Welcome to Bath Mozartfest
An annual celebration of W A Mozart
13–21 November 2026
Festival Welcome
Dear friends, I’m delighted to share details of our programme for Bath Mozartfest 2026, my first as Artistic Director. As with Bachfest earlier this year, it is dedicated to Amelia Freedman who first brought me to play here in Bath 15 years ago. The programme balances continuity with past years alongside fresh faces and new ideas.
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The festival opens with two concerts by the Nash Ensemble, including a late night performance of Mozart’s magical Divertimento. A prominent theme this year is youth: talented young soloists and groups appear throughout the week, while two special collaborations are planned with Huw Williams and the Choir of Bath Abbey, and the excellent Creative Learning team of Bath’s own Philharmonia Orchestra. Dame Imogen Cooper hosts a farewell concert with special guests, while Paul Lewis, Till Fellner, Aleksandar Madžar and Junyan Chen complete a stellar cast of wonderful pianists. Dame Harriet Walter and Lucy Parham bring us the fascinating story of Clara Schumann’s life, followed later in the week by two great string ensembles already known to Bath audiences, the Leonkoro and Modigliani quartets. Internationally celebrated violinists Viviane Hagner and Anthony Marwood are here too, before we welcome back the London Philharmonic Orchestra for our final concert, conducted by Adam Hickox. We are so looking forward to seeing you for a week of wonderful music!
Adrian Brendel, Artistic Director
2026 Festival Booking Dates
Priority Booking*
Circle: Tuesday 30 June
Benefactor: Thursday 2 July
Gold Patron: Monday 6 July
Patron: Thursday 9 July
Friends: Thursday 16 July
General Booking: Monday 3 August, 10am
*Become a Member to take advantage of Priority Booking!
Programme
What's On
Mozartfest Friend
Suggested donation £100 per person per annum.
We would be delighted to extend the following:
- Priority booking (level 1)
- Advance information about future Bath Mozartfests
- Complimentary Festival Programme
Please note: membership is annual and valid for one festival only.
Mozartfest Patron
Suggested donation £295 per person per annum.
In addition to all the benefits of Friends’ membership we may also extend the following:
- Higher priority booking (level 2)
- Acknowledgement of your support in Festival Programme
Please note: membership is annual and valid for one festival only.
Mozartfest Gold Patron
Suggested donation £500 per person per annum.
In addition to all Friends’ and Patrons’ benefits we may also extend the following:
- Higher priority booking (level 3)
- Invitation to a reception during Bath Mozartfest.
Please note: membership is annual and valid for one festival only.
Mozartfest Benefactor
Suggested donation £1,001 per person per annum.
In addition to all Gold Patrons’ benefits we may also extend the following:
- Highest priority booking (level 5)
Please note: membership is annual and valid for one festival only.
Mozartfest Circle Member
Suggested donation £5,000 per person per annum.
Highest priority booking (level 5)
Members of the Mozartfest Circle receive all the benefits associated with other membership levels plus prominent acknowledgement of their generosity in appropriate literature.
More importantly, all Circle members will be part of an exclusive group of donors whose support makes an invaluable and much appreciated contribution to the success of Bath Mozartfest.
Please note: membership is annual and valid for one festival only.
Sponsor a Concert
Support this year’s concert, MF8 Leonkoro String Quartet.
For your donation of £600 we should like to give two of you an unforgettable musical experience: the opportunity to attend the afternoon rehearsal and meet the players and then two best seats for the evening concert in St Mary’s Bathwick. Your contribution will also be acknowledged in the festival programme and on the website.
Please inform the box office once you have sponsored so we can arrange your tickets.
Support Us
Bath Mozartfest is a privately funded festival, receiving no government or local council funding. Every November, the festival relies on ticket sales and sponsorship from its supporters to be able to invite the world’s very finest classical musicians to perform in Bath. Without this extra support, the price of all concert tickets would have to increase substantially to pay for the costs of staging such a high quality festival in the city.
Bath Mozartfest registered charity number: 1040455
History
For over 30 years Bath Mozartfest has built an enviable reputation for artistic excellence in chamber and orchestral music. In its annual festival each November it presents the finest classical music performed by world-renowned artists. Excellent ticket sales, capacity audiences, and glowing national broadsheet reviews confirm this.
Bath Mozartfest was created in 1991 thanks to a generous bequest by Mrs Mary Purnell, in memory of her late son Mark who adored the music of Mozart and the City of Bath. Today the festival income comes from the generosity of private and corporate sponsors and of course ticket sales.
Sadly, Mrs Purnell did not live to enjoy the first festival which was programmed by Yehudi Menuhin. Amelia Freedman CBE, took over as artistic director in 1995. Amelia has had a long and distinguished career, not least as founder of the Nash Ensemble and as a former Head of Classical Music at the South Bank Centre. With Amelia’s peerless programming, and with a small and committed Board and staff team, Bath Mozartfest has gone from strength to strength and today is firmly established as one of Europe’s leading classical music festivals.
