Strict dress codes, strange rules of conduct and an audience of over-60s – for decades, the classical music world has been nibbling away at a somewhat dusty reputation that is more stubborn than white lint on black suit trousers. In truth, however, classical music is different than its image.

In one-hour, free workshops, we therefore explain everything you need to know about attending a concert in a relaxed atmosphere.

Ludwigsburg was once designed as a model city and still is today. Over the past twenty years, conferences and several dialogue forums concerning the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been held to develop approaches for a fairer and more sustainable coexistence. The Ludwigsburg Festival wants to support this process with artistic impulses and offer a platform for dialogue in the season with the »17 Goals Camp« in May 2023.

On the 60th anniversary of Charles de Gaulle’s »Speech to the German Youth«, we asked: How would a speech by the youth sound today? What wishes, goals, and criticisms would young voices of the present day want to articulate? A few months have passed since our appeal, during which young people have been in which young people have given thought and contributed their voices. Sixty years after the historic »Speech to the German Youth« in Ludwigsburg, members of the Ludwigsburg Youth Community Council and students of the students of the Gymnasium Balingen wrote their »Speeches to the of the youth« and addressed today’s decision-makers.

In many industries, women are still underrepresented today. This fact does not actually apply to music. For at no time in history has there been a lack of musical creations or cultural action by the female sex. The

freelance musicologist Susanne Wosnitzka explains aspects of a whole world of misappropriated musical history, reflected in the meager awareness of female virtuosos.

On 10 July, the Freiburg guest performance »THE 3RD BOX« comes to Ludwigsburg. The four performers let the audience take part in their journey of coming to terms with their gender and their identity and thus want to encourage self-reflection. Those who wish to explore the topic in more detail can take part in the »3RD BOX WORKSHOP«, which offers a safe space for exploration and exchange on four dates in the preceding week of July. Kit and Balthazar are performers in »THE 3RD BOX« and lead the workshop together with Gary Joplin. In the interview, they give insights into the process and tell us what was and is close to their hearts.

After Alexander Lukashenko's rigged elections in August 2020, Belarus awoke from many years of lethargy and revolted. The Belarusian conductor Vitali Alekseenok, who has been living in Germany for years, was there and experienced the peaceful revolution first-hand, but also the regime's violent response. In order to record his experiences in Minsk and to bring more attention to the democracy movement there, he has finally started a chronicle of the Belarusian revolution with »The White Days of Minsk«.

In the 17 colours of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the former overseas container stands out against the castle backdrop in the cour d'honneur and, with its signal colours, invites visitors to meet and playfully engage with the 17 goals. The so-called 17Goals Space will open its container door daily from 5 May to 5 June.

Rede von Bundespräsident a.D. Prof. Dr. Horst Köhler zur Eröffnung der 90. Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele unter dem Motto »No more war« am 5. Mai 2022 im Forum am Schlosspark.

With the help of the »Music for the Future« project the members and relatives of the Youth symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (YsOU) were guaranteed evacuation, safe accommodation as well as further educational opportunities. Your donation for our free evening programs have gone directly to this project.

Since the rigged presidential elections in August 2020, Belarus has been in a state of emergency. The regime has reacted with unrestrained use of force to peaceful protests in which countrymen demand fair elections, but also many other basic rights that have been restricted for years. Among the protesters are the sisters' Maria Kalesnikava and Tatsiana Khomich. Jochen Sandig met the latter for an interview this year.

»The concept of race is the result of racism and not its precondition«. The Jena Declaration was published in 2019 by Prof. Dr. Martin Fischer and Prof. Dr. Uwe Hoßfeld, who teach at the University of Jena.

In June 2020 the work »I can't breathe« by Georg Friedrich Haas was performed in memory of Eric Garner and George Floyd. In connection with this performance, we would like to share an article by author and publicist Carolin Emcke with you.