ZAGREB, 18 Sept, 2021 - The 51st Varaždin Baroque Evenings festival began in Varaždin on Friday with a concert by the Slovenian Baroque Orchestra musica cubicularis, performed in the city cathedral.

This year's partner country is Slovenia. The festival, closing on 29 September, will feature 33 concerts and 11 accompanying events under the title Total Baroque.

In her address at the opening ceremony, Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said she was pleased that Slovenia was the partner country this year because, like Croatia, it nurtured the tradition of performing Baroque music on original instruments.

She said many valuable projects had been launched and completed in the City of Varaždin and Varaždin County over the past five years, including the relocation of the city library and the reconstruction of the city theatre's concert hall.

"We have also been talking about a new financial envelope and possibilities of utilising some very valuable heritage localities in the county for tourism," the minister said.

The festival is being held under the auspices of President Zoran Milanović, whose envoy at the opening was his culture advisor Zdravko Zima.

"I think it's high time that we who are here in Southeast Europe and who live in this part of the world stop building walls and start building bridges," he said, adding that culture, the natural link between Slovenian and Croatian musicians, was such a bridge.

For more on lifestyle, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For more about Croatia, CLICK HERE.

September 18, 2020 – Founded in 1971, Varazdin welcomes the 50th, most important musical and theatrical event of central Croatia - baroque evenings.

At this challenging time for the organizers, this festival of national significance will begin tonight in the Baroque city at 8 pm with a gala concert on the open stage near Varazdin's Old Town. During the 11 days of the festival, there will be concerts of Croatian musicians and accompanying programs united under the name "Total Baroque". An exhibition of photographs through the five decades of the festival has been set up on the Croatian National Theater building in Varazdin and the Ritz house. The international flower exhibition, which has been held for 25 years as a permanent accompanying program of the Varazdin Baroque Evenings (VBE) on the theme of music-baroque-flowers, will be held in Varazdin's historic center. The set of floral installations will undoubtedly serve as a backdrop for photographs from the city cultivating the Baroque festival for half a century.

“As organizers, we are extremely satisfied with the audience's interest in the Varazdin Baroque Evenings concerts, which is proof that many wanted to relax with timeless music. We have provided all the measures necessary for our visitors, musicians, and our logistics and production team to preserve their health and for the festival to run smoothly. Precisely because of the implementation of measures, there are fewer visitors to concerts. Still, the fact that Varazdin Baroque Evenings celebrate their half-century in a year when many festivals are canceled or postponed in the world is the greatest gift,” said the organizer of VBE and the director of the Varazdin Concert Office, Raymond Rojnik.

Tonight, after the opening concert, which will be broadcast live on the Third Program of Croatian Television and the Third Program of Croatian Radio, fireworks will follow from the Old Town walls at around 10 pm.

With about thirty concerts performed by several hundred musicians in front of tens of thousands of audience members worldwide, this two-week festival has established itself as a European and world-famous early music festival. Concerts are now held mainly in northwestern Croatia, but VBE has also been performed in many European countries. The European Festival Association (EFFE) commented on the Varazdin Baroque Evenings with the words: "The high cultural and national importance of the festival is unquestionable". They awarded them with the prestigious label, Label 2019-2020.

It is important to note that the Varazdin Baroque Evenings' focus is authenticity. Firstly, this is the authenticity of the space. Varazdin is one of the best-preserved Baroque cities, and the program is held in palaces, churches, and castles from that period. Secondly, the performance is authentic because the concerts are performed on baroque instruments. And lastly, the program is authentic because musicians performed music by Baroque composers.

You can read the whole program here: in Varazdin, outside Varazdin and Total Baroque.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, September 21, 2019 - The Gothenburg Baroque Choir and Orchestra and Croatia's Chorus Dominicalis cathedral choir opened the 49th Varaždin Baroque Evenings festival on Friday, with Sweden as the partner country.

The choir performed works by Vivaldi and Handel under the baton of Magnus Kjjelson.

Until October 1, the event, held under the auspices of President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, will feature another 27 concerts in Varaždin, several other locations in Croatia and in Ptuj, Slovenia.

This is the first time the partner country is Scandinavian.

"Swedes love music, Sweden has the largest number of choirs in the world per capita, and since the group ABBA, we have been the third largest exporter of music in the world," Ambassador Diana Helen Madunić said at the opening ceremony.

The festival includes performances by several Swedish musicians such as the Renaissance ensemble Romeo & Julia Kören, the Hazelius Hedin folk duo, organist Hans Fagius, Ensemble Villancico and the Royal Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Oslo Circles baroque ensemble from Norway as well as Croatia's Project Lazarus, Responsorium, Antiphonus and the Croatian Baroque Ensemble.

The festival also brings accompanying events under the title Total Baroque which include an international flower show, a photo and sculpture exhibition by Stephan Lupino, and a gastronomy offer including baroque beer and wine.

More news about festivals in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, July 11, 2019 - The 49th edition of the Varaždin Baroque Evenings festival will take place from September 20 to October 1, with Sweden as this year's partner country, the organisers announced on Thursday.

The festival will open in the Varaždin Cathedral with the Gothenburg Baroque Choir and Orchestra performing works by Vivaldi, Roman, Zelenka, and Handel under the baton of Magnus Kjjelson.

It will be one of 19 concerts to be held in Varaždin and Trakošćan Castle, while nine more will take place in other towns in Varaždin County, Međimurje County, Krapina-Zagorje County and Koprivnica-Križevci County, as well as in Ptuj, Slovenia.

The Gothenburg Baroque Choir and Orchestra will also perform on the second day of the festival to present the ancient music of Scandinavia.

The festival's director Davor Bobić singled out a concert by the Romeo & Julia Koren ensemble who will perform The Decameron under the artistic leadership of Benoit Malmberg in the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin on September 22.

Swedish Ambassador Diana Helen Madunić said she was looking forward to so many Swedish musicians coming to Varaždin.

More news about festivals can be found in the Lifestyle section.

September 22, 2018 - The old town of Varazdin oozes additional charm with a decidedly Japanese flair. A wander around the streets of the old town on the opening night of this year's Varazdin Baroque Evenings. 

ZAGREB, September 22, 2018 - The Croatian Baroque Ensemble, soloists of Japan's Orchestra Libera Classica, the La Fontaverde ensemble, and the Varaždin-based Chorus Angelus choir, on Friday evening gave a concert under the baton of Japanese musician Hidemi Suzuki at the Varaždin Cathedral, marking the beginning of the 48th edition of the Varaždin Baroque Evenings classical music event.

A fortnight of culture is about to begin with the opening of the 48th Varazdin Baroque Evenings on September 21, 2018, but the festival is about much more than music. 

One of the great cultural events of the Croatian tourism calendar returns for the 48th time on September 21, 2018, as Varazdin Baroque Evenings welcomes Japan as this year's partner country.

Early music will once again fill the churches and palaces in the famous Croatian Baroque city

Hungary is the official partner country for this year's Varazdin Baroque Evenings, a cultural event featuring the finest classical music in the latter half of September. Hungary was honoured in style by the 22nd Varazdin Flower Show, which ended on September 24, 2017 in the courtyard of the spectacular Varazdin Castle.