin Preljocaj, Crystal Pite, and the duo Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich, with live music accompanying the performance.
Alongside the main concerts, the festival is set to roll out a set of projects that branch into themed routes, hybrid nights, and site-specific performances, including a Beyoglu-focused Music Route across multiple venues, a “Classical Disco” night combining lute and electronics before a DJ set, and a first-time “Relaxed Concert” designed around comfort and accessibility, including for neurodivergent audiences.
Other program highlights include a Grand Bazaar event curated around the idea of music as something “fragile, shared, and alive in the moment,” as well as a performance at Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge (a historic Sufi lodge associated with the Mevlevi tradition) tracing Turkish music from the 17th century to the Republican era.
Festival tickets are set to go on general sale via Passo, a Türkiye-based ticketing platform.
Concerts are set to be held at 14 venues, including AKM, Arter, Salon IKSV, Is Towers Hall, Kadikoy Municipality Sureyya Opera House, the Garden of the Consulate General of Italy, multiple churches, parks such as Yildiz Park, and other special locations across Istanbul.
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