Stavanger Kammermusikkfestival: Festival celebrating world-class chamber music

Lasting from 5-10 August, Stavanger Kammermusikkfestival is one of Europe’s most highly regarded chamber music festivals. Attendees can look forward to six days of grand evening concerts, intimate lunchtime concerts, and a variety of interesting events – including a specially commissioned work in celebration of Stavanger’s 900-year history.

Stavanger Kammermusikkfestival is gearing up for a fantastic year. 2025 marks 900 years since Stavanger Cathedral was completed and the city was founded, and this will be celebrated with a wide range of exciting events.

As a contribution to the celebrations, Stavanger Kammermusikkfestival has commissioned an ambitious new work from John Erik Kaada, one of Norway’s leading composers. Entitled Rational Music for an Irrational World, the piece will be performed by Kaada along with a group of handpicked musicians and award-winning pianist Christian Ihle Hadland in Stavanger Cathedral.

“We want to contribute to the celebration of the city as well as Norwegian cultural heritage, and we couldn’t be more excited about Kaada’s work,” says festival manager Katrine Lilleland. “It’s an exhilarating project combining past, future, and present as well as blending different musical genres – truly a piece of lasting importance.”

2025 also marks the 35th anniversary of the festival’s conception. The theme for this year’s festival is ‘longing.’ “The theme relates to Stavanger’s exciting anniversary as well as our own history as a festival,” says Lilleland. “We celebrate our long and fascinating history by looking to our past as well as to our future – longing for what has been and what is to come.”

Spread out over 10 venues across the region, the festival boasts a packed programme including concerts, lectures, family-friendly performances, and an unpretentious pub crawl with musicians. “Putting together concerts that are cohesive is important – we want to tell a story and create interesting dynamics,” says Katrine. “In terms of developing our programme, we aim to strike a balance between music that audiences may be familiar with and challenge them with new and interesting combinations.”

The vibrant art gallery BGE Contemporary will play host to lunchtime concerts, allowing audiences to explore its exhibitions in addition to enjoying the music. Evening concerts will take place in such atmospheric locations as the historic Utstein Monastery and Sola ruin church.

“These venues are magical, set within stunning surroundings. A lot of people choose to explore the area with a walk before or after the concerts,” Lilleland says. “We love to add another dimension of experience to our concerts and events.”

Web: www.kammermusikkfestivalen.no
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Instagram: @kammermusikkfestivalstavanger