Highlights
THE TRAILER OF LUNALIA 2024
Watch the Lunalia 2024 trailer here. A design by Emilie Lauwers, with music from Bedrich Smetana!
Discover the new programme now!
For its seventh edition, Lunalia, the spring festival of the Festival of Flanders Mechelen, will once again be taking over Mechelen city centre. Along with its partners, Construct Europe, nona arts centre and Mechelen Cultural Centre, it will present a rich and adventurous programme. With Pavel Haas Quartet, Simona Saturova, Musica Gloria, Voces8, Zefiro Torna, Kris Defoort, Anima Eterna and many more. Discover the complete programme here.
Programme The Warmest Night of Talent
The programme of The Warmest Night of Talent has been announced! Four ensembles and artists will present you their warmest musical project on Dec. 7 in Mechelen's Sint-Pieter-en-Paul Church. Sweete Devils, with countertenor Korneel Van Neste and Justin Glaie on theorbo, takes you into the story of the Flemish Theorbe, from painting to instrument, in music. Duo Apus presents a preview of their latest project Ecoduct, featuring saxophonist Andrea Van Acker and cellist Alexandre Bughin. And tubist Berlinde Deman lets you discover the melancholy sounds of the serpent during her improvisation on serpent with electronics. Finally, organist Tom Van Der Plas and dancer Oona Van Aken join forces for the premiere of Axis Mundi with music by Philip Glass and J.S. Bach.
The Hearts of Europe
Europe has many hearts. At Lunalia, you can come and listen to these hearts beating in Mechelen. Belgium will take on the European presidency in the first half of 2024, so it’s only logical that Mechelen will have a related city theme in the spring: Construct Europe. Lunalia’s response is a motto that reflects the many voices of Europe, with a focus on Central Europe and a special place in our hearts for the Czech music scene. One reason for this is the celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of Bedřich Smetana’s birth. Smetana was born in 1824. His operas, and particularly his symphonic cycle Má Vlast, ‘My Fatherland’ (including the famous symphonic poem ‘The Moldau’), are world famous, but his chamber music, songs and choir music also deserve to be better known. For this aspect of the programme, we are working in close partnership with Czech Dreams and our Czech partner festival, Concentus Moraviae.
