“Three’s a Party”
Bach, Britten & Strauss

Held in June at Stockholm’s Queen Silvia Concert Hall, Festival O/Modernt is the highlight of our season. A wonderful array of artists from around the world are invited to share the stage with emerging talents for a week of concerts and arts events. The annual festivities take their inspiration from a noted composer of the past, who is celebrated in a series of imaginative programmes that showcase works from the western canon alongside music from contrasting epochs, genres, and cultural contexts.

Summer 26

‘Two’s company, three’s a crowd’, as the old saying goes. Adding a sprinkle of mischief, Andy Warhol quipped: ‘One’s company, two’s a crowd, and three’s a party!’ In the same spirit, O/Modernt has chosen three composers to get this year’s summer party started: Bach, Britten, and Strauss. We’ve even swelled the festive numbers to five by including an extra Bach (C.P.E.) and two Strausses—Johann and Richard! 

O/Modernt’s 2026 summer get-together also celebrates two significant anniversaries. The musical sage György Kurtág turns 100 this year, and it is fifty years since the passing of Benjamin Britten. We are thrilled to welcome Kurtág’s close friend and musical collaborator, the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and the French tenor Cyrille Dubois.

The fifteenth edition of O/Modernt’s summer festival showcases vibrant modernism, imaginatively enhanced with some beloved Romantic masterworks, enchanting waltzes by Johann Strauss, and the rich legacy of Bach.

Nominated as one of the 30 best festivals in Europe.

—BBC Music Magazine 

The festival exudes creativity from every pore 

—Svenska Dagbladet 

Joy, improvisation, and spontaneity – music in its most alive form 

—Berliner Morgenpost

In time, space, and media, it may be the most multi-dimensional classical festival in the world 

—The London Magazine