On 14 June, the Bach 2 Future conference brought together once again in Budapest the leading representatives of the international music scene. This year’s event, open to the general public, focused on the European Capitals of Culture.
Every year since 2019, the Bach 2 Future conference has been attracting experts in the field of classical music to Budapest with exciting topics. This year’s event, organised jointly by Papageno and the Hungarian Music Council, focused on the European Capitals of Culture in the Auditorium of Müpa Budapest.
Experts from the European Capitals of Culture and UNESCO City of Music cities presented their achievements and strategies in dozens of presentations and three round-table discussions.
The prestigious international conference featured speakers such as Ovidiu Florian Andris (Tribul Artistic, Timisoara 2023), Marko Miletic (Novi Sad 2022), Ingrid Gordan (Gorica/Gorizia 2025), Lenka Kuricová (Trencin 2026), Jaan Ulst (Tartu 2024), Franziska Wizany (Saxon Mozart Society, Chemnitz 2025), Dr. Matthias Rauch (Mannheim UNESCO City of Music), Dorotea Solomun (Varaždin UNESCO City of Music) and Max Beckham-Ortner (IMZ).
Hungary was represented by Zoltán Mészáros, Founder-CEO of VeszprémFest, Chief Advisor of the Veszprém-Balaton EKF 2023 project and Natália Oszkó-Jakab, CEO of the Valley of Arts Festival and board member of the European Festival Association.
The panel discussions were moderated by Géza Kovács, Artistic Manager, Friderika Mike (VEB 2023) and Balázs Weyer (Hangvető).
During the day, Mike Friderika, Programme Director of Veszprém-Balaton 2023, answered a journalist’s question: ‘After last year, when Veszprém was one of the European Capitals of Culture, we are continuing to work towards the title of City of Music, which was awarded by UNESCO in 2019. I was very inspired by the panel discussion where representatives from Mannheim and Varazdin in Croatia, among others, shared their experiences, tools, good practices and ideas on the role this title can play in urban development strategies. „
„Unity in diversity” was how Franziska Wizany, representing Chemnitz, Germany, summed up her experience. She said that „a professional forum like Bach 2 Future, where the panels and topics are not just empty buzzwords, but key concepts that address real problems, is a rare opportunity, filled not only with dry presentations, but also with enthusiasm and commitment, so that at the end of the day everyone comes away with relevant information, personal contacts and new ideas”.
Detailed programme and materials from previous events are available on the conference website.
The professional partner of this year’s Bach 2 Future conference was VEB Veszprém-Balaton 2023 – European Capital of Culture.