Varazdin Baroque Evenings: 50th edition opens

ZAGREB, Sept 19 (Hina) – The 50th edition of Varazdin Baroque Evenings began in that northern Croatian city on Friday evening with an open-air concert of the Varazdin Chamber Orchestra outside the walls of the old city.

This year, the festival features only Croatian orchestras and musicians due to the epidemic of coronavirus.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Korzinek recalled that this May, the ministry decided that all the festivals of the national character would be in the course of the year and that their organisation would be adjusted to the circumstances marked by the outbreak of COVID-19.

This year’s festival in Varazdin runs through 27 September, and apart from Varazdin, the venues for some of the concerts will be in the nearby towns: Krizevci, Ludbreg, Varazdinske Toplice, Prelog, and Belec.

Varazdin Baroque Evenings is one of the best-known festivals, specialized in early music, in the world. The Festival is under the permanent patronage of the President of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Culture and has national status for twenty years. For seven years, the Festival has a partner country. Up to now, the country partner was Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Israel, Austria, Russia, Italy, France, Spain, Hungary, Japan, and Sweden.