Can the music of Johann Sebastian Bach encourage dialogue? Absolutely, says Burkhard Jung, Lord Mayor of Leipzig and former chairman of Eurocities, the network of major European cities. In his opening speech at the 2026 Leipzig Bachfest, he cited the fast-paced nature of our modern lives, where so much happens at once. Jung insisted, “The world is full of voices, but they don’t really talk to each other.”
Bach’s music is polyphonic; Layers of individual voices with their own melodies, all given equal importance as part of the piece as a whole. Sometimes these voices turn into a kind of question-and-answer interaction; Sometimes they follow each other at intervals – as in a fugue – or they go their own melodic way, only to come together again at the end. “In Bach’s works, one can see how voices should interact,” Jung asserted, expressing hope that Bach’s melodic structure could serve as a model for political debate and discussion.
an intergenerational dialogue
The Leipzig Bachfest begins each year with a performance by the St. Thomas Boys’ Choir and the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church under the direction of the current choir director, Andreas Ries.
Following the festival’s “In Dialogue” theme, Reese conceived an extraordinary Marian Vespers service with works from four centuries. Marian Vespers is the evening liturgy of the Divine Office, consisting of a specific sequence of psalms and psalms.
These psalms and psalms from the Bible have inspired many composers to create their own compositions. The most famous of these is “Vespers for the Blessed Virgin Mary” by Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643). Excerpts from this work were presented during the inaugural concert. “I then wanted to see which composer of the younger generation could set a hymn to music that would complement ‘Vespers for the Blessed Virgin Mary’,” explains Andreas Ries.
The selection included, among others, Swedish composer Jan Sandström’s motet “Let Him Kiss Me” and compositions by Lithuanian composer Vytautas Miskinis. The boys of the St. Thomas Choir performed his “Laudet Pueri, Dominum” with particular sensitivity, their voices delicate and ethereal. “It’s a conscious choice to present a dialogue in a completely different contemporary musical language, a 21st-century soundscape,” Reis told DW. And the audience was very happy.
Dialogue between artists and instruments
A highlight of this year’s Bach festival, which regularly attracts more than 70,000 visitors to Leipzig, marks the 300th anniversary of Bach’s “Klavier-Ubung” (keyboard practice). Johann Sebastian Bach wrote these exercises in 1726 for music-loving connoisseurs, “for lovers of music, for the joy of the soul”.
The Hungarian star pianist is performing Sir András Schiff and the great Esfahani cycle in a series of concerts initiated by Schiff. As one might expect, he played Bach’s Partitas – a sequence of stylized dances – with excellent concentration and precision on a modern grand piano. In a late-night recital, Iranian-American harpsichord player Mahan Esfahani interpreted Bach’s Partita No. 1 on harpsichord in a completely different, yet highly sophisticated, way.
listening to bach with fresh ears
Esfahani is a Bach Festival artist and is scheduled to give a total of seven concerts featuring Bach’s music as well as contemporary performances. All performances will take place on an instrument that is associated with many of the Baroque eras. “Everyone says the harpsichord is only for beginners’ music, but that’s not true. The harpsichord is so versatile; you can play anything on it,” Esfahani said in an interview with DW. However, the work of Johann Sebastian Bach remains his main focus. He is currently recording all of Bach’s piano works for harpsichord and clavichord on the Hyperion label.
Through distinctive phrases and dramatic pauses in his playing, Esfahani breathed new life into Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partitas during the concert, bringing palpable joy to the audience. They incorporated a subtle call-and-response interplay through shifting between high and low registers. Bach Festival director Michael Maul says, “What fascinates me most about him (Esfahani) is that he really dives deep into the works and engages very intensely with the pieces, their origins and their structure.”
Deutsche Welle recorded the concert in its capacity as Bach Festival media partner. Recording will be available soon DW Classical Music YouTube Channel.
This article was originally written in German.